February 1, 2023

Tech Stays Cold, Falls at Louisville

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Louisville, Ky. – Enduring another cold shooting night from inside and outside the three-point arc, Georgia Tech men’s basketball dropped its eighth consecutive game Wednesday night with a 68-58 loss to Louisville Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center.

Tech (8-14, 1-11 ACC) made just 29.5 percent of its shots in the game (18-of-61), a season low, and just 7-of-27 from behind the three-point arc in the loss. The Yellow Jackets missed all 11 of their three-point tries in the second half after hitting 7-of-16 in the opening period.

The Cardinals (3-19, 1-10 ACC) led the entire second half, but never by more than seven points until the final minute of play. Tech tied the game once on a Ja’von Franklin dunk with 9:26 on the clock, but JJ Traynor answered right away with a jumper to put Louisville ahead to stay.

Tech remained close to the Cardinals, trailing 62-58 after Kyle Sturdivant made five free throws on three separate trips to the line. The Jackets played tough defense on the next possession, but Kamari Lands knocked down an off-balance three-point basket from straight away with Deebo Coleman’s hand in his face as the shot clock expired. The Jsckets made just one field goal over the final seven and a half minutes.

Jae’Lyn Withers, who led the Cardinals with 19 points, salted the game away with a pair free throws with 18 seconds left.

Sturdivant finished with a team-high 17 points, and Miles Kelly scored 16 for the Yellow Jackets, while Franklin turned in a strong effort with eight points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and four steals.

Tech returns to action Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest against NC State at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. The game will be televised live on the ACC Network.

Ja’von Franklin had a strong game with eight points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and four steals. (photo courtesy of Louisville athletics)

Post-Game Notes

TEAM TRENDS

Georgia Tech has utilized 10 different starting lineups total this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, eight have started at least eight games, and none have started every game.
Rodney Howard and Ja’von Franklin started together for the second time this season (Jan. 10 at Notre Dame was the other time).
With Lance Terry (hamstring) and Deivon Smith (ankle) unavailable, Tech utilized just eight players for the seventh time. Nine or more Yellow Jackets have taken the court in 15 of 22 games. Tech ranks No. 99 in the nation this season in bench minutes (34.1 pct.), and only one other Josh Pastner Tech team has seen its reserves play more.
Tech has averaged 24.4 three-point attempts in ACC games, trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16).
Tech has converted less than 30 percent of its three-point tries in nine games this season, and four of those have occurred over its last five games (2-for-21 vs. NC State, 4-for-23 at Clemson, 5-for-22 vs. Duke, 7-for-27 at Louisville). The Jackets have connected on just 22.6 percent from distance over that span and 29.7 percent against the ACC this season.
Tech’s 29.5-percent field goal rate was a season low, and the Yellow Jackets have failed to make 40 percent five times in the last six games, hitting 35.7 percent across those six games.
Tech is 1-14 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, 7-0 when it has a better percentage.
Tech’s last five opponents have connected on 52.4 percent of their field goal tries, and four (NC State, Syracuse, Clemson, Duke) have each shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Only two (Georgia, Virginia) did so in the Jackets’ first 17 games.
Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), 2-13 when failing to reach 70. The Jackets have failed to score 60 in three straight games, averaging 50.7 points against Clemson, Duke and Louisville.
Tech went 15-of-24 from the foul like at Louisville after hitting just 18-of-38 over the previous five games. The Jackets have scored 14.8 percent of their points from the foul line this season.
Tech has assisted on 57.6 percent of their field goals in ACC games, fourth-best in the ACC.
After a four-game stretch in which it averaged 17 turnovers, Tech has averaged less than 10.3 in its last six games, including a season-low five against Louisville.

PLAYER UPDATES

Lance Terry missed his fourth consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Deivon Smith sat out due to an ankle injury.
Freshman Freds Pauls Bagatskis appeared in his second straight game, and for the first time this season in the first half of a game. He made his second three-pointer of the season (1-for-3) and first in an ACC game.
Ja’von Franklin has reached double figures in rebounds four times this season – twice in ACC games (12 each at Notre Dame and Louisville).
Franklin blocked three shots against Louisville, his most in a game since swatting three Jan. 8 at Notre Dame, and had a season-high four steals.
Miles Kelly’s 16 points at Louisville was his highest scoring total in seven games dating back to Jan. 7 at Florida State, when he scored all 16 of his points in the game’s first nine minutes.
Kyle Sturdivant’s 17 points were one off his season and personal best of 18 points Jan. 10 at Notre Dame.
Tech’s sophomore trio of Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly and Jalon Moore rank 1-2-3 on the Yellow Jackets’ scoring chart. They have accounted for 45.9 percent of the team’s total points this season (48.5 percent in ACC games) and have taken 44 percent of the shots from the floor (46.8 percent) in ACC games.