Three Storylines To Watch As ACC Play Approaches For Georgia Tech Basketball

ACC conference play is nearly here for Georgia Tech, with its first game just nine days away. Georgia Tech is 8-4 and has one final non-conference game. Georgia Tech currently sits at No.185 in the net rankings and is 0-1 in Quad 1 wins this season. They are also 0-3 in Quad 3 wins. They have taken care of business with an 8-0 record against Quad 4. To make a strong push to the NCAA tournament, Georgia Tech has to pick up Quad 1 wins in the ACC. It won’t be easy, but it's a great opportunity for the Yellow Jackets, especially with nine teams in the top 50 in the NCAA net rankings. The Yellow Jackets will have to handle business and finish with a positive record in the ACC to have a chance. Let’s take a look now at the three key storylines to watch for as ACC play approaches.

1. The Health of Baye Ndongo and Jaeden Mustaf?

latest — Drake's Wilguens Jr. Exacte (7) defends Georgia Tech's Baye Ndongo (11) during the Emerald Coast Classic 3rd-place game at Raider Arena in Niceville, Fla., Nov. 29, 2025. Drake won the game 84-74. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) | Tyler Orsburn/News Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This will be a big storyline to watch for throughout this week, with the final game for the Yellow Jackets on Sunday against Florida A&M in non-conference play. They are expected to rev up Jaeden Mustaf and Baye Ndongo this week ahead of the matchup. Both have missed the last few games, and it will be important that they play a game first before they head into conference play against Duke on the road on New Year’s Eve. Both are key contributors to the Yellow Jackets. Mustaf is one of the better defenders on the team and has shown he can run an offense when he is in the game. Ndongo has been a consistent double-double guy for the Yellow Jackets and one they lean on in big games to come up huge for the team, rebounding the basketball and finishing at the rim. How healthy they will be is a storyline to watch for.

2. Who will the head coach lean on as conference play begins for his rotation?

Usually, in conference play, coaches will shorten their rotations and lineups. We have seen a little bit of that from head coach Damon Stoudamire, who has shortened his rotation. We haven’t seen Brandon Stores or Eric Chatfield on the court in the last few games. In the last game against LaFayette, Georgia Tech only played nine players. With Ndongo and Mustaf set to return, will Coach Stoudamire play an 11-man lineup or keep it to nine? He will need good production from his bench and good rotations in order to pick up some key wins. Coach Stoudamire talked about his rotation and the guys he could potentially look at.

“I think a lot of the stuff that we're doing, I've been doing up to this point is more personnel driven. Who are we playing against and you know, some of those minutes might be inflated a little bit, because Mo (Mouhamed Sylla)was hurt. Mo hadn't practiced all week, so he was trying to get through. He gave us what he could, but he was hurt all week, so he really didn't practice. And then you obviously don't have Baye, you don't have Jayden, and they played small. They weren't a really big team, so we could match up with them by playing small. But I'm comfortable with playing small; I feel like I've got a feel for everybody. I'm getting comfortable with that. know what guys bring to the table, and I think that I experimented through the early season, kind of giving guys the same minutes to see what it looked like, big picture and long term. But I think that I know what buttons to push, so to speak, with the group that I have now,” said Stoudamire.

3. Who will be the X factor for the Yellow Jackets?

There are a few names you can put here for Georgia Tech. They are healthier compared to a season ago. Their best player, Kowacie Reeves, has continued to be consistent throughout this season. He leads the Yellow Jackets with 15.8 points per game this year. Lamar Washington has been playing really good basketball since he was inserted into the starting lineup and is averaging 11 points and six assists per game. He posted another double with 20 points and 10 assists against LaFayette. True freshman Mouhamed Sylla has been productive for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 11.2 points and 8.4 rebounds this season for Georgia Tech. Kam Craft is a sharpshooter and could come up big, especially when the Yellow Jackets are trying to space the floor. My honest pick is Akai Fleming. The true freshman is averaging 10 points per game, but more importantly than that, Fleming knows how to make the right basketball play every time. He doesn’t settle or take bad shots. He is in constant attack mode and gets to the free-throw line, which steadies the team and gets him in a rhythm offensively. This will be critical in ACC play when the defenses become better and are trying to take away your best players. He will be one flying under the radar, but one that could be a threat and pull off some key wins.

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