Tech Men’s Basketball Looks for Sweep at Notre DameTech Men’s Basketball Looks for Sweep at Notre Dame
Men's Basketball

Tech Men’s Basketball Looks for Sweep at Notre Dame

Yellow Jackets and Fighting Irish tip off at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday at Purcell Pavilion

GEORGIA TECH (9-11, 3-6 ACC) vs. NOTRE DAME (9-10, 3-5 ACC)

 

THE FLATS – Looking to build momentum following a home win over Virginia Tech last Wednesday, Georgia Tech hits the road to face Notre Dame in a 9 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference game Tuesday at Purcell Pavilion.

Georgia Tech (9-11, 3-6 ACC) stopped a four-game skid with a 71-64 homecourt win over the Hokies six days ago, then enjoyed the first of its two byes over the weekend. The Yellow Jackets, 2-4 since they defeated the Fighting Irish on Dec. 31, are looking for their first road win this season, having lost at North Carolina, Syracuse, SMU and Florida State.

Notre Dame (9-10, 3-5 ACC) has won two of its last three games, including a 74-59 win at Virginia Saturday, reversing a four-game losing streak that began with the Dec. 31 loss to Tech, The Fighting Irish are 7-2 at home this season, including ACC wins over Syracuse and Boston College.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, 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 382 and the SiriusXM app.

 

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Javian McCollum (2) has averaged 16.5 points over Tech’s last 8 games. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

THE TIP-OFF

  • A win Tuesday would be Georgia Tech’s first on the road this season. The Yellow Jackets’ road losses have come at Oklahoma, North Carolina, Syracuse, SMU and Florida State.
  • A win Tuesday would be Tech’s first at Purcell Pavilion since Notre Dame became a member of the ACC. Notre Dame has won all 10 meetings at South Bend since the Fighting Irish joined the ACC. Tech’s last win at Notre Dame occurred Feb. 24, 1990.
  • A win Tuesday night would give Tech its first season sweep of the Irish since they joined the ACC. The Jackets have split the season series with Notre Dame six times, and have been swept four times.
  • A win Tuesday night would give the Jackets their first season sweep of an ACC team since sweeping Boston College in the 2021-22 season. The Yellow Jackets have swept a season series from an ACC team just three times since the conference’s most recent expansion ahead of the 2014-15 season.
  • Unlike last season, when 14 of Georgia Tech’s 20 ACC games were decided by less than 10 points, only three of the Yellow Jackets’ first nine conference games this season have been decided by single digits (68-65 loss at North Carolina on Dec. 7, 62-55 loss at Syracuse Jan. 7, 71-64 win over Virginia Tech Jan. 22).
  • Tech rotation players have missed a total of 33 games this season because of injury or illness. Kowacie Reeves, Jr., has missed the last 14 games (foot injury), Luke O’Brien missed the last 9 games (toe injury), Jaeden Mustaf has missed the last 2 (foot) and Lance Terry has missed 2 of the last 3 (hand/illness). Javian McCollum missed 4 games earlier in December with a concussion. Reeves, Jr., has not played in an ACC game this season, while O’Brien has played in only one.
  • Five Yellow Jackets have averages in double-digits for ACC games – Lance Terry (16.3), Javian McCollum (15.0), Duncan Powell (12.8), Baye Ndongo (11.1), Naithan George (10.6).

SERIES NOTES VS. NOTRE DAME

  • Notre Dame has won 10 of the last 13 meetings and lead the all-time series, 18-14. Tech snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with an 86-75 victory in Atlanta on Dec. 31.
  • Tech’s only other wins in this stretch came by an 82-80 score on Feb. 6, 2021 and a 70-68 decision on Feb. 8, 2023, both at McCamish Pavilion.
  • The Fighting Irish swept the regular-season series for the second time in three years in 2023-24, taking a 75-68 decision in overtime in Atlanta, and a 58-55 nail-biter in South Bend, and also defeated Tech, 84-80, in the ACC Tournament.
  • Since Notre Dame joined the ACC, the teams have split their regular season series six times, and the Fighting Irish have swept the Yellow Jackets four times. Tech has yet to sweep the Irish.
  • The Yellow Jackets are 8-16 against Notre Dame since the Fighting Irish joined the ACC. Only three of those games have been decided by double-digits.
  • The teams have played to overtime five times, three of those coming in the last eight meetings.
  • Notre Dame has won all 10 meetings at South Bend since the Fighting Irish became a member of the ACC. Tech’s last win at Notre Dame occurred Feb. 24, 1990, a Yellow Jacket team that won the ACC Championship and reached the Final Four behind the Lethal Weapon 3 combination of Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver, who combined for 64 of the Jackets’ points in that 88-80 overtime victory.
  • Tech is 2-12 in games played in South Bend, and 1-11 in Purcell Pavilion.

 

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Naithan George  (1) has scored 10+ points in 7 straight games. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

TECH BYTES

  • Tech has played 7, 6 and 7 players in its last three games. The Jackets had played 8 or more in every game prior to Clemson, 9 or more in 11 games.
  • All five starters for Tech played at least 31 minutes against Virginia Tech, and Duncan Powell became the first Yellow Jacket to play the full 40 minutes under Damon Stoudamire.
  • Tech assisted on its first 10 made field goals against Virginia Tech and finished the game with 18 on 24 made field goals. Tech has assisted on 58.4% of its made field goals this season, 57.2% in ACC games (4th highest in the conference).
  • Tech’s 58.4% assist rate is the 4th highest of any Yellow Jacket team since the inception of KenPom.com metrics in 1997 – 2016-17 (62.4%), 2000-01 (62.9%) and 1999-2000 (62.9%).
  • Tech’s 47.1% shooting clip from the floor against Virginia Tech was its highest since its most recent ACC win Jan. 4 vs. Boston College (58.5%). The Jackets has connected on an aggregate 40.2% during their 4-game losing streak.
  • Tech has attempted 44 more free throws than its opponents in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets have finished a season with more free throw attempts than their opponents since the 2016-17 season, and only once since 2000. Tech’s percentage of free throw attempts to field goal attempts in ACC play (34.7%) ranks 4th in the league.
  • Tech has exceeded a point per possession in each of its last two games (1.08 vs. Florida State, highest in a road game this season, and 1.07 vs. Virginia Tech) after falling below that standard in three straight games. The Jackets have scored over a point per passion in all 9 of their wins this season, and in 2 of their 11 losses.

PLAYER NOTES

  • Even with Lance Terry missing 2 of Georgia Tech’s last 3 games, he and Javian McCollum have scored 40% of Tech’s total points (239 out of 597) since the Christmas break (Dec. 28 to the present).
  • Junior forward Duncan Powell has averaged 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds over his last 7 games, including three games of 20 points or more. His 23 points vs. Virginia Tech was a career high. The Sacramento State transfer has hit 45.5% (35-of-77) from the floor, 42.9% (15-of-35) from three-point range and 70.3% (26-of-37) from the foul line in that stretch.
  • Powell is now Tech’s third-leading scorer in ACC games (12.8 ppg) and top three-point shooter by percentage (38.9%).
  • Sophomore guard Naithan George has scored in double digits in 7 straight games, averaging 11.3 points per game, and has averaged 6.6 assists over the same stretch.
  • George’s 260 career assists are the 7th most all-time in Tech annals through a Yellow Jackets’ first two seasons, and most since Shumpert’s 274 from 2008-10.
  • Senior guard Javian McCollum has averaged 16.5 points over Tech’s last 8 games, scoring 20 in four of those games. He has connected on 44.7% (43-for-101) from the floor, 39.4% (14-of-40) from three-point range and 28-of-31 from the free throw line. He has added 32 assists and 13 steals.
  • In ACC games, McCollum is averaging 15.0 points and 4.1 assists, hitting 44.0% from the floor, 35.4% from three-point range, and is 88.5% from the foul line. He also has 33 assists and just 14 turnovers with a team-high 12 steals.
  • Sophomore forward Baye Ndongo had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals against Virginia Tech. He came up one rebound short of a double-double for the third time this season (he has four double-doubles this season).
  • Ndongo has scored in double digits in 14 games this season. He has connected on 54.9% of his shots from the floor in ACC games.
  • Lance Terry has scored 20-plus points in 6 games this season, 3 times in ACC games. The senior guard, who missed the Clemson game with a hand injury, has averaged 17.8 points in his last 6 games, hitting 40-of-77 (51.9%) from the floor, 14-of-36 from three-point range (38.9%).

 

 

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.