Georgia Tech vs. No. 25/24 LSU
Saturday, December 11, 2021 | 6 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | State Farm Arena
Television: ESPN2 | Live Stream
Play-by-Play: Dave Neal | Analyst: Daymeon Fishback
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 384, SiriusXM app 974 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
THE FLATS – Facing each other for the first time in 10 years, Georgia Tech and No. 25/24 LSU are set to battle on the hardwood at 6 p.m. Saturday in downtown Atlanta, the third game of four scheduled for the second Holiday Hoopsgiving event at State Farm Arena.
Looking to snap a two-game losing streak, the defending Atlantic Coast Conference Yellow Jackets (5-3) are facing their second top-25 team in the last three games on the heels of losses to No. 23/21 Wisconsin (70-66) and North Carolina (79-62) last week at McCamish Pavilion. Tech had won five straight prior to that, including an 88-78 road win at Georgia.
Reigning ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the ACC’s leading scorer (23.6 points per game) and three-point shooter (54.5 percent, 3.43 made per game), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 13.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
LSU (8-0) has played six of its eight games in Baton Rouge, also venturing to Florida for the Emerald Coast Classic, where the Tigers defeated Penn State (68-63 in overtime) and Wake Forest (75-61) the weekend after Thanksgivng. LSU has not played since Dec. 1, a 66-51 victory over Ohio.
Saturday’s game will be televised live on ESPN2, and also streamed live on 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 384, SiriusXM app 974).
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THE OPENING TIP
- Deja vu – Georgia Tech finds itself playing a top-25 team at State Farm Arena on the heels of a two-game losing streak for the second year in a row. Last December, the Yellow Jackets downed No. 20 Kentucky, 79-62, in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event after opening the season with home losses to Georgia State and Mercer.
- Discount double check – Tech has an 8-11 all-time record in State Farm Arena, including a 5-4 mark in games that were technically neutral-site contests. The arena served as Tech’s home court during the 2011-12 season when McCamish Pavilion was being built, going 3-7. Tech’s non-conference wins in State Farm Arena include Kentucky (twice), Syracuse (in 2001), St, Louis and Air Force.
- Fight the power – Saturday’s game is the third in a stretch of four straight for Georgia Tech against power conference foes. Tech hosted No. 23/21 Wisconsin (70-66 loss) and North Carolina (79-62) last week, and follow up its contest against No. 25/24 LSU with a game against No. 16/15 Southern California next Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz.
- From downtown – Tech enters Saturday’s game ranked No. 3 in the ACC and No. 13 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (40.3). After hitting just four 3s in 17 attempts (all by Michael Devoe) against Miami of Ohio, Georgia Tech has gone 52-of-122 (42.6 percent) in the last seven games, including 6-of-16 against North Carolina (three players hit a 3 in the game).
- Friendly confines – The Jackets play seven of their first eight games this season at McCamish Pavilion. Tech does not leave the state of Georgia to play until Dec. 18, when it travels to Phoenix, Ariz., to play Southern California.
- Gang rebounding – Tech has outrebounded six of its eight opponents this season and has a plus-4.6 rebound margin collectively, fifth in the ACC and the best mark for the Yellow Jackets in five-plus seasons under head coach Josh Pastner. Tech has finished a season on the plus side of rebounding margin only once in that span (+0.1 in 2017-18).
- Mikey likes it – Michael Devoe leads the ACC in scoring average (23.6 ppg) and three-point percentage (54.5), and ranks No. 2 and 5, respectively, in the nation on those categories.
- Climbing the ladder – After beginning the season No. 36 in career points at Tech, the 6-5 guard has jumped to 24th on the Tech career points list with 1,314 points, passing such Tech luminaries as Iman Shumpert, Drew Barry, Jarrett Jack, Michael Maddox and Tico Brown.
- Two-point conversion – Splitting the point guard duties nearly evenly, Kyle Sturdivant and Deivon Smith have combined to average 13.1 points and 4.8 assists over seven games, while compiling a 38:22 assist/turnover ratio. Sturdivant has started all eight games, while Smith missed one game with the flu. They played together for much of Tech’s win over Charleston Southern in the absence of Michael Devoe.
- Postman rings twice – A rotation of Rodney Howard and Saba Gigiberia, has filled the 5-spot vacated by ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright, Tech has received an aggregate 8.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game from those two. Howard, who has started all eight games and averaged 29.9 minutes, has accounted for most of that production.
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SERIES NOTES VS. LSU
- LSU holds a 21-14 lead in the overall series that began in 1927, when both teams were members of the Southern Conference.
- The teams last met on Nov. 20, 2011, with LSU capturing a 59-50 victory in the fifth-place game of the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. In that meeting, Tech was led by 14 points from Mfon Udofia, now an assistant coach with the College Park Skyhawks (the Atlanta Hawks’ G League affiliate), and 10 from Kammeon Holsey, now a member of the Agua Caliente Clippers (the L.A. Clippers G League affiliate).
- Both teams became members of the Southeastern Conference in 1932, and the Yellow Jackets went 12-17 against the Tigers before Tech departed the SEC in 1964.
- Since then, the teams have met six times, and the Tigers have won four of those games.
- Five of those meetings occurred at neutral sites, three of them in the NCAA Tournament – LSU defeated Tech in 1986 in the Omni in Atlanta and in 1987 in Chicago. The Jackets, most notably, won a second-round game in 1990 in Knoxville, Tenn., on the way to its first Final Four. That LSU team that featured Shaquille O’Neal, Stanley Roberts and Chris Jackson.
- The lone on-campus meeting took place on Dec. 14, 1986 in Baton Rouge, with the Tigers winning 52-49. LSU returned to Atlanta the next December, where Tech captured an 87-70 victory at the Omni.
- Saturday’s game marks the 13th meeting between the two teams in the city of Atlanta. Ten of those took place on Tech;s campus, and two at the Omni, which sat on the same footprint as State Farm Arena does today.
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Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
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.
