Georgia Tech Finishes Road Swing at Syracuse

Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse

Monday, February 21, 2022 | 7 p.m. ET | Syracuse, N.Y. | Carrier Dome

Television:  ACC Regional Sports Network

Play-by-Play:  Tom Werme  |  Analyst:  Mike Gminski

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 384, SiriusXM app 974 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

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

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Syracuse, N.Y. – Completing an NBA-style back-to-back road trip, Georgia Tech ventures further North Monday to face Syracuse in a 7 p.m. contest at the Carrier Dome. It is the only scheduled meeting between the two teams this season, and a make-up of a game postponed from Dec. 29 due to COVID issues within the Yellow Jackets’ team.

Tech (11-15 overall, 4-11 ACC) got back on the winning track Saturday night with a 68-62 victory at Pittsburgh, snapping a three-game skid and lifting the Yellow Jackets ot of the cellar in the ACC standings. The Jackets, who have defeated Clemson and Florida State at home, as well as Boston College on the road, are looking for their first back=to-back wins in the ACC this season, and their first consecutive wins of any type since Jan. 23 and 26 (Clayton State, Florida State).

Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the reigning ACC Tournament MVP and the conference’s No. 3-leading scorer (18.72 points per game), No. 6 three-point shooter by volume (2.44 per game) and No. 3 by percentage (37.9), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 14.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Syracuse (14-12 overall, 8-7 ACC) is solidly in the middle of the pack in the ACC standings after winning five of its last six games, including a 76-56 homecourt win over Boston College Saturday. The Orange have won their five home ACC games in convincing fashion, by an average of 18.8 points, along with close losses to Virginia and Florida State.

Monday’s game will be televised live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks (Bally Sports South in Georgia), with a live stream available through BallySports.com (in-market) the ESPN app (out of market). Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), and on satellite radio (XM channel 384, SiriusXM app 974).

THE OPENING TIP

• NBA scheduling – The Syracuse game continues a stretch of three games in five days for Georgia Tech, who traveled directly from Pittsburgh to make up a game postponed from Dec. 29 due to COVID issues. Tech returns home after Syracuse to face Virginia Tech Wednesday night at 9 p.m.
• Once around – Tech’s game at Syracuse completes a four-game stretch against teams the Yellow Jackets will face just once this season, including Virginia, NC State and Pitt. The Jackets finish the regular season with rematches against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Clemson and Boston College (the Jackets went 2-2 against those teams the first time around).
• On the road – Georgia Tech is 3-5 in road games this season, 2-5 in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets have three road games among their remaining five in the regular season. Syracuse is 10-3 at home this season, 5-2 in conference games.
• Dynamic duo – Georgia Tech seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher have accounted for 47.1 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ scoring this season, and as the top two assist purveyors on the team, have had a hand in 68.6 percent of Tech’s field goals made. Those numbers for ACC games are similar (46.2, 69.6). In Tech’s 11 wins, however, they account for just 41.9 percent of the Jackets’ points; in Tech’s four ACC wins: 37.5 percent.
• Grand theft basketball – The Jackets lead the ACC in turnovers forced against conference opponents (14.13 per game) and also are No. 2 in steals (8.87). Tech’s last nine ACC foes (beginning Jan. 19 vs. Wake Forest) have coughed it up 134 times (14.9 per game), 94 of them takeaways for Tech (10.4 per game).
• Eight lineups – Tech has utilized eight different starting lineups this season, and Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore are the only players to start all 26 games. Tech’s most frequent lineup has been the original one (Michael Devoe and Kyle Sturdivant at the guards, Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore at the forwards, Rodney Howard at center), which the Jackets used for six of the first eight games and the last six before Virginia.
• Iron Mike – Senior guard Michael Devoe fell from the top spot in the ACC in scoring average for the first time this season after Tech’s game at at Boston College, but has held steady as the league’s No. 3 scorer since when (18.72 points per game). Devoe is No. 3 in the ACC in three-point percentage (37.9), No. 6 in three-point field goals per game (2.44) and No. 6 in minutes.
• Climbing the ladder – In Tech’s last two games, Michael Devoe has passed Georgia Tech legends John Salley (1,587 from 1982-86), Bruce Dalrymple (1,588 from 1983-87) and B.J. Elder (1,616 from 2001-05) on the program’s career scoring chart, reaching 14th place with 1,617 points. Next on the list is Tech’s first All-American, Roger Kaiser, who scored 1,628 points from 1958-61 and holds 13th place.
• Three over a thousand – Jordan Usher cleared the 1,000-point milestone for his career Jan. 15 at North Carolina. He has 1,138 points, 864 of them scored in a Tech uniform, giving Tech three 1,000-point scorers on its roster, including Michael Devoe (1,595) and Bubba Parham (1,452).
• Dallen is dealin’ – Kick-started by a strong game against Clayton State on Jan. 23, Tech freshman Deebo Coleman has averaged 7.8 points and hit 18 of 39 shots (46.2 percent) from three-point range over Tech’s last nine games.
• Rad Rodney – Center Rodney Howard has put together his best basketball this season in Tech’s last three games, scoring 38 points (18-of-24 from the floor) with 23 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in Tech’s games against Virginia, NC State and Pittsburgh.
• Sturdy Sturdivant – Kyle Sturdivant has a 35:13 assist/turnover ratio over Tech’s last 13 games. The junior guard has averaged 7.3 points with four double-digit efforts and six turnover-free games over that stretch.

SERIES NOTES VS. SYRACUSE

• Tech has won five of 11 meetings between the two teams since Syracuse joined the ACC and seven of 14 meetings in the history of the series, which dates back to the 1986 NCAA Tournament. (2017 victory was vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions)
• Tech won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams in 2020-21, an 84-77 victory at McCamish Pavilion, where the Yellow Jackets are 3-2 against the Orange.
• The Yellow Jackets have won twice in seven visits to the Carrier Dome, including a 67-62 decision on March 4, 2014, with the Orange ranked No. 7 in the nation.
• Eight of the 11 meetings as ACC brethren have been decided by seven points or fewer.
• Three of the first four games in the series were played on neutral courts, the first of which had the highest stakes, a second-round NCAA Tournament game at the Omni in Atlanta in 1985.
• The last meeting between the two teams before Syracuse joined the ACC occurred in the championship game of the Legends Classic in Atlantic City in 2010, and ninth-ranked Syracuse survived a 32-point effort by Brian Oliver (who later transferred to Seton Hall) to win, 80-76.
• Tech’s first trip to the Carrier Dome came in December of 2003, when the Orange, led by freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara, routed the Jackets with its freshman duo of Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack, 92-65, and eventually won the national championship.
• Syracuse had never played on Tech’s campus until the 2014-15 season, but the Yellow Jackets did host the 13th-ranked Orange in a Delta Air Lines Classic for Kids game at Philips Arena in 2001. Jim Boeheim missed the game due to prostate surgery and the Yellow Jackets won by 16.

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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.