Inside The Chart: Georgia Tech at Florida State

By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets

He’s the most stoic member of the Georgia Tech basketball team, his expression rarely changing regardless of the score or situation.

Don’t expect to see any Jose Alvarado-style outbursts from Lance Terry when he’s on the court.  The junior guard may have Russell Westbrook-like hops, but he also has Kawhi Leonard levels of stone-faced, Sphinx-like emotionlessness.  So if you saw Terry’s countenance in the closing seconds at McCamish Pavilion Wednesday, you likely wouldn’t have known that he had strung together the best performance of his Georgia Tech career in a win over the No. 12 team in the nation.

With the Yellow Jackets trying to shake a winless ACC start, and facing a team riding a nine-game winning streak, Terry poured in 24 points – 17 above his season average – in a 76-70 win over 12th-ranked Miami.

The College Park, Ga., native didn’t rest on his laurels – he was back at McCamish Friday morning getting shots up with his Dad, also named Lance, a former walk-on at West Georgia whose career was cut short by a car accident. And though he joined Tech in the offseason from Gardner-Webb, he didn’t exactly arrive a newcomer to ACC competition.  Terry scored 15 points against Duke at Cameron Indoor last year.  He pumped in 10 against Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center as a sophomore.

He also poured in a team-high 23 points against Florida State on Dec. 27, 2020 at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee. That’s where Georgia Tech (8-6, 1-3 ACC) finds itself Saturday, looking to build off those gutsy 40 minutes against the 13-1 Hurricanes. Florida State (4-11, 2-2 ACC) has started to find its footing following a 1-9 start, and they have the confidence of winning 51 of their last 57 ACC home games.

Tech, meanwhile, will try to finish the week with another victorious walk to the locker room – where Terry will likely celebrate with all the passion of a DMV clerk.

Enjoy a Terry-heavy top five notes from my chart as Tech gears up for its first road game in three weeks (1 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):

Miles Kelly has increased his scoring average by 10 points per game over his freshman year. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

Terry’s performance against Miami also included some sticky defense on All-ACC guard Isaiah Wong, particularly in Tech’s man-to-man down the stretch.  He and the Jackets now turn their attention to one of the fast-rising wings in the ACC – and someone with Georgia Tech bloodlines to boot.

Six-foot-7 sophomore Matthew Cleveland, whose parents both graduated from Georgia Tech – Dad was ME, Mom was IM – comes in averaging a double-double in ACC play (15.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg).  An Atlanta native and reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year, he’s a gifted finisher in transition with the body control to make tough shots.  He can also drive from the high post and hit mid-range jumpers.

Head coach Leonard Hamilton surrounds Cleveland with guard Caleb Mills, a sinewy slasher who uses pump fakes and pivots in a manner similar to Wong, and 6-5 UCF transfer Darin Green, Jr., a sharpshooter who had eight three-pointers against St. John’s.  Together they’re the focal points of a four-around-one, spread-and-kick FSU offense.  Pay attention to 6-10 freshman Cam Corhen, who has averaged 16 points and seven rebounds in Florida State’s ACC wins.

After forcing Miami into a season-low 35-percent shooting, Tech will once again need to play well in gaps and run Green off the three-point line.  And keep this in mind about Cleveland: his worst offensive rating of ACC play last season came against Georgia Tech (2-10 FG, 5 points).

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Terry made 4-of-5 threes against Miami, a welcome sign for a Tech team that had disproportionately leaned on Miles Kelly in ACC play.

3pt.%	First 3 ACC games	vs. Miami
Miles Kelly	45.80%	33.3%  (3 of 9)
Rest of Team	24.40%	40.0%  (6 of 15)

Florida State is allowing 39.5 percent from three in ACC play, worst in the conference.

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You can hardly fault him for his legs feeling heavy – Wednesday marked the first 40-minute game of his career – but Terry missed two free throws with 10 seconds left after Georgia Tech had made its first 17 attempts as a team.

Had he sunk them both, the Jackets would have broken the school record for most made free throws in a game without a miss.  The Yellow Jackets converted all 18 of their free throw attempts in a win over No. 17 Maryland on Feb. 2, 1985.

Lance Terry, who scored 24 points to lead Tech’s win over Miami Wednesday, scored 23 points against FSU in a 2020 game while playing at Gardner-Webb. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

After torching Miami for 14 first-half points, Miles Kelly went curiously cold in the second half, missing his first eight shots from the field.  His ninth shot was a consequential one, though, a driving layup to stretch Tech’s lead to 74-70 with 37 seconds left.

The sophomore has now raised his scoring average to 14.5 points, a full 10.0-point improvement over his average as a freshman.  It’s tracking as the largest year-to-year scoring increase by a Yellow Jacket since Ben Lammers raised his average by 10.6 points as a junior in 2016-17.

Ben Lammers	3.6 ppg > 14.2 ppg  (2016-17)
Miles Kelly	4.5 ppg > 14.5 ppg  (2022-23)

Injuries have robbed Florida State of its usual length, so they’re not as prolific in forcing steals, but the Seminoles still like to play up the line, switch every screen, and swarm paint touches.  Tech only shot 41 percent against Miami but played with alchemy in the halfcourt, consistently getting quality, in-system looks.  Can the Jackets cut decisively, “drive two to kick,” not get engulfed by FSU’s help, and have the maturity to play through their principles?

*****

Kyle Sturdivant could barely suppress his smile.

“That was definitely the best one I’ve had in a game,” Sturdivant told me of his ankle-breaking, soul-taking crossover jumper against Florida State last year, the pièce de resistance of a 75-61 win at McCamish.

The senior smiled, then diplomatically added, “It happens to everybody.”

He and Tech’s guards will need to be efficient finishing inside Saturday – the Jackets only made 45 percent of their field goal attempts inside the paint versus Miami (15 of 33).  Offensive rebounds could be there too:  FSU ranks 344th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage (34.7 pct.).  Guard rebounding – Tech’s guards contributed 24 of its 46 rebounds – was an overlooked but vital part of the Jackets’ win over Miami.

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Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well.  Join us starting with pregame coverage at 11:30 a.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports.  See you in Tallahassee.

-AD-

 

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Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team has completed six seasons under head coach Josh Pastner, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2021 and making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and played 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.