Getting to Know the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets hosts NC State Tuesday night at 8 o’clock with coverage on The ACC Network. The Yellow Jackets are 16-11 overall as well as 7-7 in ACC play. GT most recently beat Syracuse in front of a raucous home crowd. This season Georgia Tech has been tough to beat at home, sporting a 14-3 record at McCamish Pavilion. What do you need to know about Georgia Tech before Tuesday’s tip?

Georgia Tech beat Syracuse 71-65 in their last game.

Ben Lammers and Tadric Jackson led the Jackets scoring 23 and 20 points respectively. Syracuse only managed to shoot a measly 35% from the field and even worse 26% from three against the Jackets. Josh Pastner has pushed the right buttons with his team getting them to play hard and compete defensively. The Yellow Jackets are on the fringe of the NCAA Tournament and needed to beat Syracuse to remain in the conversation. They did it with team defense once again.

The Jackets beat NC State 86-76 on January 15th.

Georgia Tech came into Raleigh and caught fire from beyond the arc knocking down 10-16 attempts from three. Leading the charge was freshman Josh Okogie scoring 27 points. Quinton Stevens chipped in 22 points as well as hitting 4-8 of his three-point attempts. NC State could not get any stops as Georgia Tech had five players score in double figures. NC State’s Dennis Smith tallied 31 points on the night, in addition to him, Maverick Rowan (17 pts) was the only other player to reach double figures. The Yellow Jackets will look to protect their home court once again this Tuesday to keep their NCAA dreams alive.

Josh Pastner has his team believing in defense.

GT is at the bottom when it comes to points per game as they are averaging 65.8. Georgia Tech has won their games with an energetic defensive attack. Giving up 68.6 points per game ranks the Yellow Jackets third in scoring defense in ACC play. Not only do they keep points off the board but teams are shooting just 40% from the field when playing aginst them, top in the ACC. Pastner’s group finds ways to get stops, which have helped them hang around finding ways to win. With four games remaining the Jackets have an excellent chance at securing a winning ACC record once the regular season comes to a close.

Tuesday night the Jackets will look to build upon their big win over Syracuse. They will look for their crowd to give them another big night as well. Georgia Tech should be able to beat a reeling NC State group that has struggled to defend this season. Game time is at 8’clock this Tuesday night!