On Wednesday, Jan. 26 Georgia Tech men’s basketball (8-10) hosted their ACC opponent, Florida State Seminoles at McCamish Pavilion. The Florida State men’s basketball team (13-5) was enjoying a six-game winning streak heading into this matchup while the Tech team has struggled in conference play this season. Nevertheless, the Jackets pulled out a decisive 75-61 victory against the Seminoles.
Florida State began to pull away early on after dominating the boards in the first half and capitalizing on multiple easy put backs. However, once Tech got settled in on defense, the team narrowed the deficit with a collection of forced turnovers and an offensive surge.
Eventually, the gap was closed with Tech leading 44-33 at halftime after shooting 42% from three. Scoring from team leaders senior Michael Devoe (15 points) and senior Jordan Usher (19 points) sealed the Seminoles fate, with freshman Deebo Coleman also contributing 14 points from off the bench. Florida State’s late game rally was stifled by the Jackets, and the Tech victory was capped off by a highlight ankle-breaking play from junior guard, Kyle Sturdivant, who finished the game with 12 points. This was a significant win for the men’s basketball team, who looked to continue their streak Saturday against the Miami Hurricanes.
The Tech men’s basketball team (9-10) fell short on Saturday in their contest against the 15-5 Miami Hurricanes. The Jackets hosted this matchup at McCamish Pavilion but trailed much of the game against their ACC opponents, who were coming off a recent victory against Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech was able to maintain competitive intensity throughout the game as they narrowed the gap to within five before a Miami three-pointer at the end of the first half extended the Hurricane lead to 36-28.
The Jackets’ defensive struggles continued into the second half as they could not contain the Hurricanes consistent scoring pace. In addition, Tech struggled throughout the game from the free throw line. The Jackets converted only 30 percent of their free throws and ultimately ran out of time in regulation before they could mount a rally from behind. The game ended as a 73-62 Hurricanes win. Khalid Moore led the way in scoring with 19 while Usher recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The loss dropped the Jackets record to 9-11 as the team hopes to get back on track on Wednesday, Feb. 2 when they will travel to compete against the Virginia Tech Hokies followed by a home game against Clemson.