Feb. 13, 2004
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#15/16 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (18-5, 5-4 ACC)
vs. Virginia Cavaliers (12-9, 2-8 ACC)
February 14, 2004 * 2 p.m. ET
University Hall (8,392), Charlottesville, Va.
TV: Raycom/JP Sports (WATL-TV in Atlanta);Tim Brant, pbp; Dan Bonner, color
Radio: Georgia Tech/ISP Network (WQXI-AM 790); Wes Durham, pbp; Randy Waters, color
Series vs. Virginia: Tech leads, 34-26 In Charlottesville: Tech is 10-15 At University Hall: 10-15
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt: 132-76 (.633), 7th season overall 66-49 (.570), 4th season at Tech 27-30 (.464) vs. the ACC 7-1 vs. Virginia (3-0 in Charlottesville)
Virginia coach Pete Gillen: 372-202 (.648), 19th season overall 98-74 (.570), 6th season at UVA 2-10 vs. Georgia Tech (1-4 in Charlottesville)
Next for Georgia Tech: Feb. 19 at Maryland, 7 p.m. ET Next for Virginia: Feb. 17 at Florida State, 7 p.m. ET
THE TIP-OFF
> Georgia Tech plays its third road game in the last four when it visits Virginia at 2 p.m. Saturday at University Hall in Charlottesville, Va. The Yellow Jackets have another road game at Maryland (Thursday, 7 p.m.) before returning home for a pair of home games against Wake Forest and NC State.
> Tech (18-5 overall, 5-4 ACC) has won its last two games, winning at Tennessee, 77-62, last Saturday, and defeating North Carolina, 88-77, at home Tuesday night. The Jackets have won six of their last nine games, dating back to their first meeting with Virginia on Jan. 15.
> Virginia, 12-9 overall and 2-8 in the ACC, enters Saturday’s game having lost five straight games.
> Tech is alone in third place in the ACC standings, a half-game ahead of Wake Forest (5-5) and a full game ahead of Maryland (4-5). The Jackets can maintain that position with a win Saturday. Tech is 1-1/2 games ahead of Florida State and North Carolina, both at 4-6. Duke is on top of the standings at 10-0, followed by NC State at 8-2.
> Tech’s 18 wins are the most for the Yellow Jackets under head coach Paul Hewitt, and that total was achieved in just 23 games. It is also the most wins for Tech in a season since 1997-98, when the Jackets went 19-14 and reached the quarterfinals of the NIT.
> Tech is in the Top 25 for the 11th straight week, this week remaining at No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 16 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Tech debuted in the AP poll at No. 13 (No. 15 in the coaches’ poll) on Dec. 1 following their Preseason NIT wins over No. 1 Connecticut and No. 25 Texas Tech.
> Tech is 4-4 in road games this season, including last Saturday’s win at Tennessee, and 1-3 in ACC road games, including a Jan. 20 win at Wake Forest. Tech has won its last three games in University Hall, however, and its 10-15 record in the building is the Yellow Jackets’ best in any ACC arena besides their own.
TECH SERIES WITH VIRGINIA
> Georgia Tech has won four straight, eight of the last nine and 15 of the last 18 meetings with Virginia. The Jackets lead the series 34-26, and hold a 32-25 advantage since joining the ACC. The Jackets have won the last three by an average of 18.3 points; the five meetings prior to that were decided by an average of 4.4 points.
> Tech defeated the Cavaliers in the teams’ first meeting this year by 75-57 in Atlanta. The Jackets forced 21 turnovers, and after Virginia made 10 of its first 14 shots, held the Cavaliers to 26.1 percent from the floor in the second half and 34.8 for the game. Marvin Lewis led Tech off the bench with 17 points.
> Tech is 10-2 against Virginia teams coached by Pete Gillen, and is 7-1 against Virginia under Paul Hewitt, including all three meetings in Hewitt’s first season of 2000-01.
> Tech is 10-15 against Virginia at University Hall, including wins in Tech’s last three trips to Charlottesville. It is Tech’s best winning percentage on an ACC foe’s home court. Tech snapped a 16-game road losing streak in the ACC with its 73-68 victory over Virginia in Charlottesville on Jan. 9, 2001. In 2002, Tech defeated Virginia, 82-80, on a three-point basket by Marvin Lewis with one second to play. Last season, Tech shot 54.7 percent and ran away with a 90-73 win.
BACK ON TRACK
From Georgia Tech’s 88-77 win over North Carolina Tuesday:
> Tech overcame 19 turnovers and 16 Tar Heel offensive rebounds by shooting 63.6 percent in the second half (48.1 percent overall) and hitting 13 of 25 three-point shots, a season-high for three-point shots made. The Jackets also made 23 of 28 foul shots, a season-high 82.1 percent.
> Tech blocked a season-high 11 shots, eight in the first half. Tech’s centers, Luke Schenscher and Theodis Tarver, combined for seven in 39 total minutes. Schenscher himself had a career-high five, and Clarence Moore had three.
> Schenscher missed his fourth double-double of the year by a point with nine points and 11 rebounds.
> B.J. Elder scored 30 points, 24 in the second half, and drained a career-high seven three-point field goals in a scoring duel with UNC’s Rashad McCants, who scored 31 points and also hit seven three-pointers.
> Will Bynum came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting 4 of 8 field goals and 8 of 9 free throws.
QUICK LOOK AT TECH
Five Tech players are averaging in double figures this season, led by 6-4 junior B.J. Elder at 16.0 points a game (4th in the ACC), 6-3 sophomore Jarrett Jack (12.3 ppg, 16th in the ACC), 6-4 senior Marvin Lewis (11.9 ppg, 24th in the ACC), 6-0 junior Will Bynum (11.0 ppg) and 6-6 junior Isma’il Muhammad (10.5 ppg).
For the last three games, Tech has used the starting lineup with which it played the first 13 games of the season — Jack, Lewis and Elder at the guards, 6-7 junior Anthony McHenry at forward and 7-1 junior Luke Schenscher at center. The Jackets are 14-2 with this lineup.
Elder has gotten hot of late, scoring 50 points in his last two games, including 30 against North Carolina Tuesday night when he hit 7 of 12 three-point shots. He leads Tech in scoring at 16.0 points a game, shoots 35.9 percent from three-point range and 79.8 percent from the foul line.
Lewis, who has averaged 10.7 points and shot 42.2 percent from three-point range against the ACC this season, has scored 38 points in his last two games and hit 8 of 12 three-point attempts in the process. He has shot 39.8 percent from three-point land in all games this season, and 44.4 percent from the floor overall.
Jack, the point guard, and Schenscher are the only Tech players to start every game this season.
Jack is third in the ACC in assist average (5.96 per game) and fifth in steals (2.17 per game), while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor. Schenscher averages 8.4 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds (10th in the ACC), hits 53.9 percent of his shots and ranks fifth in the league in blocks (1.52 per game).
Muhammad, a 6-6 defensive whiz, would lead the ACC in field goal percentage (62.1) but falls short of qualifying for the rankings. Tech’s second-best rebounder at 5.2 per game, Muhammad has seven assists, 11 rebounds and four steals in his last two games while hitting 5 of 10 shots from the floor.
Bynum, who has given the Jackets a big lift off the bench since becoming eligible on Dec. 13, averages 11.0 points per game for the season. Even better in ACC games at 13.4 points a game, he has shot 40 percent from three-point range against the conference.
Clarence Moore, a 6-5 senior who missed the Clemson game with a toe injury but returned to play the last four games, averages 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds for the season, and has hit 45.1 percent from three-point range.
Tech’s other primary players include Anthony McHenry (2.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg), a 6-7 junior starting at strong forward, and Theodis Tarver, a 6-9 sophomore postman who has averaged 1.0 points and 1.7 rebounds since getting back on the court Jan. 11 after a pre-season knee injury.
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH Paul Hewitt
On meeting Virginia on the road — “Anytime you go on the road in the ACC, you know you’re going to get a good shot. They’ve got some players who have given us problems in the past. Elton Brown is a terrific scorer on the inside. Todd billet has been shooting the ball very well, and J.R. Reynolds has really been stepping it up. He’s actually been one of their better players over the last few games.
On bouncing back from losses — “We’re older now. The last couple of years, we may have had some hangover from losses, but this team is more mature, more talented. They’re able to bounce back better, and appear to be more resilient, but I think it’s just more experience.
On tech’s recent successes at Virginia — “Luck. We won a game three years ago when Shaun Fein made a miraculous turnaround jump shot from about 30 feet with the shot clock running down to put the game out of reach. Two years ago, Marvin Lewis made a buzzer beater, and in that same game, Roger Mason missed the front end of a one-and-one for the first time all season. Then last year, we played our best basketball coming down to the end of the season, and they caught us at the wrong time.
On Tech’s recent good play — “We just need to keep improving our halfcourt offense, which has been very solid the last two games. Against Tennessee and North Carolina, we did a very good job in that area. And we’ve continued to defend. The thing we always hang our hat on is defensive pressure, rebound the ball and get out in transition. When the transition offense is not working for us, we need to get in our halfcourt offense and score.”
On Luke Schenscher – “Luke is a guy who has been improving all season, and he’s just going to get better and better. Offensively, he’s been solid. Defensive;y, he’s such a presence. He’s 7-feet-1, and he moves well. He anticipates very well on defense.”
On B.J. Elder – “I’d like to seem him score 30 every night. I’m not going to stop him if he wants to. B.J. is a big-time player. He’s one of the best players in the ACC, and I’m glad people are starting to see why we’re so excited about him. He’s so positive and confident when he gets it going, you know when the ball is in his hands, good things are going to happen.”
ACCESS DENIED – DEFENSE REMAINS BASIS FOR TECH SUCCESS
Defensive pressure, both half-court and full-court, continues to be the catalyst for Tech and creates the offensive opportunities that have the Yellow Jackets averaging 79.4 points a game (third in the ACC, best in Paul Hewitt’s four years at Tech) and shooting 46.9 percent from the floor (second in the ACC).
> The Jackets have allowed only seven teams to shoot 40 percent or better this season, and have limited their opponents to 37.5 percent collectively and 28.6 percent from three-point range.
> Those figures rank first and second, respectively, in the ACC for all games, and are third and second, respectively, in the ACC for conference games only. Tech’s field goal percentage allowed is the fourth-best in NCAA Division I basketball.
> Tech’s scoring yield of 64.9 points a game this season would be the 10th lowest in school history if the season ended today. Its FG percentage allowance would be the fourth lowest, and the three-point yield would be a school-record low.
EXTRA CREDIT
While Georgia Tech has defended the three-point shot much better this season, it is also shooting the three far better than last year.
The Jackets have shot threes at a 37.6-percent rate this season and have made 7.48 per game and consistently have ranked among the ACC’s top four teams in those categories all season. Tech ranked sixth in the ACC last season in three-point field goal percentage (35.2), and eighth in three-pointers per game (5.74). At 39.8 percent, Marvin Lewis has exceeded the best effort of his career to this point in the season, and ranks fifth in the ACC, while B.J. Elder ranks 12th in the conference at 35.9 percent. Jarrett Jack, Will Bynum and Clarence Moore have combined to make 37.8 percent of their attempts.
LEWIS AND ELDER KEY SCORING PUNCH
Wing guards Marvin Lewis and B.J. Elder both have heated up in recent games, which is good news for Georgia Tech down the stretch. When both players score in double figures, as they did in each of Tech’s last two games, the Yellow Jackets are 11-1 this season.
Since ACC play began, both players have reached double figures against North Carolina (both meetings), Virginia, Wake Forest, Clemson and Tennessee, and Tech is 5-1 in those games.
The two players combined to score 44 of Tech’s 77 points against the Volunteers and hit 16 of 25 shots between them. Lewis went 5-for-6 from behind the three-point stripe. They combined for 44 of Tech’s 88 against North Carolina, hitting 12 of 24 field goals.
No player has shown a more dramatic swing in his statistical numbers between Tech’s wins and losses as have those of Lewis and Elder. In Tech’s 18 victories, Lewis has averaged 12.9 points, shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from three-point land, compared to 8.2 ppg, 31.1% FG and and 25.0% 3FG in Tech’s five losses. The difference is just as significant for Elder — 16.7 ppg, 44.0% FG and 37.6% 3FG in Tech’s wins; 13.4 ppg, 32.8% FG and 31.4% 3FG in Tech’s losses.
Since the Clemson game, when Elder scored 36 points, the 6-4 junior has shot 47.9 percent from the floor and averaged 14.6 shot attempts per game. He shot 30.6 percent and averaged 10 shots a game in the five games prior to Clemson.
In the same stretch, Lewis has averaged 12.8 points a game, shot 50 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from three-point range.
For their careers, Lewis and Elder have always fared well against the ACC. Lewis has averaged 10.7 points a game in ACC play while shooting 38.5 percent from that distance. Elder has averaged 15.7 points and shot 37 percent from bonus distance in his career.
TECH IS PH-BALANCED
Just about anyway you slice it, Georgia Tech has produced a balance offensive attack this season. If the Yellow Jackets keep up their current ways, they will post the highest team scoring averaging since the 1995-96 season (80.2 ppg) and place five players in double figures for the season for the first time since 1991-92.
> In all games, five players are averaging in double figures, and seven average six points a game more more.
> In ACC games, four Tech players are averaging in double figures, six averaging 8.7 or higher.
> In ACC road games only, five players are in double figures in scoring average.
> Against Top 25 opposition, five players are averaging in double figures and seven are at 6.3 points per game or higher.
> In Tech’s victories this season, five players are averaging in double figures, and seven at 6.4 or higher.
> In its losses, only three players are averaging in double figures, but seven are at 6.2 points per game or higher.
> Tech’s leading scorer has come off the bench in five of its last nine games, and nine times in all this season. The Jackets have had six different players lead the team in scoring.
> Tech is getting 27.7 points per game from its bench this season, the best in the tenure of head coach Paul Hewitt. The Jackets have averaged 27.1 bench points in ACC games. Tech averaged 16.5 points from its bench last season, 22.2 points per game in 2001-02, and 20.6 in Hewitt’s first season.
