# 2017–18 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by second-year head coach Josh Pastner and played their home games at Hank McCamish Pavilion as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 6–12 in ACC play to finish in 13th place. They lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to Boston College.

## Previous season

The Yellow Jackets finished the 2016–17 season 21–16, 8–10 in ACC play to finish in 11th place. They lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to Pittsburgh. The Yellow Jackets received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Indiana, Belmont, and Ole Miss to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. At MSG, they defeated Cal State Bakersfield before losing in the championship game to TCU.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jordan Price | 2 | G/F | 6'7 | 172 | RS Senior | Indianapolis, IN | Graduated |
| Josh Heath | 11 | G | 6'2" | 179 | Senior | Tampa, FL | Graduated |
| Quinton Stephens | 12 | F | 6'9" | 203 | Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Christian Matthews | 23 | F | 6'9" | 190 | Freshman | Clinton, MD | Transferred to Mineral Area College |
| Corey Heyward | 30 | G | 6'1" | 210 | RS Senior | Duluth, GA | Graduated |
| Kellen McCormick | 32 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | West Bloomfield, MI | Graduated |
| Rand Rowland | 42 | F | 6'7" | 213 | Senior | Cleveland, GA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Shembari Phillips | 2 | G | 6'3" | 192 | Junior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred from Tennessee. Under NCAA transfer rules, Phillips will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Brandon Alston | 4 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Senior | Vienna, VA | Transferred from Lehigh. Will be eligible to play immediately since Alson graduated from Lehigh. |

## 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Curtis Haywood II #37 SF | Yukon, OK | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Dec 22, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jose Alvarado #34 PG | Brooklyn, NY | Christ the King High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Dec 22, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Moses Wright PF | Raleigh, NC | Enloe High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Evan Cole PF | Cumming, GA | South Forsyth High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 2, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 23, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kristian Sjolund SF | Katy, TX | Tompkins High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 21, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Michael Devoe SG | Orlando, FL | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 23, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Khalid Moore SF | Briarwood, NY | Archbishop Molly High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 23, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 28, 2017* 12:00 pm | | Georgia State A-Town Showdown | L 58–65 | – | 14 – Lammers/Jackson | 9 – Lammers | 4 – Moore | McCamish Pavilion (2,112) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov 2, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Faulkner | W 78–60 | – | 17 – Wright | 13 – Wright | 6 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (1,243) Atlanta, GA |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 11:30 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 21 UCLA Pac-12 China Game | L 60–63 | 0–1 | 24 – Lammers | 10 – Lammers | 3 – Alvarado | Baoshan Sports Centre (4,011) Shanghai, China |
| Nov 19, 2017* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | Bethune–Cookman Ramblin' Wreck Showcase | W 65–62 | 1–1 | 19 – Lammers | 13 – Lammers | 5 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (5,154) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley Ramblin' Wreck Showcase | W 78–68 | 2–1 | 20 – Alston | 7 – Lammers/Gueye | 6 – Alvarado/Haywood | McCamish Pavilion (4,504) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov 24, 2017* 4:00 pm, RSN | | North Texas Ramblin' Wreck Showcase | W 63–49 | 3–1 | 19 – Alvarado | 7 – Alvarado | 4 – Alvarado/Haywood | McCamish Pavilion (4,867) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Northwestern ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 52–51 | 4–1 | 13 – Lammers | 7 – Jackson | 4 – Alvarado/Jackson | McCamish Pavilion (5,562) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 1, 2017* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | | Grambling State Ramblin' Wreck Showcase | L 63–64 | 4–2 | 22 – Alvarado | 9 – Lammers | 7 – Moore | McCamish Pavilion (4,925) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 3, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tennessee | L 70–77 | 4–3 | 17 – Lammers | 9 – Lammers | 6 – Haywood | McCamish Pavilion (6,514) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wofford | L 60–63 | 4–4 | 26 – Jackson | 7 – Lammers | 3 – Haywood/Jackson | Benjamin Johnson Arena (2,419) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 17, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | Florida A&M | W 79–54 | 5–4 | 19 – Okogie/Wright | 8 – Lammers | 7 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (5,156) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Georgia Rivalry | L 59–80 | 5–5 | 21 – Okogie | 8 – Lammers | 2 – Alvarado/Jackson | Stegeman Coliseum (10,048) Athens, GA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 9:00 pm, RSN | | Wright State | L 81–85 | 5–6 | 23 – Alvarado | 10 – Lammers | 3 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (4,522) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 27, 2017* 7:20 pm, ACCN Extra | | Coppin State | W 76-62 | 6–6 | 22 – Lammers | 11 – Lammers | 4 – Alston | McCamish Pavilion (5,341) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 30, 2017 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Notre Dame | L 59–68 | 6–7 (0–1) | 16 – Okogie | 12 – Lammers | 4 – Alston | Purcell Pavilion (8,441) South Bend, IN |
| Jan 3, 2018 9:00 pm, RSN | | No. 15 Miami (FL) | W 64–54 | 7–7 (1–1) | 30 – Okogie | 9 – Okogie | 2 – Lammers/Alston/Jackson | McCamish Pavilion (5,568) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | Yale | W 74–60 | 8–7 | 23 – Alvarado | 9 – Gueye | 4 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (6,630) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Notre Dame | W 60–53 | 9–7 (2–1) | 17 – Okogie | 10 – Lammers | 5 – Okogie | McCamish Pavilion (7,771) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 13, 2018 2:00 pm, ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 69–54 | 10–7 (3–1) | 16 – Gueye | 16 – Lammers | 5 – Alston | Petersen Events Center (3,544) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 18, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 2 Virginia | L 48–64 | 10–8 (3–2) | 14 – Jackson | 8 – Lammers | 5 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 20, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 15 North Carolina | L 66–80 | 10–9 (3–3) | 18 – Okogie | 7 – Okogie | 4 – Jackson | Dean Smith Center (20,334) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, RSN | | at Florida State | L 77–88 | 10–10 (3–4) | 23 – Alvarado | 16 – Okogie | 5 – Okogie | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (9,879) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 28, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 18 Clemson | L 70–72 | 10–11 (3–5) | 26 – Okogie | 7 – Lammers | 5 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 31, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN | | Syracuse | W 55–51 | 11–11 (4–5) | 20 – Okogie | 12 – Lammers | 5 – Alvarado | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 4, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Boston College | L 72–80 | 11–12 (4–6) | 14 – Lammers | 12 – Lammers | 4 – Alvarado | Conte Forum (4,763) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Louisville | L 54–77 | 11–13 (4–7) | 25 – Okogie | 10 – Okogie | 4 – Alvarado | KFC Yum! Center (16,533) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 11, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 9 Duke | L 69–80 | 11–14 (4–8) | 29 – Okogie | 8 – Lammers | 4 – Okogie | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 14, 2018 9:00 pm, RSN | | at Wake Forest | L 62–79 | 11–15 (4–9) | 20 – Okogie | 8 – Lammers | 4 – Jackson | LJVM Coliseum (6,133) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Feb 17, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Virginia Tech | L 56–76 | 11–16 (4–10) | 17 – Jackson | 8 – Wright | 4 – Alston | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 1 Virginia | L 54–65 | 11–17 (4–11) | 22 – Lammers | 7 – Lammers/Wright | 4 – Okogie | John Paul Jones Arena (13,873) Charlottesville, VA |
| Feb 24, 2018 3:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 15 Clemson | L 67–75 | 11–18 (4–12) | 22 – Okogie | 8 – Okogie | 6 – Okogie | Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC |
| Mar 1, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN | | NC State | W 78–75 | 12–18 (5–12) | 22 – Jackson | 9 – Lammers | 7 – Lammers | McCamish Pavilion (6,907) Atlanta, GA |
| Mar 3, 2018 12:00 pm, RSN | | Wake Forest | W 64–56 | 13–18 (6–12) | 22 – Okogie | 10 – Cole | 4 – Jackson | McCamish Pavilion (7,422) Atlanta, GA |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (13) | vs. (12) Boston College First Round | L 77–87 | 13–19 | 29 – Jackson | 8 – Gueye | 5 – Jackson | Barclays Center (10,612) Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||