Men’s Basketball Concludes Homestand vs. SyracuseMen’s Basketball Concludes Homestand vs. Syracuse
Men's Basketball

Men’s Basketball Concludes Homestand vs. Syracuse

Yellow Jackets and Orange tip off at 12 p.m. Saturday at McCamish Pavilion

Georgia Tech (8-10, 1-7 ACC) vs. Syracuse (12-7, 5-3 ACC)

THE FLATS – Looking to snap a four-game slide in Atlantic Coast Conference play, Georgia Tech concludes its three-game homestand Saturday with a noon contest against Syracuse at McCamish Pavilion.

Tech (8-10, 1-7 ACC) has lost its last four games to Florida State (75-64) and Notre Dame (73-72, OT) on the road, as well as Pittsburgh (71-60) and NC State (78-66) at home to fall a game out of last place in the ACC standings. All four of the Yellow Jackets home losses this season have come to conference foes, Clemson, Virginia, Pitt and NC State, all by double digits, while Tech’s only win came over No. 12 Miami, 76-70, on Jan. 4.

Syracuse (12-7, 5-3 ACC) has won four of six games since the holiday break, with its two losses both coming on the road at Virginia (73-66) and Miami (82-78). The Orange have wins over Notre Dame (2), Boston College, Louisville and Virginia Tech on their conference resume and are 2-3 in true road games this season.

Saturday’s game will be televised live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network, which can be seen in Georgia on Bally Sports South. Live streams are available on BallySports.com (in market) or on the ESPN app (out–of-market. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM), and also on satellite radio (SiriusXM channel 135 or 194, SXM app 956.

THE TIP-OFF

  • Georgia Tech is concluding a three-game homestand at McCamish Pavilion, where it is 7-4 this season. After Saturday, the Yellow Jackets travel for seven of their final 11 ACC games.
  • Tech is 3-2 against Syracuse in McCamish Pavilion, and is 4-4 against the Orange under Josh Pastner.
  • Tech is the No. 2 team in the ACC in three-point defense, allowing 28.7 percent from distance this season in all games.
  • Tech leads the ACC in bench scoring, its reserves contributing 22.9 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season, and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 12 of 18 games.
  • Tech has used eight different starting lineups this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games, and eight of them have started a minimum of seven times.
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Jalon Moore is Tech’s No. 2 scorer and rebounder. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

SERIES VS. SYRACUSE

  • Tech has won five of 12 meetings between the two teams since Syracuse joined the ACC and seven of 15 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)
  • Syracuse won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams in 2021-22, a 74-73 overtime decision Feb. 21 at the JMA Wireless Dome. 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.
  • Nine of the 12 meetings as ACC brethren have been decided by seven points or fewer, with one decided in overtime.
  • 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.
  • 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.

TEAM TRENDS

  • Georgia Tech utilized its eight different starting lineup this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, and none have started all 18 games.
  • Nine or more Yellow Jackets have taken the court in 14 of 18 games. Tech ranks No. 138 in the nation this season in bench minutes (32.5 pct. entering the game), and only one other Josh Pastner Tech team has seen its reserves play more.
  • Tech made a season-low two three-point field goals, and its 2-for-21 percentage (.095) was the lowest for the team since the Jackets went 1-for-11 (.091) against Clemson on Feb. 1, 2017. The Jackets had averaged nine made threes over its previous five games (45-for-120, 37.5 pct.) and was hitting 32.1 percent in ACC play.
  • Tech has averaged 23.8 three-point attempts in ACC games, trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16).
  • Tech has failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor in two straight games, the first time that has happened since November when the Jackets shot under 40 percent against Northern Illinois, Utah and Marquette in succession.
  • Tech is 1-10 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, 7-0 when it has a better percentage.
  • Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), 2-9 when failing to reach 70.
  • Tech is 8-for-22 from the foul line in its last two games after hitting 75.6 percent from the stripe in its first six ACC games.
  • Tech scored 42 points in the paint against NC State, a season high for an ACC game, one game after scoring a season-low 16 there against Pitt.
  • Tech’s bench has outscored that of its opponent 12 times in 18 games this season, getting 18 points from its reserves to NC State’s 10. The Jackets rank No. 1 in the ACC in bench scoring (22.9 ppg).
  • Tech has turned the ball over just 10 times in each of its last two games after averaging more than 16 in the four games prior. Tech’s turnover rate is 11.4 per game this season.
  • Tech ranks No. 2 in the ACC and in the top 20 in the nation in three-point defense (28.7 pct.) – NC State hit 7-of-21 (33.3 pct.) against the Jackets. Notre Dame, Virginia and FSU combined to hit 29-of-71 (40.8 pct.) against the Jackets, while North Carolina, Clemson, Miami, Pitt and NC State were 26-of-104 combined (25 pct.).

PLAYER UPDATES

  • Jalon Moore set a career high with 17 points against NC State, hitting 8-of-14 shots from the floor, also career highs. His previous best was a 16-point effort against Northeastern in which he went 10-for-10 from the foul line.
  • Moore posted his first game with double-digit points since scoring 10 against Miami on Jan. 4, and his 10th double-digit game of the season.
  • Rodney Howard had a career-high five assists (previous – 4 vs. Georgia Nov. 19, 2021) to go with nine points and seven rebounds against the Wolfpack.
  • Howard has connected on 34-of-53 shots from the floor (64.2 pct.) dating back to Nov. 23 vs. Marquette, covering 13 games. That includes a streak of 13 consecutive makes from his last two attempts of the Northeastern game through his first four of the Alabama State game. For the season he has connected on 59.2 percent of his field goal tries, 55.9 percent in ACC games.
  • Miles Kelly has failed to reach double digits in two straight games after scoring 10 or more in 11 consecutive games, a stretch in which he averaged 16.5 points per game.
  • Kelly also snapped a personal streak of 11 straight games with two or more three-point field goals. He went 0-for-6 against NC State and saw his season percentage in ACC games dip to 39 percent.
  • Tech’s sophomore trio of Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly and Jalon Moore rank 1-2-3 on the Yellow Jackets’ scoring chart. They have accounted for 45.5 percent of the team’s total points this season and have taken 42.9 percent of the shots from the floor.
  • Tech’s guard trio of Kelly, Coleman and Lance Terry have taken more than two-thirds (67.3 pct.) of the Yellow Jackets’ three-point attempts and collectively have made 34.6 percent of them.
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Rodney Howard leads the Jackets in field goal percentage. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

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 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.