Inconsistent Georgia Tech hosts low-scoring Notre Dame

Field Level Media|published: Mon 8th January, 20:04 2024

Jan 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Miles Kelly (13) shoots against the Boston College Eagles in the second half at McCamish Pavilion. credits: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech and Notre Dame were in position to pick up much-needed conference victories on Saturday, but neither could close out its opponent at home.

The Yellow Jackets and Fighting Irish meet on Tuesday night in Atlanta, hoping to avoid plunging closer to the Atlantic Coast Conference basement.

Georgia Tech (8-6, 1-2 ACC) led by as many as 16 points in the second half against Boston College before allowing 57 points over the final 19 minutes en route to its third straight loss, and second consecutive conference defeat.

Saturday's game began according to plan for Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire, as he watched his team rack up 51 first-half points. Playing a complete game, however, has been an issue for Stoudamire's group.

"We haven't put together two good halves all season," Stoudamire said. "We'll play 28 good minutes here, 30 good minutes there. ... When we have a 16-point lead, I don't see that as a cushion. That's when we have to put our foot on their necks."

Despite the second-half collapse, Georgia Tech connected on a season-high 54.2 percent of its field-goal attempts (32 of 59) and was one point shy of matching its highest-scoring game of the season.

Miles Kelly leads the team with 14.9 points per game, while Kowacie Reeves Jr. adds 12.5 per contest.

The Yellow Jackets aim to continue their momentum Tuesday against an offensively-challenged Fighting Irish squad.

Notre Dame (6-9, 1-3) has mustered just 62.5 points per game, tied for 343rd out of 351 Division I schools.

Its offensive inefficiency was on full display Saturday in a 67-59 loss to No. 14 Duke. In a game where the Notre Dame defense held ACC Preseason Player of the Year Kyle Filipowski to seven points, the Irish shot just 39 percent from the field (23 of 59), including 5 of 19 on 3-pointers.

"We're limited in who we are as a team offensively," Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. "We'll grow, we'll keep getting better, but that's the thing. I don't know how much that changes this year."

The team's lone double-digit scorer on the season is true freshman Markus Burton, who averages 16.2 points per game.

Shrewsberry, who was hired this past March after two seasons with Penn State, is trying to turn around a Notre Dame team that suffered a program-record-tying 21 losses last season.

—Field Level Media