THE FLATS – Deebo Coleman led the way with 21 points to power Georgia Tech basketball past Virginia Tech, 77-70, on Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion.
The Yellow Jackets (10-16, 3-13 ACC) shot a blistering 50 percent from the three-point line and held the Hokies (15-11, 5-10 ACC) to just 22.7 percent from downtown.
Tech raced out to an early lead and pushed it out to 16 in the second half before a 14-2 run by VT cut it to four.
But the Jackets hung tough and fought off the Hokies to seal the win.
Georgia Tech was led by five double-digit scorers on the night. In addition to Coleman, Miles Kelly and Lance Terry finished with 15 and 14, respectively, while Kyle Sturdivant and Ja’von Franklin recorded 10 apiece.
Franklin recorded another double-double as well, hauling in 10 rebounds in his 32 minutes of action.
Virginia Tech was led by Grant Basile, who finished with 21 points.
Georgia Tech will remain home for a non-conference affair on Saturday, Feb. 18 against Florida Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
Miles Kelly (13 – above) finished with 15 points and six rebounds on Wednesday night. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Post-Game Notes
TEAM TRENDS
- After slipping below 100 points per 100 possessions (KenPom offensive efficiency rating) in nine straight games, all losses, Tech has been above 100 points per 100 possessions in each of its last three games (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech), two of which the Jackets won and the other they lost by one point.
- Tech’s 77 points scored against Virginia Tech was its high for the season in an ACC game by one point over the Yellow Jackets’ 76-70 win against Miami.
- Tech has scored 70 points or more in three straight games (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech), a threshold the Yellow Jackets had reached just twice (Miami, first meeting vs. Notre Dame) in their first 13 conference games.
- Tech is 8-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points (3-2 in the ACC), 2-14 when failing to reach 70.
- Tech’s last five games have been decided by a total of 28 points. The Jackets’ first 11 ACC games were decided by an average of 15.4 points.
- Tech has outshot three of its last four opponents from the floor, holding them collectively to 42 percent overall, 30 percent from three-point range. Tech limited Virginia Tech to under 100 points/100 possessions, the first time the Jackets had done so in 10 games dating back to Jan. 10 at Notre Dame.
- Tech’s seven-player rotation was its shortest of the season, in part due to the absence of point guard Deivon Smith (ankle). Tech had not utilized fewer than eight players in any game before Virginia Tech, and has deployed nine or more in 17 games this season.
- Since Lance Terry returned from his hamstring injury (last four games), Tech has averaged 70.3 points per game, connected on 43.6 percent of its shots from the floor and 40.7 percent (35-of-86) of its three-point attempts. In the four games he missed, Tech averaged 53.8 points, hit 34.5 percent of its field goals and 25.2 percent of its threes.
- Five Tech players are averaging double digits in points over the Yellow Jackets’ last four games (Franklin 14.0, Terry 12.8, Coleman 11.5, Kelly 11.3, Sturdivant 10.0).
- Tech has averaged 23.7 three-point attempts in ACC games (6th-most in the ACC), trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16) and Wake Forest (19).
- Tech has turned the ball over fewer an average of 11.1 times over its last 10 games, but has forced only 9.7 per game across the game stretch.
- Tech has outrebounded each of its last four opponents, doing so by an average of 3.5 per game.
PLAYER UPDATES
- Deebo Coleman scored a career-high of 21 points against Virginia Tech, beating by four his previous season high and career ACC high – 17 vs. Syracuse on Jan. 21 – and by two his previous career best for high all games – 19 vs. Lamar, Nov. 19, 2021, the second game of his college career.
- In four games since returning from his hamstring injury, which kept him out of four games, Lance Terry has averaged 12.8 points, hit 19-of-38 shots from the floor (50 pct.) and 7-of-16 from three-point range (43.8 pct.).
- Center Ja’von Franklin has averaged a double-double over the Yellow Jackets’ last four games (14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds). He has hit 55.8 percent of his shots from the floor (24-of-43) in that span, and also has totaled a team-high 13 assists and 11 blocked shots.
- Franklin has posted double-doubles in each of Tech’s last two games (14 pts/15 rebs at Wake Forest, 10 pts/10 rebs vs. Virginia Tech), and has five for the season, three in conference games.
- Kyle Sturdivant has averaged 11.4 points over his last five games, having reached double figures in four of them (17 at Louisville, 13 at NC State, 12 vs. Notre Dame, 10 vs. Virginia Tech). He has made 11-of-26 from three-point range over that stretch.
- Miles Kelly’s 15 points against Virginia Tech were his most in three games and just his fourth double-digit scoring game in the last 10. Kelly remains the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer in all games (12.8 ppg) and in ACC games (12.6).
Ja’von Franklin (4 – above) recorded his second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday night. (photo by Danny Karnik)
