Feb. 27, 2004
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#18/20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (19-8, 6-7 ACC) vs. Clemson Tigers (10-15, 3-11 ACC)
February 28, 2004 * 12 noon ET * Littlejohn Coliseum (11,020), Clemson, S.C.
TV: Fox Sports Net South;Mike Hogewood, pbp; Mike Gminski, color
Radio: Georgia Tech/ISP Network (WQXI-AM 790); Wes Durham, pbp; Randy Waters, color
Tech Record Breakdown: Home: 11-3; Away: 5-5; Neutral: 3-0
Series vs. Georgia Tech: Tech leads, 52-50 In Clemson: Tech is 13-32 At Littlejohn: Tech is 6-25 Last meeting: Tech d. Clemson, 76-69, on Jan. 27 in Atlanta
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt: 133-79 (.627), 7th season overall 67-52 (.563), 4th season at Tech 28-33 (.459) vs. the ACC 5-2 vs. Clemson (2-1 at Clemson)
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell: 266-206 (.564), 16th season overall 10-15 (.400), 1st season at Clemson 0-1 vs. Georgia Tech (0-0 at Clemson)
Next for Georgia Tech: Mar. 1 at Duke, 7 p.m. ET Next for Clemson: Mar. 2 at North Carolina, 9 p.m. ET
THE TIP-OFF
> Georgia Tech plays the first of two straight road games with a visit to Clemson at 12 noon Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets also visit Duke next Wednesday before closing the regular season with a home game against Florida State.
> Tech (19-8 overall, 6-7 ACC) is still in search of its 20th victory of the season after dropping a 79-69 decision to No. 14 NC State Wednesday night. Clemson (10-15 overall, 3-11 ACC) has lost five of its last six games and is coming off a 70-49 defeat at Maryland Tuesday night.
> A game and a half separates the Nos. 4-8 teams in the ACC standings. Tech and North Carolina are tied for fourth place at 6-7, followed by Florida State at 6-8, Maryland at 5-8 and Virginia at 5-9. Duke holds first place at 11-2, followed by NC State at 10-3 and Wake Forest at 8-5.
> Tech’s 19 wins are the most for the Yellow Jackets under head coach Paul Hewitt, and are 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’s last 20-win season occurred in 1995-96 (24-12).
> Tech is in the Top 25 for the 13th straight week, this week at No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 20 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 5-5 in road games this season, including a 2-4 mark in ACC games.
> Tech won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 76-69, in Jan. 27 in Atlanta, and has a chance to gain its second season sweep of an ACC team this season (Maryland was the other).
TECH SERIES VS. CLEMSON
> Georgia Tech holds a slight 52-50 lead in the all-time series, having won the last two meetings and six of the last eight games in the series. But the Yellow Jackets trail 27-24 since joining the ACC.
> The 102 all-time meetings are 28 more than Tech has played with any other ACC member. The home team has won 28 of the last 34 regular-season meetings.
> Tech won the first meeting between the two teams this season, defeating the Tigers, 76-69, on Jan. 27 in Atlanta. The Jackets’ B.J. Elder scored a career-high 36 points.
> Tech and Clemson have split their season series 14 times in the last 16 years. The Jackets swept the season series from the Tigers in 2000-01 for the first time since the 1985-86 season. Clemson earned a sweep in the 1996-97 season.
> The Yellow Jackets have won five of the seven games between the two teams since Paul Hewitt became Tech’s head coach, with a 3-1 record each at home and a 2-1 mark at Clemson. Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell is 0-1 vs. Tech.
> In Hewitt’s first season at Tech, the Jackets averaged 98 points in two games with Clemson, including a 111-108 win at Clemson. In 2001-02, Tech averaged 75 points per meeting, and 66.5 last year.
> Tech is just 13-32 all-time in games played at Clemson, including a 6-25 mark in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets have won two of the last three, but lost seven in a row at Clemson prior to that.
COACH HEWITT SAYS
On preventing Tech from playing tight – “The best thing to do is remind them that we’re 19-8 and ranked 18th in the country. We’re still a very good basketball team. We haven’t played up to our level over the last couple of games, but there have been places where we’ve played very well. But, like I told them after the game, that game’s over. Let’s move on to Clemson. All we can worry about is what we have ahead of us.”
“We played some very good basketball. Defensively, there were times we did some very good things. Offensively, we’re getting good shots. We’re getting very good looks. We’ve just got to finish the deal.”
On B.J. Elder – “Over the last month now, he has really elevated his game. He had the high-water marks with 36 against Clemson and 30 against North Carolina, the 26 points in the second half against Wake Forest. That’s what I expect him to do. He’s the type of player who can score big numbers.”
On Clemson – “They’re a very good rebounding team, and a very good defensive team as well. Oliver (Purnell) has got them playing very sticky, tough, hard-nosed man-to-man defense. Akingbala, Hobbs and Ford are very strong on the glass.”
On playing at Clemson – ” For is it’s been 2-1. We had a tough loss last year, but we’ve had success there over the last three years. It’s not the building, but the players in the uniforms, and Oliver has got them playing tough.”
PACK ATTACK
From Georgia Tech’s 79-69 loss to No. 14 NC State Wednesday night:
> Wednesday’s game departed from most of Tech’s losses this season in that the Yellow Jackets broke on top early by as many as 10 points, but were unable to hold on. Tech has fallen behind early and had to play catch-up in six of its eight defeats this year. Tech also jumped ahead of Duke early on Jan. 31.
> NC State was the second straight team and the third overall this season to shoot 50 percent against Tech. Though the Wolfpack shot just 43 field goal attempts, a season low against Tech, they made 51.2 percent overall and 44.4 percent from three-point range.
> Tech was outrebounded 38-24, the largest rebound deficit of the season for the Yellow Jackets
> Tech made just 8 of 18 free throws for 44.4 percent, the Jackets’ lowest free throw percentage since the season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette (4-of-10).
> Tech was called for 25 fouls, and Isma’il Muhammad fouled out for the third straight game.
> Jarrett Jack had eight assists, the most for him in a game since Dec. 6, when he has 11 against Tennessee State.
QUICK LOOK AT TECH
Five Tech players are averaging in double figures this season, led by 6-4 junior B.J. Elder at 16.4 points a game, 6-3 sophomore Jarrett Jack (12.5 ppg), 6-4 senior Marvin Lewis (11.1 ppg), 6-0 junior Will Bynum (10.6 ppg) and 6-6 junior Isma’il Muhammad (10.1 ppg).
For the last seven 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 15-5 with this lineup.
Elder is playing the best basketball of his career at this point of the season, averaging 20.8 points in his last six games, including 30 against North Carolina on Feb. 10 and 27 last Sunday against Wake Forest. He leads Tech and ranks fifth in the ACC in scoring. He has improved his shooting percentages for the season to 42.0 percent overall and 37.9 percent from three-point range, and has shot 41.0 percent from three against the league.
Jack, who has averaged 17.3 points in Tech’s last three games, is third in the ACC in assist average (5.89 per game) and fifth in steals (2.00 per game), while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor. Schenscher, who led Tech with 16 points against NC State Wednesday night, averages 8.6 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds overall this season (9.0 ppg and 7.4 rpg vs. the ACC), hits 55.1 percent of his shots and ranks fourth in the league in blocks (1.52 per game). Jack and Schenscher are the only two players to start every game for Tech this season.
Lewis has struggled with foul trouble in the last three games and scored just 14 points, but is shooting 43.7 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent from three-point range. He has shot 42.4 percent from three-point range against the ACC. McHenry, Tech’s primary defensive specialist who has started 22 of Tech’s 27 games this season, averages 2.5 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Tech uses four primary reserves, including Muhammad, a 6-6 defensive whiz who has made 61.4 percent of his field goal attempts this season and is Tech’s second-best rebounder at 4.9 per game.
Bynum, Tech’s backup point guard, averages 10.6 points per game for the season and 12.0 points per game against the league. Clarence Moore, a 6-5 senior, averages 6.2 points and 4.8 rebounds for the season, and has hit 44.1 percent from three-point range. Theodis Tarver, a 6-9 sophomore postman who missed the first 13 games of the season with a knee injury, is averaging 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds as Schenscher’s backup.
DEFENSE KEY FACTOR IN 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 78.7 points a game (fourth in the ACC, best in Paul Hewitt’s four years at Tech) and shooting 47.0 percent from the floor (second in the ACC, also Tech’s best under Hewitt).
> The Jackets have allowed only 10 teams to shoot 40 percent or better this season, and only three to shoot 50 percent, while limiting opponents to 38.7 percent collectively and 29.9 percent from three-point range.
> Tech ranks first in the ACC in field goal percentage defense in all games, fourth in league games only, and is the sixth-best in NCAA Division I basketball. Tech ranks second in the ACC in three-point percentage defense in all games, third in league games only.
> Tech’s FG percentage allowance of 38.7 percent would be the fourth lowest in school history if the season ended today, and the three-point yield would be a school-record low.
> Tech is 19-2 this season when it holds its opponent to less than 80 points.
> Tech also ranked fourth in the ACC and 29th nationally in blocked shots (4.85 per game), and ranks second in the conference in league games only (5.54 per game).
EXTRA CREDIT
While Georgia Tech has defended the three-point shot far better this season than last, it is also shooting the three far better.
Most recently, Tech went 7-of-18 against NC State, 7-of-19 against Wake Forest, 5-of-11 from bonus range at Maryland, 10-of-24 at Virginia, 13-of-25 against North Carolina and 8-of-16 at Tennessee. Collectively, the Yellow Jackets have shot 44.2 percent from three-point range in those six games.
The Jackets have shot threes at a 37.9-percent rate for the entire season and have made 7.44 per game, which rank second and third, respectively, in the ACC rankings. 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).
In ACC games only, Tech has shot 39.3 percent from three-point range, which leads the conference, and made 7.77 per game, which ranks third.
Individually, Marvin Lewis is at a career-best 40.1 percent, 42.4 percent against the league, while B.J. Elder has made threes at a 37.9-percent clip overall, 41.0 percent against the ACC. Will Bynum and Jarrett Jack also have been threats from long range, combining to make 34.7 percent in all games and 37.0 percent in ACC games.
BENCH CONTRIBUTES IN MANY WAYS
For proof of the importance of Georgia Tech’s bench, look no further than the face that the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer has come off the bench nine times this season. In the last 15 games, Tech has had 17 players score in double figures off the bench.
Tech is getting 27.3 points per game from its bench this season, the best in the tenure of head coach Paul Hewitt. The Jackets have averaged 26.4 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.
Tech’s primary reserves, forwards Clarence Moore and Isma’il Muhammad and guard Will Bynum, have combined to average 26.9 points a game this season and shoot 49.4 percent from the floor. They also provide the Jackets a high level of energy and defensive intensity when they come onto the floor.
FASTBREAK POINTS
> Georgia Tech’s strength of schedule is rated the 7th most difficult in the country by the Sagarin Index and 19th by the RPI Report. Tech is 6-6 against teams in the Sagarin top 30, and 12-8 against teams in its top 100.
> The ACC is the strongest conference in the nation in both the RPI Report and Sagarin Index, and is the only conference to have all of its teams in the top 70 of the RPI.
> Offensively, Tech ranks fourth in the ACC and 20th nationally in points per game (78.7). Tech also is third in the conference in field goal percentage (47.0).
> Tech is shooting 70.4 percent from the free throw line in ACC games, compared to 68.0 percent for the season. Four Tech players are above 78 percent in league games (Will Bynum at 86.0, Marvin Lewis at 80.0, Jarrett Jack at 79.7, B.J. Elder at 78.7).
> Tech is shooting 71.6 percent from the foul line in ACC road games this season, and four players are above 72.7 percent in those games.
> Tech has been whistled for 349 fouls in the last 15 games (23.3 per game) after averaging just 18 in the first 12 games. Opponents have been to the free throw line 423 times in those games, compared to 355 for Tech. Sixteen Tech players have fouled out in the 15 games, compared with only three in the first 12.
> Isma’il Muhammad has fouled out of each of Tech’s last three games after being disqualified in just two of the first 83 games of his career. Marvin Lewis has fouled out of two of the last three games (4 fouls in the other) after fouling out of just two games in the first 115 games of his career.
> Giving up 80 points in a game has resulted in a loss for Tech every time this season (five times). NC State is the only team to defeat Tech this season without scoring 80 points (76-72 on Jan. 24, and 79-69 Wednesday night). The Jackets are 6-24 in the Paul Hewitt tenure when they give up 80 points.
> In Tech’s last two games, the Jackets have a plus-14 turnover margin, and have shot 45.1 percent from the floor (37.8 percent from three-point range). But Tech has allowed the two opponents to shoot 54.4 percent (50 percent from three) and has been outrebounded on average 36.5 to 24.5.
