# 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. They defeated Florida State to win the tournament championship and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region. They lost in the first round to Loyola. It was the first time since 2010 that the Yellow Jackets had participated in the NCAA Tournament, and their first ACC Championship since 1993.

## 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.

## 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: 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: 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: 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. ||||||

## 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Purcell Pavilion Notre Dame, IN |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at NC State | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | 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 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | 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 | Georgia Tech advanced due to COVID-19 issues at Virginia | Georgia Tech advanced due to COVID-19 issues at Virginia | Georgia Tech advanced due to COVID-19 issues at Virginia | Georgia Tech advanced due to COVID-19 issues at Virginia | 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

## Rankings

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