2020–21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Josh Pastner and played their home games at Hank McCamish Pavilion as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Yellow Jackets finished the season 17–9, 11–6 in ACC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Miami in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament and advanced to the championship game after Virginia was forced to withdraw from the tournament after a positive COVID-19 test.^[1] They defeated Florida State to win the tournament championship^[2] and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region.^[3] They lost in the first round to Loyola.^[4] It was the first time since 2010 that the Yellow Jackets had participated in the NCAA Tournament, and their first ACC Championship since 1993.

2020–21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball
ACC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	17–9 (11–6 ACC)
Head coach	Josh Pastner (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Eric Reveno Julian Swartz Anthony Wilkins
Home arena	McCamish Pavilion
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 Virginia	13	–	4		.765			18	–	7		.720
No. 14 Florida State	11	–	4		.733			18	–	7		.720
No. 25 Virginia Tech	9	–	4		.692			15	–	7		.682
Georgia Tech †	11	–	6		.647			17	–	9		.654
Clemson	10	–	6		.625			16	–	8		.667
North Carolina	10	–	6		.625			18	–	11		.621
Louisville	8	–	5		.615			13	–	7		.650
Syracuse	9	–	7		.563			18	–	10		.643
NC State	9	–	8		.529			14	–	11		.560
Duke	9	–	9		.500			13	–	11		.542
Notre Dame	7	–	11		.389			11	–	15		.423
Pittsburgh	6	–	10		.375			10	–	12		.455
Miami (FL)	4	–	15		.211			10	–	17		.370
Wake Forest	3	–	15		.167			6	–	16		.273
Boston College	2	–	11		.154			4	–	16		.200
† 2021 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Yellow Jackets finished the 2019–20 season 17–14, 11–9 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. The team was banned from postseason play, including the conference tournament, due to NCAA rules violations.^[5]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
James Banks III	1	F/C	6'10"	250	Senior	Decatur, GA	Graduated
Shembari Phillips	2	G	6'4"	210	Senior	Atlanta, GA	Graduated
Evan Cole	3	G	6'10"	226	Sophomore	Cumming, GA	Transferred to Utah Valley
Asanti Price	23	G	6'5"	177	Freshman	Columbia, SC	Entered transfer portal
Kristian Sjolund	35	F	6'8"	213	Sophomore	Katy, TX	Transferred to UTEP
Shaheed Medlock	45	G	6'5"	196	Senior	Waycross, GA	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Kyle Sturdivant	1	G	6'2"	198	Sophomore	Norcross, GA	USC
Rodney Howard	24	F	6'10"	241	Sophomore	Ypsilanti, MI	Georgia

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Saba Gigiberia C	Windsor, CA	Prolific Preparatory School	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Nov 11, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Tristan Maxwell G	Huntersville, NC	North Mecklenburg	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Oct 21, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 77
Jordan Meka C	Marietta, GA	Mount Bethel Christian Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	224 lb (102 kg)	Sep 24, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Georgia Tech Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020. "Georgia Tech 2020 Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020. "Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020.

Roster

2020–21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Michael Devoe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Jr Montverde Academy Orlando, FL G 1 Kyle Sturdivant 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) So Norcross HS Southern California Norcross, GA F/C 2 Saba Gigiberia 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Prolific Preparatory School Tbilisi, Georgia G 3 Bubba Parham 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Brookwood HS VMI Snellville, GA G/F 4 Jordan Usher 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Sr Wheeler HS Southern California Canton, GA F 5 Moses Wright 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Sr William G. Enloe HS Raleigh, NC G 10 Jose Alvarado 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Sr Christ the King Regional HS Brooklyn, NY G 11 Tristan Maxwell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Fr North Mecklenburg HS Charlotte, NC F 12 Khalid Moore 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Archbishop Molloy HS Briarwood, NY G 13 Coleman Boyd 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) So Mount Bethel Christian Academy Smyrna, GA F 14 David Didenko 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Jr Palm Beach State College Yakutsk, Russia G 23 Jordan Meka 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Fr Mount Bethel Christian Academy Yaoundé, Cameroon F 24 Rodney Howard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 241 lb (109 kg) So Legacy Charter School Georgia Ypsilanti, MI G 34 Niko Broadway 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So St. Pius X HS Atlanta, GA F 35 Jehloni James 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Lanier HS Sugar Hill, GA G 45 Shaheed Medlock 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Sr Ware County HS Waycross, GA G 55 Malachi Rice (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Sr Brebeuf Jesuit Prep Indianapolis, IN	Head coach Josh Pastner (Arizona) Assistant coach(es) Eric Reveno (Stanford) Julian Swartz (Carroll) Anthony Wilkins (Kent State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 23, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 9:00 p.m., ACCRSN		Georgia State Georgia Tech Showcase	L 120–123 ^4OT	0–1	31 – Wright	20 – Wright	4 – Alvarado	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
November 27, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ACCRSN		Mercer Georgia Tech Showcase	L 73–83	0–2	20 – Wright	8 – Usher	7 – Alvarado	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
December 6, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN		vs. No. 20 Kentucky Holiday Hoopsgiving	W 79–62	1–2	21 – Wright	8 – Wright	5 – Devoe	State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA
December 9, 2020* 7:15 p.m., ESPNU		at Nebraska ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 75–64	2–2	24 – Alvarado	8 – Tied	4 – Wright	Pinnacle Bank Arena (25) Lincoln, NE
December 15, 2020 8:30 p.m., ACCN		at No. 15 Florida State	L 61–74	2–3 (0–1)	21 – Devoe	6 – Moore	4 – Moore	Donald L. Tucker Center (2,664) Tallahassee, FL
December 18, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN		Florida A&M	W 74–64	3–3	24 – Wright	8 – Parham	8 – Devoe	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
December 20, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ACCN		Delaware State	W 97–69	4–3	29 – Alvarado	6 – Gigiberia	6 – Usher	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
December 30, 2020 8:00 p.m., ACCRSN		North Carolina	W 72–67	5–3 (1–1)	20 – Tied	7 – Alvarado	7 – Alvarado	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
January 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN		Wake Forest	W 70–54	6–3 (2–1)	25 – Alvarado	8 – Usher	5 – Wright	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
January 6, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN		at Notre Dame	Postponed due to COVID-19^[6]					Purcell Pavilion  Notre Dame, IN
January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN		at NC State	Postponed due to COVID-19^[7]					PNC Arena  Raleigh, NC
January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN		No. 20 Clemson	W 83–65	7–3 (3–1)	22 – Devoe	4 – Tied	6 – Devoe	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
January 23, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		at No. 13 Virginia	L 62–64	7–4 (3–2)	20 – Alvarado	6 – Usher	8 – Alvarado	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
January 26, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN		at Duke	L 68–75	7–5 (3–3)	26 – Alvarado	14 – Wright	6 – Wright	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
January 30, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 16 Florida State	W 76–65	8–5 (4–3)	23 – Wright	8 – Tied	6 – Alvarado	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
February 1, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN		at Louisville	L 58–74	8–6 (4–4)	17 – Devoe	16 – Wright	4 – Alvarado	KFC Yum! Center (2,868) Louisville, KY
February 6, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		Notre Dame	W 82–80	9–6 (5–4)	19 – Tied	8 – Wright	5 – Tied	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
February 10, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN		No. 9 Virginia	L 49–57	9–7 (5–5)	18 – Alvarado	6 – Wright	4 – Usher	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
February 12, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		at Clemson	L 72–74	9–8 (5–6)	23 – Devoe	6 – Usher	6 – Devoe	Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC
February 14, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN		Pittsburgh	W 71–65	10–8 (6–6)	24 – Wright	7 – Alvarado	5 – Alvarado	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
February 17, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN		Boston College	Postponed due to COVID-19^[8]					McCamish Pavilion  Atlanta, GA
February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN		at Miami (FL)	W 87–60	11–8 (7–6)	29 – Devoe	12 – Wright	6 – Alvarado	Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL
February 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN		at No. 16 Virginia Tech	W 69–53	12–8 (8–6)	26 – Wright	10 – Wright	4 – Devoe	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
February 27, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN		Syracuse	W 84–77	13–8 (9–6)	31 – Wright	16 – Wright	7 – Usher	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
March 2, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		Duke	W 81–77 ^OT	14–8 (10–6)	29 – Wright	14 – Wright	5 – Wright	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
March 5, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		at Wake Forest	W 75–63	15–8 (11–6)	20 – Devoe	6 – Usher	5 – Alvarado	LJVM Coliseum (1,229) Winston-Salem, NC
ACC tournament
March 11, 2021 2:30 p.m., ESPN2	(4)	vs. (13) Miami Quarterfinals	W 70–66	16–8	15 – Usher	6 – Wright	7 – Devoe	Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC
March 12, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN2	(4)	vs. (1) No. 16 Virginia Semifinals	Georgia Tech advanced due to COVID-19 issues at Virginia^[9]					Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, NC
March 13, 2021 8:30 p.m., ESPN	(4)	vs. (2) No. 15 Florida State Championship	W 80–75	17–8	20 – Devoe	8 – Wright	3 – Devoe	Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021 4:00 p.m., TBS	(9 MW)	vs. (8 MW) No. 17 Loyola–Chicago First Round	L 60–71	17–9	15 – Usher	5 – Tied	4 – Devoe	Hinkle Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[10][11]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	—	RV	Not released
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

1. Borzello, Jeff (March 12, 2021). "Virginia Cavaliers out of ACC tournament after positive COVID-19 test". ESPN. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
2. "Georgia Tech vs. Florida State - Game Recap - March 13, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
3. Easwaran, Akshay (March 14, 2021). "Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets Earn #9 seed, will play #8 Loyola-Chicago". From The Rumble Seat. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
4. "Georgia Tech vs. Loyola Chicago - Game Recap - March 19, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
5. Geisinger, Brian (September 26, 2019). "Georgia Tech Basketball Banned from 2020 Postseason by NCAA". accsports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
6. "Georgia Tech at Notre Dame Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
7. "Georgia Tech at NC State Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
8. "Boston College at Georgia Tech Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
9. "Virginia vs. Georgia Tech ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal Game Canceled". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
10. "2020-21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
11. "2020-21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.