Tech Visits Clemson for Final Road Game

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 7 p.m. ET | Clemson, S.C. | Littlejohn Coliseum

Television:  ACC Network

Play-by-Play:  Wes Durham  |  Analyst: Dan Bonner

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 383, SiriusXM app 973 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

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

THE FLATS – Playing its final road game of the regular season, Georgia Tech travels to Clemson for a 7 p.m. Atlantic coast Conference game Wednesday at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tech has an opportunity to earn a season sweep of the Tigers, whom the Yellow Jackets defeated, 69-64, on Feb. 5 in Atlanta.

Tech (11-18 overall, 4-14 ACC) has lost its last three games, including a 890-56 defeat Saturday at Notre Dame, and are tied for last place in the ACC standings with Clemson. The Yellow Jackets’ last three games before Notre Dame, including a 68-62 win at Pittsburgh last Saturday, were decided by a total of 12 points. Tech is looking for its third road win in ACC play this season.

Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the reigning ACC Tournament MVP and the conference’s No. 3-leading scorer (18.11 points per game), No. 6 three-point shooter by volume (2.32 per game) and No. 4 by percentage (36.6), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 14.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Clemson (14-15 overall, 6-12 ACC) is 2-5 since its first meeting with Tech on Feb. 5, but has won its last two games, defeating Wake Forest at home (80-69) last Wednesday and Boston College on the road (70-60) Saturday. The Tigers are tied for 10th place in the ACC standings with the Eagles, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Wednesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with a live stream available through 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), and on satellite radio (XM channel 383, SiriusXM app 973).

• Tuesday blues – Georgia Tech is guaranteed to play Tuesday in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, and if the tournament started Wednesday, the Yellow Jackets would be the 15th seed and play at 4:30 p.m. against either Boston College, Clemson, Louisville or Pittsburgh, who are all currently tied for 10th place at 6-12 (as of Monday). Tech is tied for 14th place with NC State but lost to the Wolfpack in the teams’ only meeting this season.
• Second chances – The Yellow Jackets are finishing the regular season with rematches against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Clemson and Boston College. Tech went 2-2 against those teams the first time around, and the Hokies and Fighting Irish completed season sweeps of the Jackets last week.
• Gas station opportunity – The Yellow Jackets are looking for their third road win in conference play after winning at Boston College Jan. 12 and Pittsburgh Feb. 19. Tech has played just two home games since Feb. 5 and has one home game left Saturday. Tech is 3-7 overall in road games this season, while Clemson is 9-5 at home, 3-5 in ACC play.
• Get on the bus, Gus – Georgia Tech is 1-2 this season when traveling to a game by bus. The Jackets defeated Georgia on Nov. 19, lost to LSU at State Farm Arena on Dec. 11, and lost at Syracuse on Feb. 21 (Tech traveled to Syracuse by bus from Pittsburgh).
• Dynamic duo – Georgia Tech seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher have accounted for 46.7 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ scoring this season, and as the top two assist purveyors on the team, have had a hand in 69.1 percent of Tech’s field goals made. Those numbers for ACC games are similar (45.6, 70.4). 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 are third in the ACC in turnovers forced against conference opponents (13.28 per game) and are No. 2 in steals (8.28). Tech’s last 12 ACC foes (beginning Jan. 19 vs. Wake Forest) have coughed it up 161 times (13.42 per game), 109 of them takeaways for Tech (9.08 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 29 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 (18.11 points per game). Devoe is No. 4 in the ACC in three-point percentage (36.6), No. 6 in three-point field goals per game (2.32) and No. 5 in minutes (34.92 per game). Devoe is one of only six players in Division I to average at least 18.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals this season (per Sports-Reference.com).
• Climbing the ladder – In Tech’s last five games, Michael Devoe has passed Georgia Tech legends John Salley (1,587 from 1982-86), Bruce Dalrymple (1,588 from 1983-87), B.J. Elder (1,616 from 2001-05) and Roger Kaiser (1,628 from 1958-61) on the program’s career scoring chart, reaching 13th place with 1,656 points. Next on the list is point guard Tony Akins, who scored 1,658 points from 1998-2002 and holds 12th place.
• House of Usher – Jordan Usher is one of only nine Division I players to average at least 14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals this season (per Sports-Reference.com). Only two of those seven play for a power conference team – Usher and Jake Laravia of Wake Forest.
• Three over a thousand – Jordan Usher cleared the 1,000-point milestone for his career Jan. 15 at North Carolina. He has 1,179 points, 905 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).
• Rookies rising – Tech’s highly-regarded freshman class has scored 43 points over Tech’s last three games and totalled 168 minutes on the floor, their most extensive time as a group this season. Deebo Coleman has averaged 24 minutes per game in ACC play this season, but Miles Kelly has played 52 minutes in the last three games and Jalon Moore 47.
• Three-bo – Kick-started by a strong game against Clayton State on Jan. 23, Tech freshman Deebo Coleman has hit 21 of 50 shots (42 percent) from three-point range over Tech’s last 12 games. That includes an 0-for-6 effort last time out at Notre Dame.
• Rad Rodney – Center Rodney Howard has put together his best basketball this season in Tech’s last five games, scoring in double digits in five of Tech’s last six games and posting a pair of double-doubles. He has averaged 12.5 points (33-of-51 from the floor) and 7.5 rebounds, with six assists and five blocks.
• Sturdy Sturdivant – Kyle Sturdivant has a 40:14 assist/turnover ratio over Tech’s last 16 games and played eight of those games without committing a turnover. The junior guard has also posted five double-digit scoring efforts over that stretch.

SERIES NOTES VS. CLEMSON

• This is the oldest and longest-running series the Yellow Jackets have with an ACC member. The 141 all-time meetings are more than 30 greater than Tech has played with any other ACC opponent. The series dates back to the 1912-13 season, when John Heisman coached the Tech basketball team.
• Clemson is one of two permanent home-and-away opponents on Tech’s schedule each year (Notre Dame is the other).
• Tech has won four of the last five games in the series, including a 69-64 homecourt victory on Feb. 5 in the first meeting of the 2021-22 season.
• The teams split their regular-season series in 2020-21, each team winning at home. The Yellow Jackets swept the season series in 2019-20 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
• The series is tied 8-8 in games played over the last seven-plus seasons.
• The Yellow Jackets trail 51-39 to the Tigers since joining the ACC.
• Tech has an all-time record of 46-26 against the Tigers at home, including a 27-15 record at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and a 6-4 mark at McCamish Pavilion.
• Tech is 5-6 on the court against Clemson under head coach Josh Pastner, and 8-17 vs. Tiger teams coached by Brad Brownell.
• Tech is just 17-47 all-time in games played at Clemson, including an 9-40 mark in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Jackets lost 14 straight games on the road in the series, and 13 in a row at Littlejohn, before Tech won on March 6, 2020, Tech was Clemson’s first opponent in Littlejohn Coliseum back on Nov. 30, 1968. The Tigers won, 76-72.
• Tech’s 111-108 win against the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 24, 2001 is the highest-scoring regulation game Tech has had with any ACC opponent. The Jackets’ current record of 17 three-point field goals was set in that game. The Jackets defeated Florida State by the same score in Tallahassee (in two OTs) on Feb. 11, 1999, and lost to Wake Forest in the 2007 ACC Tournament, 114-112 in double-overtime.
• The Yellow Jackets have won three of four ACC Tournament meetings with the Tigers, including a 69-61 semi-final decision on the way to the 1993 conference title in Charlotte.

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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.