Tech Travels to Face No. 2 Duke

Georgia Tech vs. Duke

Tuesday, January 4, 2022 | 9 p.m. ET | Durham, N.C. | Cameron Indoor Stadium

Television:  ACC Network

Play-by-Play:  Wes Durham |  Analyst: Cory Alexander

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 387, SiriusXM app 977 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

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

THE FLATS – For its second game following an 11-day hiatus, Georgia Tech makes its first Atlantic Coast Conference road trip of the season against the highest-ranked team it will face in 2021-22, visiting No. 2 Duke for a 9 p.m. tip Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Tech (6-6, 0-2 ACC) is coming off a 67-64 homecourt loss to Louisville Sunday night, its first opportunity to play after having a pair of games postponed, including a road game at Syracuse that was scheduled for Dec. 29. The defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Yellow Jackets have played and lost to three top-25 teams this season – No. 23/22 Wisconsin, No. 25/24 LSU and No. 10/9 USC.

Reigning ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the ACC’s leading scorer (21.4 points per game), top three-point shooter by volume (2.91 per game) and No. 2 by percentage (46.9), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Duke (11-1, 1-0 ACC) is playing its first contest since Dec. 22 after having games at Clemson (Dec. 29) and Notre Dame (Jan. 1) postponed. The Blue Devils downed Virginia Tech at home, 76-65, in their ACC opener on that date, and have scored victories over Kentucky and Gonzaga in their non-conference schedule. Duke’s only loss occurred at Ohio State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with the online live stream of the broadcast 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 387, SiriusXM app 977).

Count it. 💪 @mdevoe0

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— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) January 3, 2022

THE OPENING TIP

• On the road – Georgia Tech is playing in an opponents’ home gym for just the second time this season. The Yellow Jackets defeated Georgia in Athens on Nov. 19. Nine of the Yellow Jackets’ 12 games this season have been played at McCamish Pavilion. Duke is 9-0 at home.
• Fight the power – Duke is the only ACC team ranked among the nation’s top 25 in the Associated Press or Coaches polls as of Monday. Should that hold at the end of the season, the Blue Devils would be Tech’s only game against a ranked opponent in conference this season. The Jackets have never played fewer than three games against top-25 opponents in a season (2012-13 vs. Duke, Miami, NC State).
• Prepping for ACC play – Tech played four straight games against power conference foes in the month of December, three of whom were ranked in the nation’s top 25 (No. 23/21 Wisconsin, No. 25/24 LSU, No. 10/9 USC). It was the first time the Yellow Jackets have faced as many as three top-25 teams in its non-conference schedule since the 1995-96 season. That season, the Yellow Jackets went 2-3 against No. 4 Georgetown, No. 17 Michigan, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 20 Louisville and No. 2 Massachusetts.
• Mikey likes it – Michael Devoe remains the ACC leader in scoring average (21.4 ppg) and is No. 2 three-point percentage (46.9), and ranks No. 9 and 18, respectively, in the nation on those categories. He leads the ACC in three-point field goals per game (2.91).
• Climbing the ladder – After beginning the season No. 36 in career points at Tech, the 6-5 guard has jumped to 23rd on the Tech career points list with 1,382 points, passing such Tech luminaries as Iman Shumpert, Drew Barry, Jarrett Jack, Michael Maddox and Tico Brown. He needs 15 points to pass 22nd-place Marvin Lewis (1.396 from 2000-04), who played on the Jackets’ 2004 national rnner-up team.
• Hot streak – Jordan Usher, who scored a career-high 30 points in Tech’ Dec. 21 win over Georgia State, is averaging 18.2 points and 7.1 rebounds over his last four games, having hit 24-of-48 shots from the floor and 10-of-19 threes.
• Getting Moore done – Khalid Moore has averaged 7.8 points over Tech’s last six games, after scoring just 23 points in the Jackets’ first six games of the season. He has hit 18-of-30 from the floor over that stretch.
• Two-point (guard) conversion – Splitting the point guard duties nearly evenly so far this season in the wake of the departure of Jose Alvarado, Kyle Sturdivant and Deivon Smith have combined to average 12.5 points and 3.8 assists over 12 games, while compiling a 45:38 assist/turnover ratio. Sturdivant started Tech’s first eight games, while Smith has started five. They both started and played together for much of Tech’s win over Charleston Southern in the absence of Michael Devoe.
• Big3 – To replace ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright, Tech has turned to a trio of big men in junior Rodney Howard, who started Tech’s first 11 games before missing Louisville, along with sophomores Saba Gigiberia and Jordan Meka. With Howard slowed by an ankle injury, Gigiberia and Meka stepped up to play nearly 35 minutes in Tech’s victory over Georgia State and contribute 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. With both players out against Louisville, Meka started and played 20 minutes with four rebounds and two blocks and Tech utilized a smaller lineup most of the game.
• Gang rebounding – Tech has outrebounded seven of its 12 opponents this season and has a plus-2.7 rebound margin collectively, 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).
• PPD – Two Georgia Tech games were postponed in December under health and safety protocols, a Dec. 23 home game against Alabama A&M and a Dec. 29 road game at Syracuse. Neither game has a makeup date.

SERIES NOTES VS. DUKE

• Georgia Tech and Duke met twice in 2020-21 for the first time in seven years, splitting the regular-season series. The Yellow Jackets earned an 81-77 overtime victory March 3 in Atlanta, snapping a 14-game losing streak in the series that dated back to 2010. The Blue Devils won the first meeting, 75-68, on Jan. 26 in Durham.
• Still Duke has won 38 of the last 42 games in the series.
• The Blue Devils won 11 of the last 13 meetings at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and posted a 21-13 lead over Tech in games played on the Jackets’ former home court, as well as a 29-16 mark in games played in Atlanta. Duke is 4-1 at McCamish Pavilion.
• Duke leads the overall series 75-24, and is 63-20 against Tech since the Jackets joined the ACC.
• Tech’s best stretch of the series occurred between 1982 and 1989, with 10 wins in 17 meetings. Tech has never won more than two in a row.
• Tech is 20-61 against Duke teams coached by Mike Krzyzewski, 13-23 in games played in Atlanta.
• Tech has won just five of 42 games played at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the first four coming in (1959, 1984, 1987 and 1996). Tech’s last win occurred on Mar. 3, 2004 in a 76-68 victory, which snapped a 41-game homecourt winning streak for the Blue Devils and helped propel the Jackets to the Final Four.
• Tech is 3-7 against the Blue Devils in ACC Tournament encounters. Tech defeated Duke on the way to each of its three tournament titles, including semifinal victories in 1985 and 1990 and a first-round triumph in 1993. The Blue Devils have defeated Tech three times in championship games (1986, 2005, 2010).

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.