Men’s Basketball Begins Final Week at SyracuseMen’s Basketball Begins Final Week at Syracuse
Men's Basketball

Men’s Basketball Begins Final Week at Syracuse

Yellow Jackets and Orange tip off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at JMA Wireless Dome

GEORGIA TECH (12-17, 4-14 ACC) vs. SYRACUSE (16-13, 9-9 ACC)

THE FLATS – On the road for its final two games of the regular season, Georgia Tech heads north for a rematch against Syracuse at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Georgia Tech (12-17, 4-14 ACC) went 4-4 in the month of February and finished out its home schedule with four straight wins, most recently beating Virginia Tech (77-70) on Feb. 15 and Louisville (83-67) last Saturday. The Yellow Jackets, who can finish no higher than 12th place in the ACC, are searching for their first ACC road win this season, having dropped the last three by an average of 5.7 points.

Syracuse (16-13, 9-9 ACC) begins the week in ninth place in the conference standings and finishes out the regular season at home against Tech and Wake Forest. The Orange are 3-6 since beating the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta on Jan. 21, dropping their next three games, winning three in a row, then losing their last three against Duke, Clemson and Pitt. Syracuse is 4-4 in conference play at home.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC’s Regional Sport Networks, with live streams of the broadcast available on BallySports.com and 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 on satellite radio (SiriusXM channel 386, SXM app 976).

THE TIP-OFF

  • Looking for their first ACC road win this season, Georgia Tech has two more chances, visiting Syracuse, who is 4-4 at home, and Boston College, who is 5-4. The Yellow Jackets have not finished a season without an ACC road win since 2008-09. Tech’s only road win of the season came in the season’s second game, at cross-town foe Georgia State.
  • Tech, at 4-14, can finish no higher than 12th place in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets hold a tiebreaker over the current 12th-place team, Virginia Tech, by virtue of a head-to-head win.
  • Tech’s February upswing has been led by its two transfers, center Ja’von Franklin and guard Lance Terry, who have averaged 15.0 and 12.4 points, respectively, over the last seven games.
  • Tech’s leading scorer Miles Kelly has averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 rebounds over the Yellow Jackets’ last four games, hitting 48 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three-point range.
  • Lance Terry has played the full 40 minutes in each of Tech’s four ACC wins, the only games this season in which he has played 40 minutes. In those four games, Terry has averaged 18.5 points while connecting on 49.1 percent of his field goals, 48.1 percent of his three-point attempts (13-of-27).
  • Since Terry returned from his hamstring injury (last seven games), Tech has averaged 73 points per game, connected on 45.3 percent of its shots from the floor and 38.6 percent of its three-point attempts. In the four games he missed, Tech averaged 53.8 points, hit 34.5 percent of its field goals and 25.2 percent of its threes.
  • Tech has utilized the same starting lineup (Lance Terry, Kyle Sturdivant, Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly, Ja’von Franklin) in each of its last seven games, the longest stretch of games this season that head coach Josh Pastner has sent out the same five.
  • Tech has used 11 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 13 times.
  • Tech continues to lead the ACC in three-point defense and is 26th nationally, allowing 30.2 percent from distance.
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Kyle Sturdivant is averaging 11.5 points and has a 31/11 assist/turnover ratio over his last eight games. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

SERIES NOTES VS. SYRACUSE

  • Georgia Tech has won five of 13 meetings between the two teams since Syracuse joined the ACC and seven of 16 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 has won the last two meetings, including an 80-63 decision on Jan. 21 in Atlanta, and won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams in 2021-22, a 74-73 overtime decision 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 3-3 against the Orange.
  • The Yellow Jackets have won twice in seven visits to the JMA Wireless Dome, including a 67-62 decision on March 4, 2014, with the Orange ranked No. 7 in the nation.
  • Nine of the 13 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 in Atlanta in 1985.

TEAM TRENDS

  • Four or more Yellow Jackets have reached double digits in the scoring column in 15 games this season, and Tech has won 11 of those games.
  • Tech has scored 70 points or more in five of its last six games (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Florida Tech, Louisville). The Yellow Jackets are 10-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points (4-2 in the ACC), 2-15 when failing to reach 70.
  • Tech has exceeded 100 points per 100 possessions (KenPom offensive efficiency rating) in each of its last six games, the Yellow Jackets’ longest such streak this season. Tech’s 121.9 rating against Louisville was a season high against an ACC opponent.
  • Tech has outshot six of its last seven opponents from the floor, holding them collectively to 41.9 percent overall, 28.6 percent from three-point range. The Yellow Jackets are 11-2 this season when they have a higher field goal percentage.
  • Four Tech players (Ja’von Franklin 15.3, Miles Kelly 14.7, Lance Terry 11.3 ppg, Kyle Sturdivant 11.2) are averaging double digits in points over the Yellow Jackets’ last six ACC games, and a fifth (Deebo Coleman) is averaging 9.7.
  • Over Tech’s last six games, Kelly, Terry, Coleman and Sturdivant have combined to hit 40.7 percent (53-of-130) from three-point range
  • Tech has achieved ACC season highs in field goal percentage in each of its last two games (47.3 vs. Pittsburgh, 48.2 vs. Louisville). The Jackets have shot better than Saturday’s 48.2 percent only twice (North Alabama, Alabama State) all season.
  • Tech’s current turnover rate of 11.1 per game matches its best on record since 1992-93, just ahead of the 11.1-per-game rate established by the Jackets in 2015-16 and 2020-21.
  • Only three Tech players have fouled out of a game this season. The fewest disqualifications by fouls by the Yellow Jackets over the past 57 years (1966-67 to the present) is five, by the 2011-12 and 2015-16 teams.

PLAYER UPDATES

  • In seven games since returning from a hamstring injury, Lance Terry has averaged 12.4 points while hitting 44.4 percent of his field goals and 38.2 percent of his threes.
  • Ja’von Franklin has averaged a double-double over the Yellow Jackets’ last seven games (15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds). He has hit 61.4 percent of his shots from the floor (43-of-70) in that span, and also has totaled 23 assists, plus team highs in blocked shots (15) and steals (11).
  • Franklin has four double-doubles in his last five games, including a season-high 21 points with 10 boards against Louisville, and seven for the season.
  • Miles Kelly’s 89.4-percent rate on free throws is .007 ahead of the Tech record of 88.7 percent by Anthony Morrow in 2005-06. He has made hit last nine attempts dating back to Feb. 1 at Louisville, and had a streak of 24 straight makes that ended Jan. 17 against NC State.
  • Kyle Sturdivant has averaged 11.5 points over his last eight games, having reached double figures in six of them. He has made 15-of-38 from three-point range (39.4 pct.) over that stretch. He also has a 31/13 assist/turnover ratio in his last eight games.
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Lance Terry has averaged 18.5 points in Tech’s four ACC wins and played the full 40 minutes in each of them. (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.