January 28, 2017

Post-Game Notes

Jan. 28, 2017

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Georgia Tech starting lineup: Heath, Heyward, Okogie, Stephens, Lammers (third game this season with this lineup)
First subs for Georgia Tech: Jackson for Okogie, 16:20 – 1^st half
On the floor for Georgia Tech at the end: Heath, Heyward, Okogie, Stephens, Lammers
Opening tap won by Notre Dame. Georgia Tech has won the opening tap in 10 of 21 games this season.
Series record vs. Notre Dame: Georgia Tech is 9-6 overall, 6-1 at home, 3-1 at McCamish Pavilion, 1-0 under Josh Pastner, 4-4 vs. Mike Brey
Current series streak: Georgia Tech has won the last two games in the series
Georgia Tech is 11-3 at McCamish Pavilion this season, 54-29 in its fifth season in the building, 11-3 under Josh Pastner
Georgia Tech’s next game: February 1, 2017 vs. Clemson, 7 p.m., Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, S.C. [RSN, 680 AM, 93.7 FM, Sirius 132, XM 201]

TEAM NOTES

Georgia Tech defeated its third top-25 team this season, the most in one season for the program since the Yellow Jackets went 4-3 vs. top-25 teams in 2003-04. Tech has beaten as many as three top-25 teams in one season six times prior to this season.
Tech has beaten two top-10 teams this season – No. 9 North Carolina and No. 6 Florida State – the first time the Yellow Jackets have beaten multiple top-10 teams in the same season since 2004-05 (No. 5 Wake Forest in the regular season and No. 2 North Carolina in the ACC Tournament). It is the first time since 2003-04 that the Jackets have beaten multiple top-10 teams in the regular season (No. 1 Connecticut, No. 10 Wake Forest, No. 3 Duke). It is the 18^th time in program history that Tech has defeated multiple top-10 teams in the same season.
Six of Tech’s first nine ACC games have been played against teams ranked in the top 25. The Jackets have only one current top-25 team left on its schedule (Notre Dame on Feb. 26).
At 5-4, Tech has its best ACC record after nine games since the 2009-10 season, when the Jackets also were 5-4 after nine games.
Tech started Josh Heath, Corey Heyward, Ben Lammers, Josh Okogie and Quinton Stephens for the third time this season. Three Yellow Jackets – Lammers, Okogie and Stephens – have started every game this season.
Tech led at the half (35-31) for the fourth time this season against an ACC team, 14^th time overall. Tech is 11-2 this season when leading at the half.
All seven meetings between Tech and Notre Dame since the Fighting Irish joined the ACC have been decided by eight points or fewer. Tech has won the last two meetings by a total of three points.
Today’s game was just the second ACC game for Tech this season decided by fewer than 10 points.
Tech held Notre Dame to 60 points, its second-lowest scoring output of the season and nearly 20 points below its season average. Tech held Florida State (85 ppg) to 56 on Wednesday night.
Notre Dame connected on just 40.4 percent of its shots from the floor, more than six percentage points below its season average. The Yellow Jackets are the ACC’s top team in field goal percentage defense against the conference (39.7 pct.), and have faced the top six teams in the ACC in field goal shooting in its first nine conference games.
Eleven out of Tech’s last 12 opponents have shot 40.6 percent from the floor or lower. The exception was a 55.7-percent game by Duke.
Tech did not reach its magic number for points (70), but improved to 2-8 this season when scoring less than 70. The Yellow Jackets are unbeaten (11-0) when reaching that number offensively.
The Jackets improved to 13-1 when shooting a better percentage from the floor than its opponent (48.1 to 40.4 percent vs. Notre Dame).
Tech out-rebounded Notre Dame, 37-29, winning the boards for the second straight game and for the fourth time in ACC play.
Tech has shot 46.1 percent (152-for-330) from the floor in its last six games, 39.8 percent from three-point range (33-for-83).
Tech blocked seven shots, over the Yellow Jackets ACC-leading average of 5.67 blocks per ACC game, 6.52 in all games this season (third in the nation).
Pastner meter 1 (assists to made field goals): Tech assisted on 18 of 26 made field goals (69.2 pct.) vs. Notre Dame – 60 percent goal accomplished. Tech is at 62.9 percent for the season, 68.1 percent in ACC games. Tech has 108 assists on 152 field goals (71.1 pct.) in its last six games.
Pastner meter 2 (free throws made to opponents’ attempts): Tech made 6 of 12 free throws to Notre Dame’s 7 of 11 (goal of making more than opponent tries not accomplished). The Yellow Jackets still maintain a 72.3-percent clip from the foul line in ACC games.
Pastner meter 3 (guard rebounding): Tech’s guards combined for nine of Tech’s 25 defensive rebounds.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Tadric Jackson scored a career high 25 points against Notre Dame, hitting 11 of 19 shots from the floor, both career-best numbers, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He returned to double figures for the first time in four games. Jackson sparked the Yellow Jackets early with 14 of his points in the first half. It was his 11^th double-digit game of the season, fourth against an ACC team.
The last Tech player to score 25 or more off the bench was Glen Rice, Jr., who scored 28 against Duke at Philips Arena on Jan. 7, 2012. Jackson scored 24 off the bench at VCU on Dec. 7.
Jackson also had three assists, including the throw-ahead pass after his defensive rebound that led to Josh Okogie’s winning basket.
Ben Lammers returned to double digits for the 19^th time this season. He scored 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He added three assists and three blocked shots.
Ben Lammers posted his 11^th double-double of the season, scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds. He hit 7-of-14 shots from the floor, and added three assists and three blocked shots in 40 minutes.
Lammers became the second Tech player this year to play 40 minutes (Quinton Stephens did so in back-to-back games against NC State and Virginia Tech.
Quinton Stephens grabbed 13 rebounds, matching a career high and reaching double digits for the seventh time this season. Stephens is averaging 11 rebounds over his last four games, 8.6 against ACC teams this season and 8.3 in all games this season. He played 38 minutes and has averaged a team-high 36.6 minutes in ACC games.
Josh Heath played 39 minutes for the third time in the last five games. The senior scored nine points (4-6 FG) with eight assists and a career-high five steals. Heath has averaged 6.7 assists over his last six games, and averages 5.1 vs. ACC teams.
Josh Okogie missed double figures in scoring for just the fifth time this season, but he scored the game winning basket with one second left in typical fashion, attacking the basket for a layup.
Corey Heyward made his ninth start of the season and second in a row. It was his 27^th career start. He went scoreless in 38 minutes (0-2 FG), but had two steals and one assist with no turnovers. He also played the majority of the defense against Notre Dame’s Steve Vasturia, who entered the game averaging 14.9 points but finished with just five (1-7 FG) in 39 minutes.