Georgia Tech will aim to begin a two-game homestand with a win when it hosts Northeastern on Friday night in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets (4-3) have lost three of their past four games, most recently falling at Iowa in the final chapter of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Georgia Tech led by two points early, but then fell behind by as many as 17 points and ultimately lost 81-65.
Georgia Tech allowed the Hawkeyes to grab 19 offensive rebounds, which they then turned into 27 second-chance points. Iowa also shot 62.5 percent from 3-point land in the second half, swishing five shots from deep. Georgia Tech couldn’t keep up with that shooting barrage, knocking down 7 of 23 from behind the arc for a 30.4 percent clip for the game.
“We’re not a big team. We got our butts kicked on the offensive glass in the first half,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. “That’s part of the deal when we play our zone … The issue was, we get stretched and we give up a lot of offensive rebounds. We just got to get better at that.”
Georgia Tech played against Iowa without senior center Rodney Howard. Pastner said he was dealing with “some personal things” and expects him back Friday.
The Yellow Jackets did see four of their players score in double digits against Iowa. Miles Kelly led the way with 21 points and four boards. Bench production was a problem, though, as Georgia Tech got five points from its reserves.
Northeastern is also struggling this season. The Huskies are 1-5 and coming off a narrow 56-54 loss to Princeton on a neutral court overseas in London.
Jahmyl Telfort led the way with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists. He is the only Huskies scorer averaging double digits this season at 15.8 points per game. He and Coleman Stucke are shooting better than 34 percent from 3-point range.
“Jah does it all,” Huskies teammate Chris Doherty said of Telfort earlier this year. “He’s definitely bringing more of a leadership role to the table.”
Georgia Tech is the second ACC opponent Northeastern will face this season. The Huskies fell 76-48 at Syracuse on Nov. 19.
–Field Level Media