Men’s Hoops Pays Return Visit to Boston CollegeMen’s Hoops Pays Return Visit to Boston College
Men's Basketball

Men’s Hoops Pays Return Visit to Boston College

Yellow Jackets and Eagles tip off at 2 p.m. EST Saturday at Conte Forum

GEORGIA TECH (13-13, 7-8 ACC) vs. BOSTON COLLEGE (11-15, 3-12 ACC)

 

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech hits the road for the first time in two weeks, making a return visit to Boston College for a 2 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference contest Saturday at the Conte Forum. The Yellow Jackets won the first meeting between the teams, 85-64, on Jan. 4 in Atlanta.

Tech (13-13, 7-8 ACC) has won four of its last five games after sweeping both West Coast ACC teams last week at home, The Yellow Jackets downed Stanford, 60-52, and escaped with a 90-88 win in overtime over California. Tech also has defeated Louisville (77-70) and Clemson (89-86 in 3 OT) during this five-game stretch. The Clemson game has been the only road win this season for Tech, which is 1-8 away from home.

Boston College (11-15, 3-12 ACC) snapped a four-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 54-36 victory at home over Virginia Tech. It ended a skid that saw the Eagles lose a triple-overtime game at Syracuse and a double-OT game at home to Notre Dame. BC’s ACC wins have all come at home over Miami, Florida State and the Hokies.

Saturday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with a live 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 386 and the SiriusXM app.

THEY SAID IT

“George is a phenomenal passer. His vision is high-level and his passing is high-level. Ndongo is long, he’s athletic, he’s tough, he’s quick. That’s a pretty great tandem.” – Cal head coach Mark Madsen on Naithan George and Baye Ndongo

 

THE TIP-OFF

  • Tech is tied for 8th place in the ACC standings, in position for a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament if the tournament were to begin today. The Yellow Jackets have matched their ACC win total from 2023-24 with 5 games remaining.
  • A win Saturday would give Tech its third straight victory and fifth in the last six games. The Yellow Jackets last won three consecutive ACC games late last season, downing Louisville at home, Syracuse and Boston College on the road.
  • A win Saturday would bring the Yellow Jackets to .500 in the ACC after 16 games for the first time since their ACC championship season of 2021. Tech has matched its ACC win total from last season with five games to play.
  • A win Saturday would put Tech above .500 for the season, a position the Jackets have not been in at this point in the season since 2020-21.
  • A win Saturday would give Tech its first regular-season sweep of an ACC team since the 2021-22 season (also Boston College). The Jackets have scored a season sweep of an ACC team just three times since the 2013 expansion – BC in 2013-14 and 2021-22, and Clemson in 2019-20. This season, Jackets have split with Clemson and Notre Dame, their two permanent home-and-away foes.
  • Tech is the only ACC team this season to defeat both Clemson and Louisville, the teams tied for 2nd place in the standings, this season. The Jackets stopped a 10-game winning streak by Louisville (2/1), which has gone on to win 4-straight since, and stopped a 6-game win streak by Clemson (2/4), which responded by winning its last 3, including Duke and North Carolina.
  • Tech is 1-1 following a bye in the ACC schedule under Damon Stoudamire, 4-5 over the last seven-plus seasons. The Jackets lost at Notre Dame, 71-68 on Jan. 28, following its weekend bye last month.
  • Eight of Tech’s 15 ACC games this season have been decided by single digits, including 6 of the last 7 (71-64 win over Virginia Tech, 71-68 loss at Notre Dame, 77-70 win over Louisville, 89-86 win over Clemson, 60-52 win over Stanford, 90-88 win over California).
  • Tech has won 4 of its last 5 games, but has outscored the opposition by just 6 points in those games. Over its last 7 games (5 wins), Tech has outscored the opposition by just 10 points.

SERIES NOTES VS. BOSTON COLLEGE

  • Georgia Tech has won six of the last seven meetings in the series vs. Boston College, including an 85-64 win over the Eagles on Jan. 4 this season in Atlanta.
  • Tech leads the all-time series, 20-13 (one win vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions). The one scheduled meeting in 2020-21 in Atlanta was not played due to COVID-19.
  • Tech holds a 16-12 advantage in the series since Boston College became a member of the ACC.
  • The teams have played to overtime six times in the series, including three of the last nine meetings and five times since the Eagles joined the ACC.
  • Twenty-five of the games in the series have been decided by less than 10 points, 17 of them by fewer than five points.
  • Tech has played BC at three different venues in the Boston area. The Jan. 29, 2005 game was Tech’s first visit to the Conte Forum, BC’s current home court, where the Jackets are 6-6, and have won the last three games in the building.

 

TECH BYTES

  • Tech has won 4 of its last 5 games, but has outscored the opposition by just 6 points in those games. Over its last 7 games (5 wins), Tech has outscored the opposition by just 10 points.
  • Tech has scored more than 1 point per possession in 7 of its last 8 games (exception 0.95 points per possession against Stanford). The Jackets are 12-4 this season when scoring more than a point per permission, and 8-1 when holding their foes to less than a point per.
  • Tech has attempted 59 more free throws than its opponents in ACC play (+3.9 per game). The Yellow Jackets have not finished a season with more free throw attempts than their opponents since the 2016-17 season, and only once since 2000.
  • Tech leads the ACC in limiting league opponents’ trips to the free throw line, holding them to a 23.5% rate of FTA to FGA. Tech has committed just 31 fouls in its last 3 games.
  • Twelve different players have started a game for Tech this season, 11 different players have started an ACC game. Darrion Sutton became the most recent first-time starter against Stanford.
  • Sophomores Baye Ndongo and Naithan George are the only Yellow Jackets to have appeared in every game this season. No one else has started more than 18, and only one has started more than 11.
  • Five Yellow Jackets have averages in double-digits for ACC games – Naithan George (15.1), Duncan Powell (14.0), Lance Terry (13.8), Baye Ndongo (13.1) and Javian McCollum (12.9).
  • In Tech’s last 7 games, dating back to its Jan. 22 win over Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets have shot 46.4% from the floor and 36.8% from three-point range. Tech’s offensive efficiency has been well above 1 point per possession in 6 of those 7 games.

PLAYER NOTES

  • Naithan George has scored 20-plus points in Tech’s last four games, after tallying a game-high 26 points against California. The 6-3 sophomore has averaged 24 points (34-of-73 FG, 15-of-31 3pt FG, 13-of-16 FT) over that stretch, along with 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
  • George leads the ACC in assist average with 6.3 per game (12th in the nation), and ranks No. 7 in assist/turnover ratio at 2.31 per game. He has posted 13 games of 7 or more assists this season. He ranks No. 35 according to KenPom in assist rate (assists divided by FG made by teammates while he is on the floor.
  • Only 2 other players in NCAA Division I match or exceed George’s season averages of at least 13.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game this season – Steven Ashworth of Creighton, a senior, and Braden Smith of Purdue, a junior.
  • Baye Ndongo has 4 double-doubles in Tech’s last 5 games after scoring a career-high 26 points with 13 rebounds against Cal. The 6-9 sophomore has averaged 17.2 points (57.1% FG/36-of-63) and 11.6 rebounds over the last 5 games.
  • Over Tech’s last 9 games, Ndongo has averaged 14.1 points (8 double-digit games) and 10.9 rebounds (6 double-digit games). He has shot 52.5% percent from the floor, while recording 12 assists, team-high 10 blocked shots and a team-high 16 steals.
  • Duncan Powell has averaged 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds over his last 8 games, scoring double digits all of them and 20 or more in 2 games. The Sacramento State transfer has hit 46.8% (44-of-94) from the floor, 40% (18-of-45) from three-point range and 74.4% (32-of-43) from the foul line in that stretch.
  • Powell has shot a team-high 38.9% on 72 3-point attempts in ACC play which ranks 13th in the conference, and has been to the foul line a team-high 68 times (70.6%).

 

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.