Jackets Open Regular Season vs. Miami (Ohio)

Georgia Tech vs. Miami of Ohio

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion

Live Stream: ACC Network Extra | ESPN+

Play-by-Play: Wiley Ballard  |  Analyst: Jon Babul

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | SiriusXM app 990 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech opens its 107h season of basketball and its sixth season under head coach Josh Pastner Tuesday night, hosting Miami of Ohio for a 7:30 p.m. tip at McCamish Pavilion.

Tech (17-9, 11-6 ACC last season) is coming off its first ACC championship season since 1993 and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. The Yellow Jackets welcome back five of their top seven scorers, including ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), senior guard Bubba Parham (Snellville, Ga.), senior forward Khalid Moore (Briarwood, N.Y.) and junior guard Kyle Sturdivant (Norcross, Ga.). Those returnees are bolstered by the transfer of guard Deivon Smith (Loganville, Ga.) from Mississippi State and a freshman class ranked No. 28 in the nation.

The Jackets prepped for Tuesday night’s game by hosting Morehouse in an exhibition game Oct. 31, defeating the Maroon Tigers, 89-52. Tech does not leave the state of Georgia to play until Dec. 18, when it travels to Phoenix, Ariz., to play Southern California.

The Redhawks, members of the Mid-American Conference, went 12-11 overall last season and finished 9-8 in the conference. Miami returns its top nine scorers from that team, including junior guard Dae Dae Grant, senior forward Dalonte Brown and senior guard Mekhi Lairy, each of whom started all 23 games.

The Redhawks downed Capital University, 69-44, Thursday in an exhibition game.

Tuesday’s game will be streamed live online via ACC Network Extra, available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network, flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), as well as on satellite radio (SiriusXM app 990).

SERIES VS. MIAMI

Georgia Tech and Miami are meeting for the first time in men’s basketball.

The Yellow Jackets are 2-3 all-time against members of the Mid-American Conference, including an 0-2 mark under head coach Josh Pastner. Tech has faced two members of the Mid-American Conference in recent years, dropping a 65-47 decision to Ball State in December of 2019, and a 67-61 contest to Ohio in Nove,ber of 2016, both at McCamish Pavilion.

The Tech-Miami game is part of a “multi-team event” that includes Friday’s game against Stetson and next Momday’s game against Lamar. Miami, Stetson and Lamar will all play each other as part of the event.

LAST TIME OUT

Georgia Tech’s final tune-up for the regular season came with an 89-52 victory over Morehouse College on Oct. 31. Four Yellow Jackets finished in double figures.

The Yellow Jackets opened with a quick tempo and kept the momentum going in the first half, leading 45-25 at the break. Paced by Michael Devoe’s 13 first-half points, the Jackets shot 60.0 percent (18-30) in the opening 20 minutes, while holding Morehouse to a 34.6 percent (9-26) clip from the field. Strong defense from the Yellow Jackets kept the Tigers at bay as Tech forced 15 turnovers in the first half, converting for 22 points.

Devoe added 10 points in the second half to finish with 23 on the day, while Jordan Usher (16 points), Dallan Coleman (10 points) and Deivon Smith (10 points) reached double-digits in the final 20 minutes. Tech kept a strong advantage rolling in the second half, building its lead to as many as 37 points, to close out the commanding victory.

🎮 It’s in the game.#TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/CwCRtOky5W

— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) November 7, 2021

🎮 Who got next on the sticks?#TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/SjaBhpwaGa

— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) November 8, 2021

PRE-SEASON STORYLINES

• 107th season – Georgia Tech is playing its 107th season of basketball in 2021-22 and begins the season with an all-time on-court record of 1,410-1,267 (22 wins and one loss from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions).
• Tech in ACC play – This is Tech’s 43rd season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, having won the conference championship in 1985, 1990, 1993 and 2021. Prior to that, Tech competed in the Metro Conference for three seasons from 1975-78, was an independent from 1964-75, and was a member of the Southeastern Conference for 32 years from 1932-64, winning one title in 1938.
• This is Georgia Tech’s sixth season under head coach Josh Pastner, who has built the Tech program based on a “get old and stay old” philosophy, elevating the talent level incrementally through ever-improving high school recruiting and attracting transfers who went to high school in the Atlanta area.
• Georgia Tech also was projected by the media panel to finish 10th in the conference regular season. Since the ACC expanded in 2005, Miami is the only defending ACC Champion to be projected lower than 10th the next season (12th prior to 2013-14 season). In the last three seasons, the Jackets have surpassed expectations, having been picked to finish 13th, 12th and ninth, respectively, before eventually finishing 10th, fifth and fourth in the regular season. No team that went on to win the ACC championship had ever been projected to finish as low as ninth before last season.
• Tech is coming off the team’s first Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 28 years, and the fourth in program history.
• Tech is coming off the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years, and 17th in program history.
• Four players with significant career experience as starters return from the ACC Championship team, led by ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe, who has been named honorable mention All-ACC each of the last two years, and is the Yellow Jackets’ top all-conference candidate for 2021-22. He averaged 15.0 points per game and was one of the league’s top three-point shooters at 40 percent for the season.
• Two seniors form the ACC Championship squad – Jordan Usher and Bubba Parham – return to take advantage of their available “COVID year.” Usher, who began his college career at USC, has started every game for Tech since becoming eligible in midseason 2019-20, and last year was Tech’s fourth-leading scorer (11.6 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.2 rpg), and made the ACC All-Tournament team. Parham has started 20 of 56 games in two seasons at Tech after transferring from VMI, averaging 5.8 points per game.

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Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.   

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in 2021 after finishing fourth in the regular season. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, winning four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), playing in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and playing in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.