Tech Visits FSU for First Road Game in a Month

Georgia Tech (8-6, 1-3 ACC) vs. Florida State (4-11, 2-2 ACC)

• Saturday, January 7, 2023 | 1 p.m. ET | Donald L. Tucker Center | Tallahassee, Fla.
• Television:   ACC Regional Sports Network (Affiliate list | Live Stream)
• Play-by-Play:  Tom Werme  |  Analyst: Mike Gminski
• Radio:  Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 386, SXM app 986 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
• Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

THE FLATS – Playing its first road game in nearly a month, Georgia Tech sets out for Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday to face Florida State in a 1 p.m. contest at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Tech (8-6, 1-3 ACC) looks to continue digging out of an 0-3 start to conference play after upending the league’s first-place team, Miami, 76-70 on Wednesday night at home. The Yellow Jackets had lost to North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia, all by double digits, to begin their ACC schedule. Tech is 1-2 in true road games this season, defeating Georgia State in the season’s second game and dropping decisions at Iowa in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and North Carolina in its league opener.

Florida State (4-11, 2-2 ACC), losers of nine of its first 10 games this season, has begun to right the ship by winning three of its last five and splitting its first four ACC games. The Seminoles lost a close game at Virginia in its conference opener before defeating Louisville and Notre Dame at home, then dropping an 86-67 decision at Duke on New Year’s Eve.

Saturday’s game will be televised live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Bally Sports South in Georgia), with a live stream available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM), and also on satellite radio (SiriusXM channel 386, SXM app 976.

THE TIP-OFF

• Tech is playing its first road game since its ACC opener on Dec. 10 at North Carolina, and the Seminoles are the first of two straight on the road for the Yellow Jackets, who visit Notre Dame Tuesday.
• Tech has won the last three meetings against Florida State, averaging 77 points and with an average winning margin of 10 points. The second of those three wins was the Yellow Jackets’ 80-75 triumph over the Seminoles in the championship game of the 2021 ACC Tournament.
• Tech is 4-5 against Florida State under head coach Josh Pastner.
• Tech had lost six straight games to teams ranked in the AP and/or Coaches Top 25 before its win over No. 12 Miami Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets’ last win over a top-25 team was its 80-75 victory over No. 15/13 Florida State in the 2021 ACC Championship game.
• Tech has used six different starting lineups this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games, and eight of them have started a minimum of six times.

Miles Kelly is a perfect 14-for-14 from the foul line in ACC games. (photo by Danny Karnik)

SERIES VS. FLORIDA STATE

• Georgia Tech has won the last three meetings in the series with Florida State, including a 75-61 win at home in the only scheduled meeting between the two teams in 2021-22. But the Seminoles still have won 15 of the last 20 meetings in the series and hold a 44-32 advantage all-time.
• Since FSU joined the ACC, Tech is 22-30 against the Seminoles. Florida State won the first six in a row, Tech followed by winning five straight, and is 17-24 against the Seminoles since then.
• In those 52 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 11-18 against Seminoles teams led by head coach Leonard Hamilton. Tech is 12-18 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 three ACC Tournament meetings between the schools. The three games have been decided by a total of eight points.

TEAM TRENDS

• Tech’s three sophomores – Miles Kelly, Deebo Coleman and Jalon Moore – who comprised a 2021 signing class ranked 28th in the nation, are currently 1-2-3 on the Yellow Jackets’ scoring chart, accounting for 47.1 percent of the Jackets’ points this season.
• Kelly and Coleman have taken 148 of Tech’s 282 three-point attempts – more than half – and have converted on 36.5 percent of them. The rest of the team has connected on 29.5 percent.
• Tech started its sixth different lineup this season against Miami. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, and eight of them have started a minimum of six times. Neither of the two Jackets’ point guards (Kyle Sturdivant, Deivon Smith) were in the lineup for the first time this season.
• The lineup Tech started against Miami – Terry, Coleman, Kelly, Moore and Howard – has been the second-most-used quintet on the floor this season over the last five games (9.6 percent of the time) according to KenPom.com.
• Tech’s 39 points in the first half and 70 points in the game against Miami were easily its highest totals in ACC games this season. The Jackets scored 26 at North Carolina (59 for the game), 26 vs. Clemson (66 for the game) and 25 vs. Virginia (56 for the game).
• Tech scored 13 points in transition against Miami, which had not allowed a fast break point in its last three games (42-0). The Jackets rank No. 3 in the ACC in fast break points per game (12.3).
• Miami entered the game ranked No. 15 in the nation in offensive efficiency, and the Yellow Jackets limited the Hurricanes to 35.3 percent from the floor, under 40 percent in each half, and 5-of-32 from three-point range.
• Tech’s sophomore group of Coleman, Kelly and Moore scored 48 of the Yellow Jackets’ 76 points against Miami. They had not all scored in double digits in the same game since Dec. 10 at North Carolina.
• Tech ranks No. 2 in the ACC in bench points per game (22.5), but got just four points from its bench against Miami, a season low (previous – 5 at Iowa).
• Tech used only eight players against Miami, matching the fewest to see the floor this season (Georgia and Virginia), and got just 43 minutes from the three reserves.
• For the first time in four ACC games, Tech’s offensive efficiency rating was above one point per possession (107.1), and for the first time, it held its opponent under that threshold (98.7).
• Tech leads the ACC and ranks ninth in the nation in three-point defense after limiting Miami to just 5-of-23 from distance. The Jackets’ opponents are hitting 26.6 percent on threes for the season in all games. ACC foes have hit 27.1 percent.
• Tech went 17-of-19 from the foul line against Miami, missing the last two after a perfect 17-for-17 start. The Jackets had gone 26-for-39 in its first three ACC games (8.9 FTM per game) and had scored 11.7 points per game from the line before that game.
• Tech outrebounded Miami, 46-36, after having been outrebounded by 11.3 over its first three ACC games.

PLAYER UPDATES

• Miles Kelly has reached double figures in points in nine straight games, leading the Yellow Jackets in the scoring column in six of those. Kelly has averaged 16.4 points and 3.9 rebounds over that stretch. He has connected on 49-of-107 shots from the floor (45.8 pct.), 27-of-61 from three-point range (44.3 pct.) and 23-of-24 from the foul line across those eight games.
• Kelly has scored 20 points in each of his last two games and is averaging 18.0 points over four ACC games.
• Kelly has hit his last 21 free throw attempts dating back to the Iowa game on Nov. 28, when he made the second of his two attempts. He was 7-fot-7 against Miami and is 14-for-14 over Tech’s last three games.
• Lance Terry missed his career high for points by two when he missed two free throw attempts in the closing seconds against Miami. He still finished with 24 points, his best effort as a Yellow Jackets and his sixth career 20-point game. His previous high for an ACC game this season was nine Dec. 10 at North Carolina, and his previous high this season was the 16 he scored in the opener against Clayton State. Terry hit 8-of-13 shots from the floor, 4-of-5 threes and 4-of-6 from the free throw line against the Hurricanes.
• The last time two Tech players scored 20 points or more in the same game was Nov. 19, 2021 at Georgia (Michael Devoe 37, Jordan Usher 21).
• Terry played all 40 minutes against Miami, the first time a Tech player has played the full 40 minutes in a regulation game since Michael Devoe did so against Wisconsin on Dec. 1 of last season.
• Jalon Moore has reached double figures in eight of last nine games, missing only against Virginia on Dec. 31 (two points). He has averaged 11.7 points per game over that stretch, and hit 51.7 percent of his field goal tries (38-of-74).
• Deebo Coleman scored 14 points against Miami for his highest point total since scoring 14 Nov. 26 against North Alabama. His only double-figure game since then had been his 13-point effort at North Carolina on Dec. 10.
• Rodney Howard has connected on 26-of-34 shots from the floor dating back to Nov. 23 vs. Marquette, covering nine games. That includes a streak of 13 consecutive makes from his last two attempts of the Northeastern game through his first four of the Alabama State game (4-for-4 vs. Georgia, 3-for-3 at North Carolina). For the season he has connected on 65.3 percent (32-of-49).

Rodney Howard has connected on 75 percent of his field goal tries in his last nine games. (photo by Danny Karnik)

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 is playing his seventh season under head coach Josh Pastner, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2021 and making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 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.