ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
#1 Duke Blue Devils (28-3, 19-1 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech (17-15, 10-10 ACC)
Thursday, March 13 • 12:00 p.m. ET
Spectrum Center (20,200) • Charlotte, N.C.
TV: ESPN
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD
The Duke Blue Devils face off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Broadcast Information
TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien
Analyst Cory Alexander
Reporter Angel Gray
Producer Kim Belton
Director Michael Griffin
Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
This Series
Overall Duke leads, 79-25
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 39-5
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 39-5
In Atlanta, GA Duke leads, 31-17
at McCamish Pavilion Duke leads, 26-15
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 9-3
Last Meeting Duke 82, @Georgia Tech 56 (Dec. 21, 2024)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech enters Thursdays ACC Tournament Quarterfinal having beaten the 9th seed Virginia Wednesday. Duncan Powell scored 21 points, Baye Ndongo registered his ninth double-double in the last 11 games and Naithan George nearly recorded a triple-double, leading 8th-seeded Georgia Tech to a 66-60 win over No. 9 seed Virginia in the second round of the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.
Georgia Tech ranks fourth in assists per game (14.9) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (41.9%). Sophomore 6-3 guard Naithan George tops the ACC and ranks 12th nationally with 6.5 assists per game, while contributing 12.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. The Yellow Jackets have four players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Lance Terry’s 14.6 points per game. Sophomore 6-9 forward Baye Ndongo leads the team with 9.1 rebounds per game and is second with 13.7 points per game.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke owns the second-highest net rating (39.67) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season). Only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils have achieved a higher net rating (43.01). The Blue Devils lead the country in scoring margin (+22.1) and rank fourth in field goal percentage defense (.382), fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.80), fifth in effective field goal percentage (.578), sixth in scoring defense (61.4), seventh in rebound margin (+8.6), 11th in three-point percentage (.387), 12th in scoring offense (83.5), 12th in field goal percentage (.491), 14th in assists per game (17.2) and 16th in three-pointers per game (10.4) – all top marks in the ACC. Duke leads the ACC in scoring offense (83.5) and scoring defense (61.4), and could become the first team in ACC history to lead the conference in both categories. Duke is the only team in the country ranked among the top-four in both offensive (1st) and defensive (2nd) raw efficiency, according to KenPom. Duke is the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (83.5) and hold its opponents to fewer than 62 points per game (61.4).
Cooper Flagg is the only player to rank among the ACC’s top-10 in all five major statistical categories – scoring (3rd), rebounding (8th), assists (8th), blocked shots (9th) and steals (10th). Flagg leads the Blue Devils in points per game at 19.4, he leads them in rebounding at 7.6 and in assists at 4.2. Kon Knueppel is averaging 16.7 points in the last six games, connecting on 33-of-58 (.569) from the field and 14-of-27 (.519) from long range. Kon checks in behind Flagg at 13.7 points per game. Junior guard Tyrese Proctor is averaging 12 points per game to go along with 3.2 boards and 2.2 assists per game.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 31 | 40.0 | 29.2 | 59.5 | .491 | 18.8 | 32.6 | .577 | 10.4 | 26.9 | .387 | 14.7 | 18.7 | .784 | 11.4 | 27.5 | 38.9 | 17.2 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 9.5 | 16.1 | 83.5 |
| Georgia Tech | 31 | 40.6 | 26.7 | 60.4 | .442 | 19.2 | 38.4 | .501 | 7.5 | 22.0 | .339 | 12.9 | 18.9 | .681 | 11.0 | 26.3 | 37.3 | 14.9 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 12.2 | 16.2 | 73.7 |
Regular season stats only
Stats Comparison (CONFERENCE)
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 20 | 40.0 | 29.5 | 58.4 | .505 | 19.2 | 32.4 | .593 | 10.3 | 26.0 | .396 | 15.1 | 18.6 | .814 | 9.6 | 25.7 | 35.3 | 17.2 | 6.1 | 3.8 | 8.7 | 15.8 | 84.4 |
| Georgia Tech | 20 | 41.0 | 25.8 | 59.0 | .436 | 18.6 | 37.8 | .492 | 7.2 | 21.2 | .337 | 12.2 | 18.1 | .676 | 8.8 | 23.5 | 32.2 | 13.8 | 6.0 | 3.7 | 11.5 | 14.8 | 70.9 |
Regular season stats only
Duke Projected Starters
PG Sion James 6’6, 220lbs – Grad Transfer
SG Tyrese Proctor 6’6, 183lbs – Junior
SF Kon Knueppel 6’7, 217lbs – Freshman
PF Cooper Flagg 6’9, 205lbs – Freshman
C Khaman Maluach 7’2, 250lbs – Freshman
Georgia Tech Projected Starters
G Lance Terry 6’3, 200lbs – Senior
G Naithan George 6’3, 185lbs – Sophomore
G Jaeden Mustaf 6’5, 210lbs – Freshman
F Duncan Powell 6’8, 235lbs – RS Junior
F Baye Ndongo 6’9, 240lbs – Sophomore
Final Thoughts
The Blue Devils have been on a roll as of late but are facing a Georgia Tech team without a lot to lose and everything to gain. Duke has to punch first against the Yellow Jackets and try to put this game away early. The Yellow Jackets have multiple offensive threats to challenge the Blue Devils. Duncan Powell has emerged as one of the ACC’s best forwards and is coming off a 21 point performance against UVA. Limiting Powell will be job one, but also choking off Naithan George’s ability to distribute the ball. The Blue Devils also need to game plan for Baye Ndongo who can change a game with his athleticism, he’s an excellent rebounder and can cause havoc on the offensive boards if Duke doesn’t play him physically and box out well.
Offensively, the Blue Devils have to be much better taking care of the basketball and force the Yellow Jackets to play against a set defense. Taking good shots and putting pressure on the rim can make this game much easier for Duke.
