Georgia Tech Basketball Will Reportedly Play Oklahoma In 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge

Georgia Tech will reportedly travel to Norman to face Oklahoma on December 3rd

Mar 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire on the sideline against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech Basketball is looking to have a big second year under Damon Stoudamire and they are reportedly going to have a big time opponent in this year's 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge. According to CBS Sports Jon Rothstein, Georgia Tech is going to travel to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Sooners on December 3rd. It will be the 5th ever meeting between the two schools, with the record being 2-2. Other headline matchups include Arkansas at Miami, Kentucky at Clemson, Ole Miss at Louisville, Syracuse at Tennessee, Alabama at North Carolina, Auburn at Duke, Texas at NC State, and Virginia at Florida.

NEWS: The 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge is set, per a source.

Arkansas @ Miami
Cal @ Mizzou
FSU @ LSU
GT @ OU
UK @ Clemson
ND @ UGA
Ole Miss @ Louisville
SC @ BC
Cuse @ Tenn
Wake @ A&M
Alabama @ UNC
Auburn @ Duke
Pitt @ Miss St
Texas @ NC St
Vandy @ VT
UVA @ UFhttps://t.co/MHnP7ckwh4

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 12, 2024

This will be a nice test to see where the program is at heading into ACC play. A storyline to watch for this game will be the return of Javian McCollum to Oklahoma. McCollum was the leading scorer for the Sooners last season and nearly led them to the NCAA Tournament. He transferred to Georgia Tech in the offseason to try and get the Yellow Jackets back in the postseason.

Georgia Tech Basketball has had a busy offseason so far. They are looking to make a leap in year two under Damon Stoudamire and have been busy on the high school recruiting trail as well as the transfer portal. Stoudamire has reeled in a top 15 high school class in the country and brought in impactful transfers to help these young players. The biggest win of the offseason came when forward Baye Ndongo withdrew from the 2024 NBA Draft and opted to return to Georgia Tech for another season.

Ndongo was arguably the best player on Georgia Tech's team last season.

The 6-9 freshman missed Tech’s first three games with a hand injury but started every game thereafter either in the post or at the power forward spot, and earned a spot on the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Rookie team. The Mboro, Senegal native, who prepped at Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, was one of only two freshmen in Division I to average 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while hitting at least 55 percent of his shots from the floor. Only Chris Bosh (2003) and Derrick Favors (2010) achieved all those numbers as freshmen.

Needless to say, having him back is going to be huge for Georgia Tech.

Tech also has put together a recruiting class that has been rated the 14th-best in the nation with high school prospects Cole Kirouac, a 6-11 center from Cumming, Ga., who attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., his senior year, Jaeden Mustaf of Bowie, Md., a 6-4 guard who also attended Overtime Elite, Doryan Onwuchekwa, a 6-11 center from DeSoto, Texas who attended Faith Family Academy of Oak Cliff, and Darrion Sutton, a 6-8 forward from St. Louis, Mo., who attends Overtime Elite in Atlanta. It would probably be unrealistic to expect any of these freshmen to come in and start right away, but I do think that Mustaf and Sutton are super-talented players who will be in the mix early on in the rotation

McCollum is not the only transfer that Georgia Tech brought in this offseason.

Colorado transfer Luke O’Brien has played 111 games in his college career, and the Buffaloes earned bids to the NCAA Tournament and NIT twice each during his career. He helped lead Colorado to a school-record 26 wins in 2023-24, advancing to the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He played in 35 games, starting 19, including the final 10 of the season.

“Luke brings good experience and shooting to our team,” said Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire. ”He’s played in the NCAA tournament and knows what it takes to compete and win at a high level.  His leadership will be invaluable as we go into the 2024-25 season.”

Georgetown transfer Ryan Mutombo attended The Lovett School in Atlanta before signing with the Hoyas and is the son of former Georgetown and Atlanta Hawks great Dikembe Mutombo. The younger Mutombo played 54 games at Georgetown, making one start, and averaged 8.1 minutes, 3.3 points, and 2.3 rebounds over his three seasons there. He also connected in 51.8 percent of his shots from the floor.

“We’re excited about bringing Ryan into our program,” said Stoudamire, now in his second year at the helm of the Yellow Jackets. “He gives us size and shot blocking ability as well as added depth in our front court.  A lot like Javian and Luke, his experience will help us well.”

This is a more talented roster than last year's and I would anticipate more consistency next season. We'll have to wait and see to if that translates to more wins, but Stoudamire and his staff have done their jobs this offseason in terms of upgrading the roster.