Game Thread | Georgia Tech at Notre Dame
Georgia Tech (10-14, 3-10) at Notre Dame (8-16, 3-10)
Date: February 14th
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion | South Bend, Ind.
TV: ACC Network
Line: Notre Dame -3.5
O/U: 132.5
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 16-13
- In the last meeting, Notre Dame won 75-68 in overtime on Jan. 9th
- Freshman Markus Burton has scored in double figures in 17 straight games
- Burton has scored 388 points this season, which is No. 7 all-time for a Notre Dame freshman
- Freshman Braeden Shrewsberry is averaging 13.0 ppg over the last ten games
- ESPN’s Matchup Predictor: 60.7% in favor of Notre Dame
PROJECTED STARTERS
NOTRE DAME
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Markus Burton | 16.2 | 3.2 | 4.2 |
| Braeden Shrewsberry | 9.4 | 2.4 | 0.8 |
| Tae Davis | 7.8 | 5.1 | 0.8 |
| Carey Booth | 5.8 | 4.1 | 0.5 |
| Kebba Njie | 4.5 | 5.7 | 0.7 |
GEORGIA TECH
| Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Nathian George | 9.8 | 2.1 | 4.9 |
| Miles Kelly | 14.8 | 5.9 | 1.8 |
| Kowacie Reeves Jr. | 10.5 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| Tafara Gapare | 4.4 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
| Baye Ndongo | 11.9 | 8.0 | 0.8 |
TEAM STATS
| STAT | GEORGIA TECH | NOTRE DAME |
| Scoring Offense | 71.8 | 62.0 |
| Scoring Defense | 76.3 | 65.8 |
| FG% | 41.7% | 40.2% |
| Rebounds | 38.3 | 36.3 |
| Assists | 13.0 | 9.8 |
| Blocks | 4.3 | 2.6 |
| Steals | 4.6 | 5.9 |
| Turnovers | 12.0 | 13.5 |
THOUGHTS
Wednesday is a golden opportunity for Notre Dame to take a step forward and win two straight ACC games. The Irish should have automatic confidence as they beat the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta last month, and Notre Dame is a much better team than it was in the first week of January.
Georgia Tech has been a wild card this year, which is somewhat expected as they start two true freshmen. The Yellow Jackets have beaten Clemson, Duke and North Carolina, but still enter Wednesday’s game four games under .500 and just 3-10 in ACC play.
The key for Notre Dame will be stopping point guard Naithan George and Miles Kelly. Like Markus Burton, George has gone through his ups and downs as a freshman point guard in the ACC. When George shines, the Yellow Jackets shine and he did that against Clemson (20 points/6 assists), Duke (17 points/5 assists) and North Carolina (16 points/4 assists). In the first meeting against Notre Dame, Georgia scored nine points and dished out a career-high 11 assists.
Kelly is a scoring threat on any night and is coming off scoring 36 points against Louisville over the weekend. Notre Dame did a so-so job on him last month as he scored 25 points on 0-for-21 shooting, but Kelly hit 7-of-15 from three.
Notre Dame also didn’t have an answer for freshman big man Baye Ndongo in January as he scored 16 points and pulled down nine boards.
Offensively, Notre Dame needs to continue to lean on Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry. If Micah Shrewsberry can find a way to get Tae Davis going, it could be huge for the Irish. Since ACC play started, Davis has scored in double-digits just twice. Davis needs to start attacking the rim more as it’s a strength and good things happen. He’s just 2-for-8 in the last two games combined from the field.
It’s also worth noting that Georgia Tech has not won in South Bend since the Fighitng Irish joined the ACC.
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