GEORGIA TECH BASKETBALL: Jackets will visit Alabama, USC

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball’s schedule was released Tuesday, and the Jackets will sprinkle their ACC schedule with non-conference matchups at home against Penn State, Vanderbilt and Georgia and away against USC and Alabama.

Seventeen of the Yellow Jackets’ 29 regular-season games will be televised, including seven national TV appearances.

The Jackets play an exhibition game against Le Moyne of Syracuse, N.Y., on Nov. 7 and open the regular season at home Nov. 14 against Winston-Salem State. Tech will play nine of its 13 games at home in November and December, including a Dec. 17 home game against Georgia State.

The Jackets will face 12 opponents this season that played in the NCAA or NIT tournaments last year.

“We made a good effort to better balance our schedule this year with quality home games and games on the road which would help our strength of schedule,” coach Paul Hewitt said in a news release. “With Jacksonville [on Nov. 28] improving every year, Georgia State up-and-coming and strong teams in Penn State, Vanderbilt and Georgia coming here, I think we accomplished that.”

Tech’s ACC schedule begins with a Sunday telecast on Fox Sports Net at home against Virginia on Dec. 28. Tech’s Jan. 3 visit to Alabama will be the first meeting between the two in Tuscaloosa since 1974.