Tech Resumes ACC Play vs. Florida State

Georgia Tech vs. Florida State

Wednesday, January 26, 2022 | 9 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion

Television:  ACC Network

Play-by-Play:  Jay Alter  |  Analyst: Malcolm Huckaby

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 371, SiriusXM app 371 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

THE FLATS – Continuing its longest homestand of the season, Georgia Tech resumes Atlantic Coast Conference play Wednesday night with a 9 p.m. contest against Florida State at McCamish Pavilion. The only scheduled meeting between the two teams this season, it is the third game of four in a row at home for the Yellow Jackets.

Tech (8-10, 1-6 ACC) rebounded from a pair of double-digit Atlantic Coast Conference losses to North Carolina (88-65) and Wake Forest (80-64) by defeating Clayton State, 103-53, in a non-conference game Sunday. The Yellow Jackets have lost nine of their last 12 games, defeating Boston College on the road (81-76) for their only ACC win to date on Jan. 12.

Reigning ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the ACC’s third-leading scorer (19.5 points per game), No. 4 three-point shooter by volume (2.47 per game) and No. 2 by percentage (40.0), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Florida State (13-5 overall, 6-2 ACC), moved into a first-place tie in the ACC standings Saturday with a 61-60 victory over Miami in Coral Gable, Fla. The Seminoles have won six straight games, five of those in conference play, including road wins at Syracuse and Miami. FSU also has a road win at NC State to its credit.

Wednesday’s game will be televised live on ACC Network Extra, with a live stream available through the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), and on satellite radio (XM channel 371, SiriusXM app 371).

THE OPENING TIP

• At home – Georgia Tech is looking for its first conference win at home after an 0-4 start at McCamish Pavilion, where the Yellow Jackets are 6-6 overall this season. Florida State is 3-1 on the road in ACC play this season, 3-3 in all games.
• Taking on the top – Georgia Tech has played six of its first seven ACC games against the teams in the top half of today’s conference standings. The Jackets face the top two teams (Florida State and Miami) at home this week.
• Eight lineups – Against Clayton State, Tech went back to the original starting lineup with which it began the season and used for six of the first eight games (Michael Devoe and Kyle Sturdivant at the guards, Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore at the forwards, Rodney Howard at center). The Jackets had not used that starting five since Dec. 5 vs. North Carolina. Tech has utilized eight different starting lineups this season.
• Hot streak – Usher has averaged 16.5 points and 6.8 rebounds over Tech’s last 10 games, having hit 62-of-123 shots from the floor (50.4 percent) and 17-of-40 threes (42.5 percent).
• Over a thousand – Senior Jordan Usher cleared the 1,000-point milestone for his career when he scored 22 points Jan. 15 at North Carolina. He has 1,037 points, 763 of them scored in a Tech uniform, giving Tech three 1,000-point scorers on its roster, including Michael Devoe (1,460) and Bubba Parham (1,452).
• Mikey likes it – Senior guard Michael Devoe fell from the top spot in the ACC in scoring average for the first time this season after his 13-point game at Boston College, and is currently No. 2 at 19.5 points per game behind Wake Forest’s Alondes Williams (20.4). Devoe is No. 2 in the ACC in three-point percentage (40.0) and No. 4 in three-point field goals per game (2.47).
• Climbing the ladder – After beginning the season No. 36 in career points at Tech, Devoe has risen to No. 18 on the Tech career points list with 1,480 points, passing such Tech luminaries as Iman Shumpert, Drew Barry, Jarrett Jack, Michael Maddox, Tico Brown, Marvin Lewis, Anthony Morrow, Lenny Horton and former teammate Jose Alvarado. The senior needs 18 points to take over 17th place from Kenny Anderson (1,497 from 1989-91).
• Getting Moore done – Senior forward Khalid Moore has averaged 6.8 points over Tech’s last 12 games (6.4 ppg vs. ACC), after averaging 3.8 in the Jackets’ first six games of the season. He has hit 30-of-62 from the floor over that stretch.
• Rescheduled – The ACC has rescheduled Tech’s postponed ACC game at Syracuse for Monday, Feb 21 at 7 p.m. (was originally scheduled for Dec. 29). That will give the Jackets three conference games in a five-day stretch (Feb. 19 at Pitt, Feb. 21 at Syracuse, Feb. 23 vs. Virginia Tech).

Jordan Usher has averaged 16.5 points over his last 10 games for Tech. (photo by Danny Karnik)

SERIES NOTES VS. FLORIDA STATE

• Georgia Tech won two of the three meetings against Florida State in 2020-21, winning its home game, 76-65, on Jan. 30 and the ACC Tournament championship game, 80-75. The Seminoles won, 74-61, in Tallahassee on Dec. 15.
• Florida State still has won 15 of the last 19 meetings in the series.
• Since FSU joined the ACC, Tech is 21-30 against the Seminoles. Florida State won the first six in a row, Tech followed by winning five straight, and is 15-24 against the Seminoles since then. (Note: Tech’s home win over FSU in 2017 was vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions).
• In those 49 games, 22 have been decided by four points or less, 33 by fewer than 10 points. One of those games went to double-overtime, which the Yellow Jackets won 111-108 on Feb. 11, 1999 in Tallahassee.
• Tech is 18-18 against the Seminoles in Atlanta, 2-3 at McCamish Pavilion.
• Tech is 10-18 against Seminoles teams led by head coach Leonard Hamilton. Tech is 11-18 against Hamilton overall, with a victory over his Miami team in December of 1997.
• Tech is 11-24 in games played in Tallahassee, including an 8-17 mark at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, formerly known as the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center.
• Tech and Florida State were both members of the old Metro Conference from 1976-78, and the Seminoles won three of those four meetings.
• Florida State has won two of the ACC Tournament meetings between the schools. The three meetings have been decided by a total of eight points.

Focused on defending home court
🎟: https://t.co/PGuIIcvpt1#TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/rfFcj0KZxU

— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) January 24, 2022

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Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in 2021 after finishing fourth in the regular season. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, winning four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), playing in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and playing in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.