Tech Travels to Take On Florida StateTech Travels to Take On Florida State
Men's Basketball

Tech Travels to Take On Florida State

Yellow Jackets and Seminoles tip off at 12 p.m. EST Saturday in Tallahassee

GEORGIA TECH (8-10, 2-5 ACC) vs. FLORIDA STATE (11-5, 2-3 ACC)

 

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Baye Ndongo (11) has four double-doubles this season. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

THE FLATS – On the road for the third time in four games, Georgia Tech goes South to visit Florida State Saturday in a 12 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference contest at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee.

Tech (8-10, 2-5 ACC) is looking to stop a three-game skid after suffering road losses at Syracuse (62-55) and SMU (93-71) last week and a home defeat to Clemson (70-59) Tuesday night. Prior to that, the Yellow Jackets had evened their conference record with home wins over Notre Dame (86-75) and Boston College (85-64). Tech is 0-3 on the road this season in conference play and sit alone in 14th place.

FSU (12-5, 3-3 ACC) is tied for seventh place in the ACC standings following their 82-70 win at home over Pittsburgh Wednesday night. The Seminoles have won three of their last four games, including wins over Syracuse and Miami, and are 7-2 at home this season.

Saturday’s game will be televised live on the ESPNU, with a live online stream available 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). The Tech broadcast is also available on Sirius XM channel 381 and the SiriusXM app.

 

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Javian McCollum (2) ranks third in the ACC in free throw percentage (90.2%). (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

THE TIP-OFF

  • Tech players have missed a total of 43 games this season because of injury, illness or other absence. Kowacie Reeves, Jr., has missed the last 12 games with a foot injury, Luke O’Brien missed the last 7 games, with a toe injury, leading scorer Lance Terry missed the Clemson game (hand injury), and freshman Doryan Onwuchekwa (personal reasons) has missed the last 8 games. Those players had combined to start 32 games before their current absences.
  • Reeves, Jr., has not played in an ACC game this season, while O’Brien and Onwuchekwa have played in only one each.
  • The four players who missed the Clemson game (Terry, Reeves, O’Brien, Onwuchekwa) have accounted for 31 percent of Tech’s total points this season.
  • A win over Florida State would give Georgia Tech its first Quad 1 win of the 2024-25 season. The Yellow Jackets are 0-5 vs. Quad 1 teams this season with losses to Duke (2), Georgia (27), Clemson (35), North Carolina (34), SMU (46) and Oklahoma (53). Tech was 4-7 vs. Quad 1 teams in 2023-24.
  • Counting Saturday, Tech has three Quad 1 opportunities remaining on its schedule – Florida State (66), Louisville (28) and Pittsburgh (29).
  • Five Yellow Jackets have averages in double-digits for ACC games so far – Lance Terry (15.2), Javian McCollum (14.0), Baye Ndongo (11.9), Naithan George (10.6) and Duncan Powell (10.3).
  • In ACC games, Lance Terry leads the Jackets at 15.2 points per game while connecting on 44.1 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from bonus land.
  • Sophomore guard Naithan George remains the ACC leader in assist average (6.3 per game) and ranks 15th nationally. He is the first Tech player since Iman Shumpert to reach 100 assists in each of his first two years.

SERIES NOTES VS. FLORIDA STATE

  • Georgia Tech has won five of the last seven games in the series. The teams split their regular-season series in 2023-24, each team winning on its home court.
  • The Seminoles have won 17 of the last 24 meetings in the series and hold a 46-34 advantage all-time.
  • Since FSU joined the ACC, Tech is 24-32 against the Seminoles. Florida State won the first six in a row, Tech followed by winning five straight, and is 19-26 against the Seminoles since then.
  • In those 56 games, 23 have been decided by four points or less, 35 by fewer than 10 points. One of those games went to double-overtime, which the Yellow Jackets won 111-108 on Feb. 11, 1999 in Tallahassee.
  • Tech is 13-20 against Seminoles teams led by head coach Leonard Hamilton. Tech is 14-20 against Hamilton overall, with a victory over his Miami team in December of 1997.
  • Tech is 11-26 in games played in Tallahassee, including an 8-19 mark at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, formerly known as the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. The Jackets have lost the last six meetings in Tallahassee.

 

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Naithan George (1) leads the ACC in assist average (6.3 per game). (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

TECH BYTES

  • Tech has utilized 6 different starting lineups through its first 18 games this season, all because of injury. Ibrahim Souare and Duncan Powell made their first starts of the season vs. Clemson. Javian McCollum started for the first time since Nov. 23 vs. Cincinnati.
  • Sophomores Baye Ndongo and Naithan George are the only Yellow Jackets to have appeared in every game this season, and also the only ones to start every game this season. No one else has started more than 12. Ndongo has started 47 consecutive games, George 46, dating back to last season.
  • After connecting on 56.3% of its field goal tries and setting season highs in three straight wins (Alabama A&M, Notre Dame, Boston College), Tech has hit just 39.1% in its last three games, all losses (Syracuse, SMU, Clemson).
  • Similar difference exists from the three-point line as well – 44.8% in the three wins, 31.3% in the three losses.
  • Tech also went to the line 73 times in the three wins, 44 in the three losses.
  • In its four road games this season, Tech has averaged 63 points per game, connecting in 38.4% of its shots from the floor, 28.9% from three-point range and 59.7 percent from the foul line.
  • Four Tech players are averaging in double figures for the 2024-25 season – Lance Terry (15.4), Javian McCollum (12.4), Baye Ndongo (12.0) and Naithan George (10.4).
  • Six different players have led the Jackets in scoring this season (Lance Terry team-high 7), while nine players have reached double digits at least once (Lance Terry team-high 14).

PLAYER NOTES

  • Javian McCollum has averaged 16.0 points over his last 6 games, scoring 20 in three of those games. In those 6 games, McCollum has connected on 45.6% from the floor, 39.4% (13-of-33) from three-point range and 21-of-22 from the free throw line.
  • McCollum is the ACC’s top free throw shooter at 90.2%, and has made 16-of-17 (94.1%) in ACC games.
  • Baye Ndongo has four double-doubles this season (10 for his career) after scoring 14 points with 12 rebounds against Clemson. He has two in ACC games (19 points, 12 rebounds at North Carolina.
  • Naithan George has scored in double digits in five straight games, averaging 11.6 points per game, and has averaged 7.0 assists over the same stretch.
  • George’s assist average is the highest rate for a Tech played since Drew Berry averaged 6.6 in 1995-96 (and 6.7 in 1994-95). It is also the 6th- highest average in Tech history behind those two Barry seasons.
  • Freshman Jaeden Mustaf scored in double digits (12 points vs. Clemson) for the first time since Dec. 28 (Alabama A&M) and for the first time in an ACC game.
  • Duncan Powell has averaged 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds over his last 7 games. The Sacramento State transfer has hit 42.9% (24-of-56) from the floor, 42.3% (11-of-26) from three-point range in that stretch.
  • Senior guard Lance Terry, who missed the Clemson game with a hand injury, has averaged 16.8 points in his last five games. The senior guard has gone 31-of-60 (51.7%) from the floor, 12-of-30 from three-point range (40%).

 

 

 

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its second season under head coach Damon Stoudamire. 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.