Men’s Basketball Opens February at LouisvilleMen’s Basketball Opens February at Louisville
Men's Basketball

Men’s Basketball Opens February at Louisville

Yellow Jackets and Cardinals tip off at 7 p.m. Wednesday at KFC Yum! Center

Georgia Tech (8-13, 1-10 ACC) vs. Louisville (2-19, 0-10 ACC)

 

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech opens the month of February by traveling to Louisville for a 7 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference contest Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center.

Tech (8-13, 1-10 ACC) looks to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Cardinals, the first of two scheduled regular-season meetings between the two schools. Tech’s only ACC win to date came over No. 12 Miami, 76-70, on Jan. 4, and since then has lost to Florida State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, NC State, Syracuse, Clemson and Duke, all by double digits with the exception of a one-point, overtime defeat at Notre Dame. The Jackets, 1-7 in the month of January, sit a half-game out of last place in the conference standings.

Louisville (2-19, 0-10 ACC) is the only team below the Yellow Jackets in the ACC standings, The Cardinals have come no closer than eight points (an 80-72 loss at home to Pittsburgh) in any of their conference games to date. Since back-to-back wins at home over Western Kentucky and Florida A&M in mid-December, Louisville has lost its last 10 games.

Wednesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks (Bally Sports South in Georgia). Live stream in the local markets is available on BallySports.com, out-of-market on the ESPN app. 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 384, SXM app 974).

THE TIP-OFF

  • Georgia Tech plays three of its last nine ACC games on the road, including trips to Louisville and NC State this week. The Yellow Jackets’ only remaining home games are against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Louisville.
  • Ten of Tech’s first 11 ACC games have come against opponents in the top 10 of the conference standings (combined record: 64-32). Notre Dame (2-9) is the exception. The Yellow Jackets face four of those teams (NC State, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Syracuse) among its remaining nine ACC games, all of them on the road.
  • Of the four teams added in the 2013 expansion of the ACC, Tech had the longest history with Louisville, meeting 28 times prior to the Cardinals joining the conference.
  • Tech is No. 2 in the ACC in three-point defense and is 44th nationally, allowing 30.5 percent from distance.
  • Tech leads the ACC in bench scoring, its reserves contributing 21.7 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 20 games.
  • Tech has used nine different starting lineups this season, and no Yellow Jacket has started every game. Nine Jackets have started at least two games, and eight of them have started a minimum of seven times.
  • Sophomore guard Miles Kelly leads Tech in scoring, minutes, field goals made and attempted, three-point field goals made and attempted, and free throw percentage.
  • Deivon Smith, at 6-1 the shortest player on Tech’s roster, leads the Yellow Jackets in rebound average at 5.7 per game. He has three double-digit rebound games this season.

 

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Miles Kelly leads the Yellow Jackets in most offensive categories. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

SERIES VS. LOUISVILLE

  • Louisville won the first seven games between the two teams as ACC brethren before Tech broke through with a 64-58 home win over the Cardinals in the second meeting of the 2019-20 season. It snapped a nine-game losing skid in the series that dated back to 1999.
  • The Cardinals defeated Tech twice in 2021-22, a 67-64 at McCamish Pavilion and an 84-74 win in the teams’ first-ever ACC Tournament meeting. Louisville has won 12 of the last 13 meetings.
  • Tech went 3-6 against the Cardinals with Whack Hyder as its head coach, all of those games between 1958 and 1965.
  • After a 12-year hiatus, Tech was 2-2 vs. Louisville when both teams were members of the Metro Conference in the late 1970s. Dwane Morrison was the Yellow Jackets’ head coach for all those games, and Denny Crum was on the Cardinals’ bench.
  • After another long break, the teams met 13 times between 1988 and 1999, with Bobby Cremins and Crum on the opposing benches in all those games. The Yellow Jackets went 8-5 against the Cardinals during this time. Three of the meetings took place at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, and six at Freedom Hall.
  • The other four were played at the Georgia Dome, which was demolished in 2017 following the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tech won three of those, including the first-ever college basketball game played in the facility, and before the largest crowd ever to witness a college game in the state of Georgia at the time (28,885). That game will be forever remembered in Tech lore after James Forrest launched a half-court heave on an inbounds play that dropped through the net at the buzzer for an 87-85 Yellow Jacket victory,
  • The teams have met seven times when both were ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams, and Tech has won four of those meetings.
  • Tech coach Josh Pastner went 2-2 against Louisville during his seven-year stint as the head coach at Memphis and is now 3-9 against the Cardinals.

TEAM TRENDS

  • Georgia Tech has used the same starting five in its last three games. Tech has utilized nine different starting lineups total this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, and none have started every game.
  • With Lance Terry (hamstring) unavailable against Duke, Tech still utilized 10 players for only fifth time this season. Nine or more Yellow Jackets have taken the court in 15 of 21 games. Tech ranked No. 126 in the nation this season in bench minutes (33.0 pct. entering the game), and only one other Josh Pastner Tech team has seen its reserves play more. Freshmen Freds Pauls Bagatskis and Cyril Martynov each saw action for the first time since Dec. 17.
  • Tech has averaged 24.2 three-point attempts in ACC games, trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16).
  • Tech has suffered three of its four poorest three-point shooting performances in its last four games (2-for-21 vs. NC State, 4-for-23 vs. Clemson, 5-for-22 vs. Duke). The Jackets have connected on just 21.6 percent from distance over that span.
  • Tech is 1-13 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, 7-0 when it has a better percentage.
  • Tech’s last three opponents (NC State, Syracuse, Clemson, Duke) have each shot better than 50 percent from the floor (53.8 percent combined). Only two (Georgia, Virginia) did so in the Jackets’ first 17 games.
  • Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), 2-12 when failing to reach 70. The Jackets have set season lows for points in each of their last two games (51 vs. Clemson, 43 vs. Duke).
  • Tech has connected on less than 40 percent from the floor in four of its last five games (Pitt, NC State, Clemson, Duke). The Jackets’ 30.9-percent clip against Duke was a season low.
  • Tech is 18-for-38 from the foul line in its last five games after hitting 75.6 percent from the stripe in its first six ACC games.
  • Tech has assisted on 56.9 percent of their field goals in ACC games, fourth-best in the ACC.
  • After a four-game stretch in which it averaged 17 turnovers, Tech has averaged less than 12 in its last five games.

PLAYER UPDATES

  • Senior guard Kyle Sturdivant played the 100th game of his college career Saturday against Duke, most among the Yellow Jackets. Senior center Rodney Howard is the next closest at 90. Tech’s other two seniors, Ja’von Franklin and Lance Terry, have played in just 80 and 74 games, respectively.
  • Lance Terry missed his third consecutive game with a hamstring injury.
  • Freshmen Cyril Martynov and Freds Pauls Bagatskis played for the first time since Dec. 17 vs. Alabama State and saw their first action in an ACC game.
  • Only one other Tech player has led the team in both rebound average and assist average – Iman Shumpert (5.9 rog, 3.5 apg) in 2010-11 – since assists began to be recorded 56 years ago. Deivon Smith currently leads the Jackets in both (5.7 rpg, 3.7 apg).
  • Deivon Smith had five assists against no turnovers against Duke in 30 minutes, improving his season assist/turnover ratio to 2.56/1, which ranks in the top three in the ACC.
  • Tristan Maxwell (team-high 10 points vs. Duke) has led the Yellow Jackets in scoring twice this season (Alabama State, Duke) and three times in his career (Boston College last season).
  • 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 45.8 percent of the team’s total points this season and have taken 43.8 percent of the shots from the floor. In ACC games, they have accounted for 48.5 percent of the points and 46.7 percent of the shots taken.

Head coach Josh Pastner on Monday ACC Coaches Zoom call.

 

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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.