Four of the five team captains voted on spoke to us (excluding Haynes King because he was doing a phone interview with the sideline reporter for Friday) so it was a lot to go through. That's why it's 2 p.m. and I'm just posting this. But there was a lot of good stuff in there and some quotes you all will like about some of the players' thoughts on the Bulldogs and the rivalry.

Georgia Tech 2024-25 schedule | Purchase Single-Game Tickets | Media Notes (PDF) | Live Stats and Audio


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GEORGIA TECH (2-3, 0-0 ACC) vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (1-6, 0-0 Big South)​

Wednesday, November 27, 2024 | 7:30 p.m. EST | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion

Live Stream: ACC Network Extra | ESPN+ (Announcers: Wiley Ballard, Jon Babul)

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan)

Announcers: Andy Demetra, Randy Waters

Other ways to listen: SiriusXM app | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn



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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech looks to bounce back from two straight losses Wednesday night, taking on Charleston Southern in a 7:30 p.m. tip at McCamish Pavilion, the first of two home games for the Yellow Jackets this Thanksgiving week.

Tech (2-3), looking to improve upon a 14-18 mark in Damon Stoudamire’s first season as head coach on The Flats, comes into the contest with a 2-3 record, having defeated West Georgia (85-62) and Texas Southern (81-62), while dropping decisions to North Florida (105-93), Georgia (77-69) and No. 18 Cincinnati (81-58).

The Buccaneers (1-6) have lost their last four games to UT Rio Grande Valley (86-76), VMI (80-69), LSU (76-68) and Furman (67-46). CSU’s one win came Nov. 11 at home against NAIA member Morris College (108-50).

Wednesday’s game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, 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). The Tech broadcast is also available on the SiriusXM app.

THE TIP-OFF

• Tech and Charleston Southern are meeting for the ninth time in series history, second time at McCamish Pavilion (85-70 Tech win during the 2021-22 season.

• Wednesday is game 6 in Georgia Tech’s seven-game homestand to open the 2024-25 season. The Yellow Jackets do not leave Atlanta until they visit Oklahoma on Dec. 3 in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

• Four Tech players are averaging in double-figure points through five games (Baye Ndongo 13.6, Javian McCollum 12.8, Lance Terry 12.6, Kowacie Reeves Jr. 10.4), with Naithan George close at 9.4 ppg.

• Despite its 2-3 record, Tech remains ahead of its pace in several offensive categories through five games compared to the same period a year ago – scoring average (77.2 ppg over 72.4), field goal percentage (41.6 pct. over 39.4), three-point percentage (31.1 over 29.8), free throw percentage (68.6 over 65.5), assist/turnover ratio (75/61 over 56/62).

• Tech also ranks much higher in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom.com – 72.1 possessions per game (38th in the nation), compared to 67.6 possessions (168th nationally) a year ago. And its average length of possession is a full second faster, but it has been less efficient (1.07 points per possession compared to 109.4 in 2023-24.

• Tech’s opponents also have quickened their pace by more than one second per possession on average, and the Jackets defensive efficiency is 1.02 points per possession compared to 1.05 last season.

SERIES NOTES VS. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

• Georgia Tech and Charleston Southern are meeting for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when the Yellow Jackets took an 85-70 victory at home.

• Tech has won the last seven meetings and eight of nine overall in a series that dates back to 1978, when CSU was known at Baptist College.

• The first eight meetings were played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the Yellow Jackets’ former on campus home.

LAST TIME OUT

Points were at a premium on Saturday afternoon as Georgia Tech men’s basketball (2-3) suffered an 81-58 defeat at the hands of No. 18/16 Cincinnati (5-0) from inside McCamish Pavilion. Untimely turnovers and uncharacteristically poor shooting foiled the Yellow Jackets hopes for its first top-25 victory of the season.

With both of the Jackets’ starting big men in foul trouble, Tech turned to Duncan Powell off the bench, who finished with a season high 10 points. Naithan George found his three-point stroke in the second half, finishing the day with 13 points off his seventh career game with at least three makes from deep.

Turnover trouble stifled the Yellow Jacket attack in the early stages, allowing Cincinnati to jump out to a 14-4 lead. Cincinnati expanded that lead to 45-29 by the end of the opening 20 minutes.

TECH BYTES

• Tech is playing its first seven games of the season at McCamish Pavilion, the longest homestand to start a season for the Yellow Jackets since 1980-81 The Jackets do not play away from home until Dec. 3 (SEC/ACC Challenge at Oklahoma).

• Eleven players saw the court for the Jackets against Cincinnati and 10 of them scored.

• For the second straight game, Tech set season lows for points (58), field goal percentage (.356), three-point field goals (5) and assists (8).

• Tech has connected on just 37.2 percent of its field goal tries (67-of-180) in its last three games, and just 11-of-43 threes (25.6 pct.) in its last two games.

• Duncan Powell reached double digits in points (10 vs. Cincinnati) for the first time in a Yellow Jackets uniform.

• Naithan George was the only other Tech player in double figures against Cincinnati, leading the Jacket with 13 (5-9 FG, 3-6 3pt FG).

• George ranks sixth in the ACC in assist average (4.8 per game) and 11th in assist/turnover ratio (2.18).

• Three Tech players are above 80 percent front the free throw line – Javian McCollum (13-of-15), Lance Terry (12-of-14) and Naithan George (9-of-11).

• Freshman center Doryan Onwuchekwa has started Tech’s last three games and grabbed a total of 24 rebounds.

• McCollum and Baye Ndongo have each reached double digits in points in four of Tech’s five games.

• Kowacie Reeves, Jr., has started all 37 games Tech has played with him on the team.

in Hawaii over No. 23 Oregon.

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So my wife is taking over the turkey for the first time in several years (I’ve done it on the BGE since we got one 15 years ago). So looks I’m driving apps. Good ideas for T-Day apps ? Go…

Worth the watch. Brent F Key!

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For anyone going to the game in Athens, how did you receive notification to download your tickets? I can’t find an email, text, anything that gave me instructions to download my tickets. I just got off the phone with GT Athletics and they said uga was supposed to be sending them out. Why uga? Trying to get my tickets secured before the holidays.

THE FLATS – For the third time this season, the Brent Key Coach’s Show – Georgia Tech football head coach Brent Key’s weekly radio show – will air live from Georgia Tech’s campus, with this Wednesday’s show originating from inside McCamish Pavilion from 6-7 p.m., prior to Georgia Tech men's basketball's 7:30 p.m. game versus Charleston Southern.

The show, which will preview the 118th edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate against No. 6-ranked Georgia on Friday night, will air from just inside the 10th Street entrance to McCamish Pavilion. Tickets for the Georgia Tech-Charleston Southern men's hoops game are required to watch the show in person. Click HERE to purchase tickets.

Bringing the Brent Key Coach’s Show to campus earlier this season – prior to home games versus Notre Dame (Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity) and Miami (Reck Garage at the John Lewis Student Center) – was in thanks and recognition of Tech students’ unprecedented support of the Yellow Jackets this season. Georgia Tech sold out its entire allotment of student season tickets prior to the first home game of the year, and the full amount of single-game tickets dedicated to Tech students were claimed for each home game of the season.

This week's show at McCamish Pavilion provides bonus entertainment for Georgia Tech students and fans in attendance for the Thanksgiving Eve hoops showdown between the Yellow Jackets and Buccaneers.

Fans that can’t make it out for the Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate edition of the Brent Key Coach’s Show can listen live on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets app and on Georgia Tech Sports Network stations across Georgia, including 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan in Atlanta.

our fans to hate each other, or us to hate UGA?

just curious

Includes all the info on which players are still playing on the postseason and who they play next. Also included the stats for the final game for Tae Harris a couple weeks ago in the first round. I'll just say he did his part for Cedartown...

ATLANTA- Georgia Tech football coach Brent Key spoke for the first time about the Georgia game on Black Friday to reporters on Monday afternoon following a Jackets’ practice. With the game on Friday, the Jackets moved everything up a day with the Friday kickoff.

“It was the normal routine just bumped up a day,” Key said of the schedule this week. “It is a big game this weekend, on Friday night for us. With the way the week is, it doesn’t matter what day you play on, we just back it up from that day. We got a lot of work to do this week and a lot of work to put in. (UGA) are a good football team and there is a reason why they’re a top 10 team. They’ve got really good players and really good coaches. They are well-coached, they are disciplined and they go out and execute. They are especially hard to play at their home stadium at nighttime. We are ready for a challenge and we got to prepare this week and have our best week of preparation to be able to go out there and play a good clean game on Friday night.”

The Jackets have lost six in a row to Georgia and Key said that the losing streak to the Bulldogs and the stakes of the rivalry game are not something he will talk about with the team because it goes against the mantra of the program this season of not looking at the scoreboard and focusing on the play in the moment.

“Winning games is why you play games, for that opportunity to win, but we don’t talk about winning games. We don’t talk about anything other than playing to the best of our ability every play, one play at a time. I can’t sit here and tell them there is not scoreboard, but you don’t look at the scoreboard,” Key said. “That is not the way we are wired. It is not the way this team is built. That is why were able to have adversity hit and be able to continue to play through it because it is all about playing the next play.”

The Tech quarterback situation remains a big question going into the UGA game. Freshman Aaron Philo led the country in PFF score with a 93.7 in the win over NC State playing the majority of the game over starter Haynes King who is still nursing a throwing shoulder injury. Philo has played in four games this season and any snaps in the Georgia game would burn his redshirt. Key said that there has been zero discussion about saving or burning Philo’s shirt ahead of the Georgia game.

“We look at redshirts at the end of the season. Our guys on this football team are 100 percent in line with what we want to accomplish so there are no personal agendas over the team agenda when it comes to that,” Key said.

When asked if the Jackets will continue with the two-quarterback King and Philo rotation for Georgia, Key dodged the question.

“Who’s to say we will use both of them? We are going to put together a plan that gives us the best opportunity to have success in the game. Every week is a new defense, a new scheme and new coaches and a new way to attack things so really one week has no bearing on the next when it comes to putting the plan together,” he said.

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Key said they are cleaning up some stuff from the NC State game, but he was very proud of how the team kept fighting and figured out a way to win the game and an emotional game (SR night) against a very good NC State team that played very hard. He said that was a good sign of the maturation and growth of the program.

Key took time to thank the students and fans that supported the program this year by showing up in large numbers especially the student body and said he hopes they will show for other sports as well.

Key was asked about E.J. Lightsey and he said he was banged up when he got to GT and needed time to heal up and then he hurt his hamstring on a kickoff cover early in the season and he just needed the consistency of being healthy and now he is starting to play faster and quicker in his reads and what he has to get done and he is a big strong guy that can run.

Key said that UGA has good players on defense and they are well-coached and UGA has really good coaches on both sides of the ball and that is a recipe for success.

Rod asked him about Nate Frazier picking up steam and he said that he is a good back and UGA is very explosive on offense. He said that Carson Beck is a phenomenal QB and they create a lot of explosive plays down field throwing the ball and they can line up and play very physical up front as well and it will be a huge challenge for GT. They’ve been able to run the ball with multiple backs this year and they will try to establish the run.

I asked about the depth they’ve built and he said that player availability remains the most important thing in football and they’ve still got a ways to go building depth but they have it in some key spots especially (knocked on wood) the OL/DL and they are able to develop guys. He said they have two full scout team Ols now for the first time every and that is huge because they don’t have to pull 2nd team guys over to help practice anymore and that allows those guys to take some reps off the ones and keep everyone fresh.

Key was asked about Buster Faulkner’s evolution in season two as the OC, he Buster is a good coach and he is not tied to a system or scheme. He said that the schemes are personnel driven and understanding your players is very important and there is no changing who your players are in the season, no waiver wire on Tuesday or calling guys up, you have your roster you built and that is it and you can’t put square pegs in a round hole. He said all really in all three phases they are more personnel driven than scheme figuring out the things the players are best at doing.

I asked about the early signing period and he said yes the window is tighter now and recruiting is not a part-time job so they do it every week and are not even 100% focused on games on a game week because they have to keep recruiting that is part of the job and being a coach also means being a recruiter and then also worrying about academic progress with the current players and all of those things.

Key was asked about JJ Cosh joining the staff to help with as a player management/contracts person in the NIL world, he said that excited to have JJ come on board and excited about his background and he appreciates both J Batt and President Cabrera for having the vision to be able to do this and be forward thinking and understanding where college football and college athletics are going.

I asked Key if he talked about or thought about the chaotic the season has been with GT with two top 10 wins already under their belt. Key said he never talks about that during the week and things are changing so much parity in the game now they just have to focus on GT and this org and not worry about anything else.

Gave a lot of praise for what kind of player, person and competitor Jordan is and also had a lot of compliments for what Brent Key is doing at Georgia Tech right now...

Good morning Jackets and THWG! Just wanted to share some things from a source.
The great news expected today on the recruiting front may be a surprise to the nation but not to this program. And we aren’t done yet.
People haven’t been paying attention but we are well on our way and setting GT up for big things with NIL. We are ahead of the majority of schools including many blue bloods. The vision and leadership have positioned us to be a big time program again. Many thanks to all who donate and continue to. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Of course there will be bumps in the road as we build but damn the future is bright.

Along with NIL, two things have really helped in recruiting. One is the national exposure we have gotten and taken advantage of. FSU, Miami and Thursday night were great.#2 the student sections. I have never heard more compliments from players and recruits about how awesome the students have been at games. A big thank you to the students.

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Good for Wiley! He has come a long way.

LFG! 🐝🐝🐝

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CBS (Palm) - Military Bowl (Annapolis, MD) - GT vs. Memphis
ESPN (Bonagura) - Pinstripe Bowl (New York, NY) - GT vs. Nebraska
ESPN (Schlabach) - Duke's Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC) - GT vs. Nebraska
College Football Network - Duke's Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC) - GT vs. Michigan

Indiana with a goal line stand against the Buckeyes

They don’t know how Efford wasn’t ejected for targeting. They are wondering why so many of their fans wanted Buster after we beat Miami because tonight we sucked…and Philo is average at best and they should win convincingly and us beating NCST helps their SOS.

GT. You know what to do 🥷