Georgia Tech vs. Wake Forest – Men’s Basketball — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets

It’s almost a lock at this point that Georgia Tech and Notre Dame will play tight, nerve-shredding games for all of eternity.  In nine previous meetings at McCamish Pavilion, the average margin of victory in the series has been a laughably small 3.3 points.

So if the Yellow Jackets wanted to shake their nine-game losing streak Wednesday, it seemed inevitable it would take a little more sweat, a little more suspense, and a little more stomach-churning anxiety than usual.

But in an instant – or in this case, a Lance Terry tip-in – Georgia Tech (9-15, 2-12 ACC) traded the burden of a losing streak for the confidence of a win.  Joy, relief, jubilation – they all poured out of the Yellow Jackets Wednesday after they finally grinded their way back into the win column.  They’ll now try to carry that momentum to Wake Forest (16-9, 8-6 ACC), which owns of one of the more surprising home court advantages in the ACC.  After a 92-85 victory over North Carolina, the Demon Deacons have won 29 of their last 32 games at Joel Coliseum, the highest home court winning percentage in the ACC over that span.

Enjoy the top notes from my chart as the Yellow Jackets look to turn a win into a winning streak in Winston-Salem (5 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):

Against Notre Dame, Deivon Smith became the first Yellow Jacket to record seven assists and not turn the ball over since Jose Alvaado in 2019. (photo by Danny Karnik)

Perhaps a little extra fate helped seal Wednesday’s win.  Former Jacket Josh Okogie, who scored a game-winning layup at the buzzer as a freshman against Notre Dame in 2017, was in Atlanta that night with the Phoenix Suns.  They played the Hawks at State Farm Arena on Thursday.

Okogie couldn’t make the game, but fellow Yellow Jacket and current Suns assistant coach Jarrett Jack did.  Standing outside the Tech locker room afterwards, Jack grinned that he looked forward to giving some ribbing to his head coach Monty Williams, a Notre Dame alum.

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In his lone season at Wake Forest, transfer Alondes Williams nearly became the first player in ACC history to lead the conference in scoring and assists.

So how did head coach Steve Forbes replace him?  By signing a transfer who leads the ACC in scoring and assists.

Six-foot-1 guard Tyree Appleby (18.7 ppg, 6.2 apg) arrived in Winston-Salem after stops at Cleveland State and Florida and is coming off a 35-point,…