The difference between Georgia Tech’s play at home and on the road is night and day.
It means the Yellow Jackets (4-3) are more than happy to return to their home arena when they host Alabama A&M on Saturday in Atlanta.
First-year head coach Damon Stoudamire’s team lost its only two road games so far this year in blowout fashion, with a 35-point loss at Cincinnati and a 14-point defeat to in-state rival Georgia on Tuesday.
“Some teams are good on the road and some teams are not. We are not good on the road,” Stoudamire said following the Georgia loss. “We have got to play better. There has to be a sense of urgency when you are on the road. The moment you get off the bus in Athens, Ga., that’s when you have to start putting your mind on the game, not when the game tips off.”
Stoudamire’s group never led in Tuesday’s defeat and trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half. The Yellow Jackets’ lack of offensive production was represented by shooting 32.0 percent from the field and going 8 of 27 (29.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Miles Kelly, who leads the team with 17.9 points per game, was 4 of 15 from the field and 2 of 8 on his 3-pointers while he finished with 12 points.
Prior to the loss, Georgia Tech was riding high following a week that saw it knock off No. 21 Mississippi State 67-59 and No. 7 Duke 72-68 in Atlanta. Previously, the Yellow Jackets had not won consecutive games against ranked teams since January of 2017.
After a four-game stretch against power-conference teams, Georgia Tech welcomes an Alabama A&M team that is allowing 86.0 points per game, third most in the country.
The Bulldogs (1-6) have been idle since a 78-59 loss at Vanderbilt last Saturday. Alabama A&M trailed by just four points early in the second half before the Commodores took control of the game.
Dailin Smith leads Alabama A&M’s scoring at 13.4 points per game. Omari Peek adds 9.7 points per contest.
Saturday will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools, with the last being a 66-46 Yellow Jackets win in 2014.
–Field Level Media