March 19, 2017

Post-Game Notes

March 19, 2017

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Georgia Tech starting lineup: Heath, Heyward, Okogie, Stephens, Lammers
First subs for Georgia Tech: Jackson, Moore, Ogbonda for Heath, Okogie, Lammers at 16:12 – 1^st half
On the floor for Georgia Tech at the end: McCormick, Moore, Ogbonda, Price, Rowland
Opening tap won by Belmont. Georgia Tech has won the opening tap in 15 of 34 games this season.
Series record vs. Belmont: Georgia Tech is 1-0 overall, 1-0 at home, 1-0 in the NIT, 1-0 under Josh Pastner, 1-0 vs. Rick Byrd
Current series streak: first meeting
Georgia Tech is 17-4 at McCamish Pavilion this season, 60-30 in its fifth season in the building, 17-4 under Josh Pastner
Georgia Tech’s next game: Tuesday, March 21, 9 p.m. ET, at Mississippi, quarterfinal round of the NIT [ESPN2]

TEAM NOTES

Georgia Tech improved its all-time record in the NIT to 12-8 and has advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight time (1998, 2003, 2016, 2017. The Yellow Jackets have failed to win their quarterfinal game in each case.
The Yellow Jackets improved to 17-4 at home this season, establishing a new program record for home wins in a season. The 2006-07 team went 16-1 at home.
Tech is one win away from 20 victories in a season for the second straight year and for the 16^th time in program history.
Tech’s attendance of 7,176 was higher than four of its ACC home games this season.
Tech led at the half (30-26) for the 17^th time this year and improved to 15-2 when doing so.
Tech improved to 17-0 this season when leading at the 5-minute mark of the second half.
Tech led by as many as 23 points against Belmont (54-31 with 11:17 left in the second half), the Jackets’ biggest lead against a Division I team since holding a 29-point lead against Florida State on Jan. 25 (Tech led Tusculum by 40 and won by 38).
Tech scored 70 or more points for the 15^th time this season and remained undefeated when doing so. The Yellow Jackets have scored 70-plus for the second straight game after averaging just 60.3 points over its previous four games.
Tech shot 46.4 percent from the floor (55.2 percent in the second half) against Belmont. The Yellow Jackets have connected on 47.3 percent of their shots from the floor in their two NIT games, 53.4 percent in the second half of those games. Tech had connected on just 42.4 percent over its previous four games.
Tech outshot Belmont and improved to 19-3 this season when it has a higher field goal percentage than its opponent.
Tech held Belmont to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, more than 14 percent beneath its season norm of 47.4 percent. Belmont was the 18^th opponent Tech has held under 40 percent this season. The Yellow Jackets held Indiana 10 percentage points beneath its shooting percentage for the season. The Yellow Jackets led the ACC in field goal percentage defense in conference games, and have the third-lowest yield (39.5 percent) against all comers.
Tech held the Bruins 20 points under their season average of 77.4 points per game, and held Indiana 17 under its norm of 80.3 (63).
Belmont entered Sunday’s game connecting on 34.2 percent of its threes and hit 33.3 percent (11-of-33) against the Jackets. The Bruins went 10-of-30 from inside the arc. Tech held Indiana to 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) after the Hoosiers had come in hitting 38.3 percent. The Yellow Jackets have held 13 opponents under 30 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Tech shot the three well for the second straight game, going 6-for-15 against Belmont after hitting 7-for-19 against Indiana. The Yellow Jackets are 13-for-34 (38.2 percent) in their two NIT games. The Jackets rank last in the ACC in three-point shooting, and had made only 22.4 percent over its four games before the NIT.
Tech turned the ball over just eight times, the third consecutive game the Jackets have stayed under 10. Tech committed a season-low seven against Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament, and nine against Indiana.
Tech started Josh Heath, Corey Heyward, Ben Lammers, Josh Okogie and Quinton Stephens for the 15th time this season, and for the 14^th time in Tech’s last 15 games. Tadric Jackson started Tech’s game against Pitt in the ACC Tournament in place of Heyward. Three Yellow Jackets – Lammers, Okogie and Stephens – have started every game this season.
Tech has played its last 11 games without backup forward Abdoulaye Gueye (fractured wrist).
Pastner meter 1 (assists to made field goals): Tech assisted on its first 23 made field goals in the game and finished with 23 on 26 field goals (88.4 percent). The Jackets have 40 assists on 53 field goals in its two NIT games combined. It has improved Tech’s season rate to 62.2 percent, (Tech has a 63.2 percent rate in ACC games).
Pastner meter 2 (free throws made to opponents’ attempts): Tech made 13-of-21 free throws to Belmont’s 4-of-5 (goal of making more than opponent tries accomplished). The Yellow Jackets maintain a 67.8-percent clip in all games this season, 69.8 percent in ACC games.
Pastner meter 3 (guard rebounding): Tech’s guards combined for 14 of Tech’s 30 defensive rebounds, 70 of 155 in Tech’s last four games.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

In his last game ever at McCamish Pavilion, Quinton Stephens scored a career high 23 points, and also established career highs by hitting 10 shots from the floor in 17 attempts. He also made 3-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. Stephens has averaged 18.3 points over his last three games, connecting on 21-of-41 shots from the floor, 10-of-24 on threes. The effort has returned him to double-figures for the season at 10.5 points per game. It was his 20^th double-digit scoring game of the year. The senior forward added four assists and two steals with no turnovers in 36 minutes.
Stephens played in the 132^nd game of his career, which is a Tech record. He broke the previous mark of 130 when he stepped on the floor for the Indiana game. The previous record was shared by Malcolm Mackey (1990-93), Marvin Lewis (2001-04), Anthony McHenry (2002-05) and Marcus Georges-Hunt (2013-16).
Ben Lammers notched his 15^th double-double this season, scoring 14 points (6-9 FG) with 10 rebounds. He ranks third in the ACC in double-doubles. It was his 29^th double-figure scoring game this season, and his 17^th double-digit rebounding game. He ranks third in the ACC with 9.4 per game. Lammers added two assists and four steals in 36 minutes.
Lammers did not block a shot for the first time since Jan. 21 at Virginia and for just the third time this season. He has 109 blocks for the season, the second-highest season total ever for a Tech player. Alvin Jones holds the Tech season record with 141 in 1997-98. Lammers is averaging 3.30 blocks per game, which ranks No. 3 nationally and leads the ACC. He also holds sixth place at Tech in career blocks with 160.
Josh Okogie scored 15 points (5-of-9 FG, 2-of-3 3P, 3-4 FT), his 29^th double-digit game this year. Okogie has reached double figures in 13 straight games, last failing to do so vs. Notre Dame on Jan. 28. He is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game, and is Tech’s highest-scoring freshman since Dion Glover (18.4 ppg) in 2002-03. Only six times in Tech history has a freshman led the Jackets in scoring.
Okogie surpassed 500 points for the season against Indiana, and now has 536. The only other freshmen in Tech history to score 500 or more points were Kenny Anderson (721 in 35 games), Stephon Marbury (679 in 36 games) and Mark Price (568 in 28 games).
Okogie added five assists and eight rebounds in 34 minutes, and has nine assists with just two turnovers and 15 rebounds in Tech’s two NIT games.
Tadric Jackson scored 12 points (4-for-13 from the floor) for his 21^st double-figure game this season and 11th in Tech’s last 14 games. The junior guard is Tech’s third leading scorer (12.1 ppg), and is bidding to finish the season as the fourth reserve in Tech history to average in double figures. Jackson added three assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes.
Stephens and Okogie are Tech’s leading scorers in the NIT at 19.5 points per game, Stephens has hit 16-of-26 from the floor and 7,of-14 from three-point range. He also has averaged 8.5 rebounds and has accumulated seven assists with just one turnover. Okogie has hit 58.3 percent of his shots from the floor, 9-of-13 from the free throw line, and has nine assists with two turnovers. Lammers has averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, with five assists, five blocks and six steals.
- Sylvester Ogbonda played in his second straight game in relief of Ben Lammers, and has logged six minutes in two NIT games.
Corey Heyward played 16 turnover-free minutes, and has committed just four turnovers in 247 minutes over his last 15 games. He has played 23 turnover-free games this season.