West Georgia Wolves vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 6th 2024

Preview and Prediction

The second year of Damon Stoudamire's tenure as coach at Georgia Tech is set to commence on Wednesday evening in Atlanta, as the Yellow Jackets welcome the newly established Division I team, West Georgia.

Georgia Tech is coming off a 14-18 overall record and a 7-13 record in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play last season. While they did suffer losses to UMass-Lowell and 24-loss Louisville, as well as being defeated three times by 20-loss Notre Dame, the team also managed to secure victories against North Carolina and Duke.

The Yellow Jackets will have the advantage of returning three of their top scorers from last season: Baye Ndongo (12.4 points per game), Kowacie Reeves (9.8), and Naithan George (9.8).

During the transfer period, Georgia Tech added Javian McCollum, who averaged 13.3 points per game in 30 starts at Oklahoma last season, and Duncan Powell, who brings his 12.1 points per game average from Sacramento State.

Despite being projected to finish 12th in the ACC preseason poll, Stoudamire believes that his team has made significant improvements since last season.

"I believe this roster is more versatile," Stoudamire stated. "We have players with longer wingspans, providing us with more length, and we have depth, which was lacking last season. We were forced to rely on players who were exhausted, which was a difficult situation to be in. We may have secured some impressive wins in the ACC, but we were also inconsistent against teams of a similar caliber. Last season, we were consistently inconsistent."

The Yellow Jackets' first opponent of the season, West Georgia, hails from the Atlantic Sun Conference and suffered a 95-60 defeat in their season opener against Mississippi State on Monday. Tamaury Releford led the Wolves with 16 points, shooting an impressive 7-for-10 from the field.

Under the guidance of seventh-year coach Dave Moore, the Wolves are preparing to face their second consecutive power-conference opponent.

"If we want this program to reach the NCAA Tournament, we need to compete against teams like this," Moore explained. "This is the highest level of college basketball, and our players have the opportunity to showcase their skills. It's an incredible opportunity for players who were competing in the Division II Tournament just 12 months ago."

PREDICTION

West Georgia Wolves

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets