Welcome to my article 11 of 30 Ramblin' to Paris series. Today's article is sponsored by a Tech alum and his Travelmation travel agency. Nicolas Santine.
Hello hello hello! It's great to be back with this series after a great week in Austin for SXSW. I found great music from a lot of up-and-coming bands. If you're looking for new songs to add to your Spotify mixes, check out Bodega, Heffner, and Hinds.
This week I wanted to dig into one very random piece of Georgia Tech history that is somewhat related to the Olympic theme. The game Tech played against the national team.
According to Jake Grant's handy internal tool he built for us to reference every head-to-head matchup in Georgia Tech's sports history, the Jackets have played against five different representatives: Australia, the Soviet Union, Lithuania, Croatia, and Yugoslavia. He played 9 games with the team. From 1985 to 1994.
Tech played eight of those games in men's basketball, followed by one game in baseball against the Soviet Union. All matches were exhibitions.
Here are the matches and results in chronological order:
November 11, 1985: Men's Basketball vs. Australia (81-75 W)
November 12, 1986: Men's Basketball vs. USSR (96-78 L)
November 5, 1987: Men's Basketball vs. USSR (87-78 L)
November 13, 1988: Men's Basketball vs. Yugoslavia (77-74 W)
April 20, 1989: Baseball vs. Soviet Union (13-1 win, 7 innings)
November 15, 1989: Men's Basketball vs. USSR (103-88 W)
November 15, 1990: Men's Basketball vs. USSR (99-92 W)
November 22, 1993: Men's Basketball vs. Lithuania (88-68 W)
November 16, 1994: Men's Basketball vs. Croatia (100-61 W)
As a result of all this, Tech went 7-2 in all sports, finished with a +75 point/goal differential, and accomplished what the 1990 U.S. basketball team couldn't: defeat the Soviet Union.
All basketball games were played during the Bobby Cremins era, when Tech regularly scheduled exhibition games against non-NCAA teams before beginning non-conference play. Outside of various national teams, Tech has played with Marathon Oil four times, with a team called Athletes in Action four times, with AAU teams USA Verrich Reps, California All Stars (possibly another AAU team), and CSKA. They played against Bulgaria and Newcastle (Australia). Paul Hewitt followed this trend during his first years in office.
Sadly, images from these matches weren't readily available online, which makes sense since there was no Internet back then where people could easily post photos of some of the most unique matchups. Moreover, none of these games served any purpose, so they probably weren't worth writing about.
But I know there was a thread on Twitter with Andy Demetra about this, but I couldn't find it. The photo at the beginning of the article is actually an image from his active eBay listing for a 1986 basketball pin. game. If anyone knows the backstory of how they came about, please let me know.
To expand on this, MBB's wins over Australia and Newcastle mean Georgia Tech is undefeated against the entire continent. If the Soviet Union, which has historically been too expansive, is classified as an Asian country, then the Institute is undefeated against Europe as well. I think I'll use Australian lines when I brag about my team.
Tech won't play against the national team again in the future, except perhaps in 2028 when Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympics. However, that would be impossible because the games would be held on days other than NCAA events. Especially in basketball, the professional scene in Europe is so much more developed compared to his '80s and his '90s that there is generally no need for national teams to come to the American mainland for games.
Perhaps baseball could do so again in the year of the World Baseball Classic (next time in 2026) if the team decides to be based in Atlanta (which they did against the Braves during spring training), but all That is unlikely due to the fact that matches are being played. It is usually held in coastal cities where it is warm even in March.
If any of our readers have a background in these particular games, please get in touch. I would love to hear any stories you have.
Next week's Ramblin' to Paris: An interview with another athlete or an update to one of our previous articles.
Jack Purdy is a non-profit sportswriter and co-host of the show: Descendants of Southland From the rumble sheet.He previously held the following positions TechniqueHe was an assistant sports editor at and graduated from Georgia Tech in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @Jack Nicolaus
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source:
Georgia Tech Media Guide
