Jackets Renew Hoop Rivalry with GeorgiaJackets Renew Hoop Rivalry with Georgia
Men's Basketball

Jackets Renew Hoop Rivalry with Georgia

Jackets and Bulldogs tip off at 9 p.m. Friday at Stegeman Coliseum

Georgia Tech vs. Georgia

Friday, November 18, 2021 | 9 p.m. ET | Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum

Live Stream: SEC Network

Play-by-Play: Tom Hart  |  Analyst: Daymeon Fishback

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | Sirius 133, XM 190, SiriusXM app 961 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

Play-by-Play: Randy Sports  |  Analyst: Quinton Stephens

 

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech leaves the confines of McCamish Pavilion for the first time Friday night when it visits cross-state rival Georgia for a 9 p.m. tip Friday night at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.

Coming off its first ACC championship season since 1993 and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, the Yellow Jackets are 2-1 with victories over Lamar (75-66 Monday) and Stetson (77-52 Friday) after dropping a 72-69 decision to Miami of Ohio in their season opener on Nov. 9.

Reigning ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), averaging a team-high 18 points and 5.3 assists per game, leads three Yellow Jackets averaging in double figures, along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.) at 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, and freshman Dallan “Deebo” Coleman (Memphis, Tenn.) with 11.7 points per game.

The Jackets play seven of their first eight games this season at McCamish Pavilion. Tech does not leave the state of Georgia to play until Dec. 18, when it travels to Phoenix, Ariz., to play Southern California.

Georgia improved to 2-1 following their 76-60 victory over South Carolina State Tuesday night. In head coach Tom Crean’s fourth season at the helm, the Bulldogs opened the season by defeating Florida International (58-51) before dropping a 73-68 decision at Cincinnati.

Friday’s game will be televised live on the SEC Network and also streamed live on the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), as well as on satellite radio (Sirius channel 133, XM channel 190, SiriusXM app 961).

SERIES VS. GEORGIA

  • Georgia Tech leads the overall series 105-91 and has played the Bulldogs more than any other opponent in its basketball history.
  • The teams did not play during the 2020-21 season due to scheduling restrictions brought on by COVID-19. It was the first season in which the schools did not meet since a 6-year hiatus from the 1914-15 season through the 1919-20 season.
  • The series has been played alternately on the respective schools’ campuses since the 1995-96 season. Georgia holds an 15-10 lead over that period.
  • In the 25 on-campus meetings since 1995, Georgia has won three times in Atlanta, and Tech has won twice in Athens.
  • Georgia has won the last five games in the series, three of those in Athens and two in Atlanta. The Bulldogs captured a 82-78 victory on November 20, 2019 at Stegeman Coliseum.
  • Prior to that, Georgia Tech had won four consecutive games over Georgia for the first time since winning 10 in a row over the Bulldogs, the longest for either team in the series, from December of 1958 to February of 1961.
  • Before the December, 1995 meeting in Athens that marked the return to on-campus play, the teams played 14 straight years at the Omni in downtown Atlanta, which was located on the site of the current Philips Arena. Tech went 8-6 against the Bulldogs in the facility, including eight of the last 10 before the neutral series ended. The teams have played on neutral sites other than the SEC or Southern Intercollegiate Championships only one other time, that coming at the 1960 Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Tech is 0-4 against Georgia under head coach Josh Pastner, and 1-2 against the Bulldogs’ current head coach Tom Crean (the Jackets defeated a Crean-coached Indiana team in the 2017 NIT).
  • Tech and Georgia were both charter members of the Southeastern Conference, and the Yellow Jackets went 55-29 against the Bulldogs in the SEC before leaving the conference after the 1963-64 season.
  • Tech is 35-34 against Georgia since leaving the SEC.

THE OPENING TIP

  • Good luck charm? – Former Georgia Tech forward Quinton Stephens, recently hired as basketball programs specialist with the Atlanta Hawks after retiring from pro basketball, is making his debut as a radio analyst Friday night for Georgia Tech’s broadcast. Randy Waters moves over to the play-by-play seat, while regular play-by-play voice Andy Demetra is in South Bend, Ind., preparing to call Tech’s Saturday football game at Notre Dame. Stephens, who played at Tech from 2013-17, is the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leader in games played (135), and one of the highlights of his career came against Georgia on Nov. 14, 2014, when he scored 22 points and hit 6-of-8 three-point field goals in an 80-73 home win over the Bulldogs, which coincidentally is the last time the Yellow Jackets have defeated Georgia.
  • Devoe Vu – Michael Devoe’s career scoring high of 34 points occurred the last time Georgia Tech and Georgia played, an 82-78 Bulldog victory in Athens on Nov. 20, 2019 in Athens. The 6-5 then-sophomore went 12-of-21 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, a performance that was part of an early season hot streak in which he averaged 23.8 points to lead the ACC.
  • Mr. Smith goes to Athens – Friday night will be Deivon Smith’s second trip to Athens in as many years. The sophomore transfer from Mississippi State, who is from nearby Loganville, scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3-of-4 from three-point range) with three assists in 20 minutes in a game his team won, 83-73.
  • Point break – Splitting the point guard duties nearly evenly, Kyle Sturdivant and Deivon Smith have combined to average 11.0 points and 5.0 assists over three games, while compiling a 15/7 assist/turnover ratio. Sturdivant has started all three games, but Smith has averaged about three more minutes per game.
  • Big3 – Utilizing a rotation of Rodney Howard, Saba Gigiberia and Jordan Meka in the 5-spot vacated by ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright, Tech has received an aggregate 12.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Howard has started all three games and averaged 27.9 minutes.
  • Small ball (sometimes) – Tech finished the first half of the Lamar game small, with a lineup of Smith, Devoe, Coleman, Miles Kelly and Khalid Moore (as the 5-man), and finished the game with Devoe, Sturdivant, Coleman, Moore and Usher on the floor.

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.