CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Georgia Tech raced out to a 14-point lead in the first half, but top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Duke rallied to defeat the eighth-seeded Yellow Jackets, 78-70, in the quarterfinals of the T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Despite the loss, Georgia Tech (17-16) has won nine of its last 14 games and is in contention for its first postseason berth since 2021. The Yellow Jackets will learn their postseason fate on Sunday.
The Yellow Jackets dominated the action early in the game, making 10 of their first 21 shots while holding Duke to just six makes on 23 attempts, and Baye Ndongo’s tip-in with 5:02 to go in the first half gave the Jackets a commanding 26-12 lead.
Tech led by five at the half (31-26), but Duke opened the second period with a 12-0 run to take a 38-31 advantage. Duke stretched its lead to as many as 11 points, but the Yellow Jackets hung tough and cut the deficit to six on three occasions in the final 90 seconds before succumbing to the top-ranked Blue Devils.
The eight-point win is Duke’s smallest margin of victory in its current nine-game winning streak. The Devils (29-3) defeated opponents by an average of 29.5 points per game over its previous eight wins.
Duncan Powell led Georgia Tech in scoring for the second-straight game, pouring in 24 points. Ndongo (15 points) and Lance Terry (12) rounded out three Yellow Jackets in double figures.
Duke’s Kon Knueppel led all scorers with 28 points, as the Devils move on to face the winner of Thursday’s Wake Forest-North Carolina quarterfinal in Friday’s semis.
Duncan Powell (31) hit 6 3-point field goals and led the Jackets with 24 points. (photo by Keith Lucas)
POST-GAME NOTES
- Tech is 2-5 vs. top-25 teams this season (including a win over Clemson, which was No. 21 in the coaches poll but unranked in AP at the time), and 5-6 under Damon Stoudamire.
- Tech, which stood 2-6 in the ACC at one point this season, has won 4 of its last 6 games, 6 of its last 9, and 8 of its last 12 dating back to its Feb. 1 win over Louisville.
- Tech won its first ACC Tournament game since its run to the 2021 championship and is now 30-41 all-time. Tech also is 9-9 in tournament games played in Charlotte, 2-3 in the Spectrum Center and 1-5 as a No. 8 seed.
- Duncan Powell, Lance Terry and Naithan George all played the full 40 minutes against Duke, the first time this season three Yellow Jackets have played the full 40 minutes. Terry and George never sat during Tech’s two ACC Tournament games.
- Dating back to Tech’s triple-overtime win at Clemson on Feb. 4, 11 players have played every minute of the game, 5 of those in the ACC Tournament.
- Tech ranks last in the ACC in free throw percentage, but in its last 6 games has converted 78.6% on an average of 16 attempts per game. Going back 9 games to Feb. 12, the Yellow Jackets have made 78% from the stripe, also averaging 17 attempts per game.
- Tech’s opponents have connected on just 40% from the floor, 31.1% from 3-point range, over its last 6 games. The Jackets limited Duke to 43.5% from the floor and 23.3% on its threes.
- Tech made 12 3-point field goals against Duke, 1 off its season high of 13 and the 7th time this season the Yellow Jackets have made 10 or more. The Jackets notched season lows in 3s made (2) and attempted (9) in their opening win over Virginia.
- Duncan Powell has scored 20 or more points 7 times over his last 15 games dating back to Jan. 18 at Florida State. He has scored in double digits in 13 of those 15 games. He tallied 21 vs. Virginia and 24 vs. Duke in the ACC Tournament, hitting 18-of-34 from the floor, 6-of-16 on threes.
- Powell tied his career high with 6 3-point field goals against Duke, matching the 6 he made at Pitt on Feb. 25.
- Freshman Darrion Sutton canned a pair of 3s against Duke, the first of his career, for a season-high 6 points.
- Naithan George, the ACC’s leader in assists at 6.5 per game, recorded 7 against Duke and has notched 7 or more in 17 games this season.
Baye Ndongo (11) scored 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. (photo by Keith Lucas)
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its second year 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 X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be reserved here.
