Tech and Penn State Face Off in the Big Apple
Yellow Jackets and Nittany Lions tip off at 12 p.m. Saturday at Madison Square Garden
Yellow Jackets and Nittany Lions tip off at 12 p.m. Saturday at Madison Square Garden
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GEORGIA TECH (5-3, 1-0 ACC) vs. PENN STATE (5-5, 1-1 Big Ten)
Saturday, December 16, 2023 | 12 p.m. EST | New York, N.Y. | Madison Square GardenTelevision: Big Ten Network (Announcers: Jason Horowitz, Stephen Bardo)
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan) | SiriusXM channel 106 or 193
Other ways to listen: SiriusXM app | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Announcers: Andy Demetra, Randy Waters
Live Stats: Statbroadcast.com
THE FLATS – Back on the winning track as it begins a long stretch of games away from home, Georgia Tech travels to New York City to take on Penn State of the Big Ten Conference at 12 p.m. Saturday in Madison Square Garden.
Tech (5-3) returns to action after a week off for fall semester final exams, having defeated Alabama A&M, 70-49, last Saturday at home. The Yellow Jackets have won three of their last four games, having also knocked off No. 21 Mississippi State, 67-59, in the ACC/SEC Challenge and No. 7 Duke, 72-68, in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Penn State (5-5) also has had a week off after its 83-80 Big Ten Conference victory at home over Ohio State last Saturday, which snapped a five-game losing streak. The Nittany Lions started their season with four straight wins, then lost three times in the ESPN Events Invitational and its Big Ten opener against Maryland.
Saturday’s game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network with a live stream available on FoxSports.com. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available on the SiriusXM app and SiriusXM channel 106 or 193.
THE TIP-OFF
• Tech is playing a game at Madison Square Garden for the first time since 2017 post-season National Invitation Tournament, in which the Yellow Jackets knocked Cal Bakersfield in the semifinals and lost to TCU in the championship game. The Yellow Jackets are 18-8 all-time in the arena.
• Tech does not play at home again until Jan. 6 vs. Boston College. That’s 27 calendar days between home games, the most for the Jackets since the 1986-87 season, when they went 43 calendar days between home games (Dec. 1 vs. Penn to Jan. 14 vs. North Carolina A&T). Tech plays its next four games away from Atlanta, traveling to New York Dec. 16 to play Penn State at Madison Square Garden, and Honolulu, Hawai’i to compete in the Diamond Head Classic, Dec. 21-24. After the New Year, Tech goes to Tallahassee to resume its ACC schedule Jan. 3 at Florida State.
• The Penn State game concludes a stretch of five games out of six against power conference foes - Cincinnati (Nov. 22), Mississippi State (Nov. 28), Duke (Dec. 2) and Georgia (Dec. 5), Penn State (Dec. 16).
• Tech is guaranteed to face five non-conference opponents that won 20 or more games in the 2022-23 season, including four that played in the post-season. Mississippi State (21-13), Penn State (23-14) and Howard (22-13) all played in the NCAA Tournament last season, while Cincinnati (23-13), a new member of the Big 12, reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. UMass Lowell (26-8) finished second in the America East Conference. The Yellow Jackets potentially could play two more 20-win teams in the Diamond Head Classic, with a possible game against Hawai’i (21-11) in the second round and TCU (22-13) in the final round.
• Tech has yet to play a game with its full complement of 13 scholarship players due to injury. Senior guard Lance Terry, Tech’s second-leading scorer last season, has been sidelined the entire season, while freshman forward Baye Ndongo missed the first three games.
• Tech has started two freshmen - forward Baye Ndongo and point guard Naithan George - in its last four games. The Jackets have not had two freshmen in its regular starting lineup since the 2018-19 season (Michael Devoe, Khalid Moore), and have not had a freshman regularly start at point guard since Jose Alvarado in 2017-18.
