Transfer Tapes: Duncan Powell Scores 24 vs. Duke in ACC Tourney, Jason Edwards has 24 of his own at Tennessee

It’s been a bit since we dug into the transfer tapes, so today we’ll bring it back with a pair of Friars going up against top-five teams last season.

Duncan Powell had it going late in the season for Georgia Tech. The Jackets struggled early, starting 2-6 in ACC play before finishing 10-10. Powell was a spot starter until nearly mid-February — and Tech won five of six games after he was inserted into the starting lineup.

Powell scored 20+ points in seven of their final 15 games, including 45 points in two ACC Tournament games.

Georgia Tech certainly had their hands full in the ACC quarterfinals, taking on #1 Duke, who entered on an eight-game winning streak. Over that span, Duke won by an average of 29 points per game. Tech, meanwhile, was down to eight scholarship players.

This was a Duke group that saw five players selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, including top-ten picks in Cooper Flagg (#1), Kon Knueppel (#4), and Khaman Maluach (#10).

Regardless, Georgia Tech raced out to a 26-12 lead behind hot shooting from Powell (three early 3-pointers) — Duke’s largest deficit of the season. It looked even more tenuous for the Devils when Flagg went down with an ankle injury in the first half.

Without Flagg, Knueppel went into takeover mode in the second half, breaking down the defense for scores or repeated lobs to Maluach, as Duke pulled away for a 78-70 win.

Powell was terrific in this one against elite competition, tying a career high with six made 3-pointers. He played all 40 minutes and flashed an inside/out game reminiscent of former Friar Rodney Bullock.

Edwards and Vanderbilt headed to Knoxville to take on a Tennessee club out for revenge. Vanderbilt had beaten them (76-75) earlier in the season with Edwards going for 18 points.

Similar to the Duke/Georgia Tech contest, Vandy raced out to a 13-point halftime lead, but couldn’t hold on as Tennessee raced back in the second half.

Edwards was often matched up with two-time SEC Defensive Player Zakai Zeigler. He made the most of his 26 minutes on the court, scoring 24 points on 8-16 shooting from the field and 6-10 from deep. Edwards had a few terrific drives to the paint and made some late threes on a high degree of difficulty. He looked electric at times in this one, despite the loss.

Vanderbilt was in the midst of a brutal portion of their schedule, as this was their sixth game against a top-ten team in less than a month, while their next four opponents were all ranked in the AP top 25.

Neither Powell or Edwards should be fazed by many opponents during the Big East portion after seeing such high-level competition.