Presented by Cookout, Andy Demetra catches up with basketball coach Josh Pastner
Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner chats with Voice of the Jackets Andy Demetra on the Yellow Jackets since the 2019-20 season game to a halt on March 11. Tech’s season ended five days earlier with a come-from-behind victory at Clemson in the final regular season game.
In his fourth season at the helm, Georgia Tech closed February and March strong to post a fifth-place finish in the ACC regular season, the program’s highest finish since 2005. Tech’s 11-9 conference record was the first winning mark for the team since 2004. The Yellow Jackets won six of their last seven games, and nine of their last 12, to finish 17-14 overall.
Here are some more accomplishments for the Yellow Jackets in 2019-20…
- Tech’s 11 ACC wins were the most for the program since the Jackets went 13-3 in 1995-96, winning the conference regular season.
- Tech won five ACC games on the road (5-5), tying the team record for most road wins in a season (5-3 in 1995-96). Among those wins were the Jackets’ first in Chapel Hill since 2010 and the first at Clemson since 2005.
- Tech went 8-3 over its final 11 conference games this season.
- Tech finished the season with four straight ACC wins, the Yellow Jackets’ longest streak under Josh Pastner and the longest since they won four straight late in the 2015-16 season.
- Tech finished the regular season No. 72 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 65 in PenPom.com.
- Tech finished the regular season No. 17 in the nation in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, and with its best rankings in offensive efficiency and adjusted tempo in the Yellow Jackets’ four years under Josh Pastner. Tech improved its overall field goal percentage in ACC games over 2018-19 by 3.6 percent, and its three-point rate by 3.5 percent.
- Tech finished the season with a program record in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.5 pct.), beating the 2004 Final Four team mark of 29.74 pct. ACC foes shot 29.2 percent against the Jackets, just shy of the mark of 29.0 percent yield by the 2007-08 team.
- Tech finished the season plus-56 on the boards in ACC games for the season, averaging 2.8 per game more than their opponents.
- Four of Tech’s five starters return for the 2020-21 season. Tech’s incoming freshman class of three prospects ranks No. 51 in the nation.
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 A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993), played in the NCAA Tournament 16 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 Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
