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Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball Opponent Preview: Lamar Cardinals

By Blake Silvers

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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The Yellow Jackets tip off the 2018-19 basketball season at home Friday, Nov. 9 as the Lamar Cardinals come to Atlanta.

Lamar Cardinals

Southland Conference

Head Coach: Tic Price (4th season) / 2017-18 Record: 19-14 (11-7) / CIT First Round

The Georgia Tech men’s basketball program, went 13-19 last season in an injury-laden campaign. In just over a week, the Yellow Jackets will host the Florida Tech Panthers on Nov. 3 in an exhibition but the regular season gets started six days later with Southland Conference mid-major Lamar coming to the Thrillerdome on November 9th.

Tic Price’s Cardinals have finished with 19 wins the last two season and earned two consecutive CIT invites, getting double-digit Southland Conference wins each campaign.

Head Coach Profile: Tic Price is 232–189 (.551) as a head coach and 65–67 (.492) since taking over the Cardinals in 2014. He’s entering his 16th season as a Division I head coach.

Prior to his tenure at Lamar, Price coached at New Orleans (94-97), Memphis (97-99), and McNeese State (01-06).

The former Virginia Tech Hokie has led his programs to four regular season conference championships, two conference tournament championships, and two NCAA tournament appearances.

What they did last season:

  • Out of Conference: The Cards went 8-7 out of conference last season, with notable wins over Tulsa, UTEP, Coastal Carolina and losses including Cal State Bakersfield and Southern Illinois.
  • In Conference: Lamar finished tied for fifth in their conference in a field of 13 teams, losing in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament to Central Arkansas.
  • Postseason: The Cardinals earned a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, but fell in a close game to UTSA to end the season.

Expectations for 2018-19:

The Cardinals are coming off back-to-back 19-win seasons, their best back-to-back seasons since the 1980s which means expectations are high for Lamar entering this season. With a strong mix of veteran experience and young talented freshman, the Cardinals could be looking at a third-straight 19+ win season in 2018-19. The Yellow Jackets can’t take the Cardinals easily in the season opener.

Players to Watch:

  • Senior guards Josh Nzeakor and Nick Garth were among the top scorers in the Southland Conference last season and both return for 2018-19. Nzeakor was also a top-5 conference rebounder, while Garth was among the best in free throw percentage and 3-pointers.

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How the Yellow Jackets matchup:

Josh Pastner’s squad matches up well with the Cardinals and will have the advantages in both size and athleticism. The Cardinals average height last season was just 6-foot-3 while the Jackets had an average height of 6-foot-6. Overall, we’ll get a good indication of how the Jackets offense is this season as Lamar has been a below average defensive team over the past two seasons. The Jackets will need to find a new top scoring option whether it be Jose Alvarado, Michael Devoe, or Curtis Haywood II. The Jackets should open up the season with a victory but don’t be surprised if the Jackets struggle a bit against the Cardinals.