FSU vs. Georgia Tech: Game thread, how to watch, notes, odds

The first round of the 2023 ACC tournament is upon us. Florida State will take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets today at 2:00 ET in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Seminoles are currently placed as the No. 12 seed with a 7-13 conference record, while the Yellow Jackets hold the No. 13 slot with a 6-14 conference record.

Florida State has had one of its worst statistical regular seasons in the history of head coach Leonard Hamilton’s career. The Noles won back-to-back games just twice during the season, starting the 2022-23 campaign with a 1-9 record. Georgia Tech may not have been a conference title threat with inconsistency throughout the season, but the Seminoles still haven’t found their identity and it’s currently March.

GT plays behind a “small ball” lineup that’s given the Seminoles trouble in previous seasons. They have a couple of decent scorers in Miles Kelly and Javon Franklin, but there isn’t much that jumps out of the stat sheet. Kelly had a tremendous first half when he last faced the Noles, but FSU got the best of the Yellow Jackets in January. The Noles 75-64 home victory came courtesy of two players scoring in double-figures, Darin Green Jr. and Matthew Cleveland.

Both of the Seminoles' leading scorers were riding hot streaks earlier in the year, but that’s gradually cooled off. The key for the Noles to come out on top is to find consistency on offense and control the glass, whereas the key for the Yellow Jackets is to knock down the three-ball and get the Seminoles in foul trouble early.

According to DraftKings, the Seminoles are listed as 2-point underdogs, with the over/under set at 146.5.

Here’s a look at additional information from Florida State’s athletic department:

FLORIDA STATE FACES GEORGIA TECH IN FIRST ROUND OF 2023 ACC TOURNAMENT

Florida State, which defeated Georgia Tech in the only regular season meeting between the two teams in 2023, faces the Yellow Jackets in the first round of the 2023 New York Life ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Florida State is seeded No. 12 and Georgia Tech No. 13 in the 2023 ACC Tournament. The Seminoles’ game against the Yellow Jackets marks the third time the two teams will face each other in the ACC Tournament, with the most recent meeting coming in the championship game of the 2021 tournament. Florida State defeated Georgia Tech, 75-64, at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee on January 7, 2023, in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season. The winner of Tuesday’s game between the Seminoles and the Yellow Jackets will face No. 5 seeded Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in the second round of the 2023 ACC Tournament.

FLORIDA STATE RECENTLY AGAINST GEORGIA TECH

Including Florida State’s victory over Georgia Tech on January 7, 2023, the Seminoles have won six of the last nine and 16 of the last 21 games against Georgia Tech. The Seminoles won a series-record 10 consecutive games in the series beginning with a 66-64 win on December 30, 2007 in Atlanta through a 57-53 win on February 14, 2015 also in Atlanta and won five straight against the Yellow Jackets from an 88-77 win on January 24, 2018 in Tallahassee through a 74-61 win in Tallahassee on December 15, 2020.

THE LAST TIME FLORIDA STATE MET GEORGIA TECH IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

Freshman Scottie Barnes scored his career-high 21 points and sophomore Balsa Koprivica recorded his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but their efforts weren’t enough as No. 2 seeded Florida State Seminoles fell to No. 4 seeded Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament Championship game by an 80-75 margin at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 13, 2021. Both Florida State and Georgia Tech advanced to the NCAA Tournament following the game in the ACC Tournament – the Seminoles as an At-Large selection and the Yellow Jackets as the automatic qualifier from the ACC. The Seminoles shot 56 percent from the field (28 of 50) and 53 percent from the 3-point line (eight of 15). However, with 25 turnovers, Georgia Tech was able to score 31 points off of Florida State’s mistakes. Senior M.J. Walker contributed 15 points and pulled down four rebounds. He was three of five from the 3-point line against Georgia Tech. He moved into ninth place in school history with 173 career 3-point field goals made and into 43rd in scoring in school history with a total of 1,056 career points scored. Florida State was down by just one point at the half (31-30) after a buzzer-beating lay-up from Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe. With 14 turnovers and only 11 made shots, the Seminoles went into the locker room in hopes of regaining focus to start the second half.

SEMINOLES’ GREEN JR. FINISHES REGULAR SEASON WITH 88 3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE

Florida State’s Darin Green Jr. finished the 2023 regular season as the ACC co-leader in 3-point field goals made with 88. He finished the 31-game regular season tied with Blake Hinson of Pittsburgh, who also made 88 3-point field goals. The 88 3-point field goals made by Green Jr. is the third highest single-season total by a Florida State player in school history. Green Jr. is one of four players in the ACC who has made 85 or more 3-point field goals entering the ACC Tournament.

SEMINOLES’ MILLS IN THE TOP 15 IN THREE DIFFERENT ACC STATISTICAL CATEGORIES

Florida State junior Caleb Mills enters the 2023 ACC Tournament ranked in the top 15 in three different ACC statistical categories — free throw percentage (seventh, .836), steals (ninth, 1.4 spg), and assists (15th, 3.4 apg).

LOOK FOR FLORIDA STATE TO...

...Defeat Georgia Tech and win its second game of the season against the Yellow Jackets. The Seminoles won the only meeting of the 2022-23 regular season by a 75-64 score at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee;

...Defeat Georgia Tech and defeat the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Tournament for the second time in three tournament meetings. The Seminoles defeated the Yellow Jackets by a 63-62 margin in Charlotte on March 9, 2000 in Charlotte and fell to the Yellow Jackets by an 80-75 margin in the ACC Tournament championship game on March 13, 2021 in Greensboro;

...Defeat Georgia Tech and win its third game against the Yellow Jackets in a conference tournament. The Seminoles were 1-1 against the Jackets while both played as members of the Metro Conference (1977 and 1978) and are 1-1 against the Yellow Jackets in two games in the ACC Tournament.

Florida State vs. Georgia Tech how to watch, TV info

Date

Tuesday, March 7th

Time

2 p.m.

TV

ACCN

Stream

ESPN, Hulu

Listen

Seminoles Radio Network