Nov. 18, 2015
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech continues a four-game homestand to open its 101st season of basketball Thursday night by hosting Green Bay in the first-ever meeting between the two teams at 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.
GTvsGB Game Notes | Gregory interview | White interview | ESPN3 link | Purchase tickets
The Tech-Green Bay game is part of the NIT Season Tipoff, in which the Yellow Jackets also will host East Tennessee State Sunday. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3. Radio coverage is provided by the Georgia Tech/IMG Sports Network, and can be heard in Atlanta on 680 the Fan (680 AM and 93.7 FM).
TRANSITION POINTS
• Thursday’s game is the third of four straight home games to begin the 2015-16 season. The Yellow Jackets follow the Green Bay game with a home game against East Tennessee State Sunday. Tech does not travel until Nov. 26-27 when it plays in the NIT Season Tipoff in Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Georgia Tech has won its first two games for the fifth straight season, defeating Cornell 116-81 in the season opener Friday night and Tennessee 69-67 Monday.
• Green Bay opens its season with three straight road games. The Phoenix come to Atlanta on the heels of two road losses, including a 93-89 defeat in overtime at Stanford Friday and a 103-90 loss at East Tennessee State Tuesday.
• Tech has averaged 92.5 points, 37.5 field goals and 74.5 field goal attempts in its first two games. The Jackets averaged 63.6 points, 23.7 field goals and 56.2 field goal attempts in Tech’s first four seasons under Brian Gregory.
• Tech’s highest-scoring team ever, the 1989-90 Final Four team led by Kenny Anderson, Brian Oliver and Dennis Scott, averaged 88.5 points, 32.5 field goals and 65.7 field goal attempts per game.
• Tech has 46 assists and 20 turnovers combined in two games. It’s primary ballhandlers on the perimeter – Josh Heath, Travis Jorgenson, Adam Smith, Marcus Georges-Hunt, Tadric Jackson and Quinton Stephens – have a combined 26 assists and six turnovers.
• Tech’s four big men — Nick Jacobs, Charles Mitchell, Ben Lammers, James White — combined shot 16-for-30 from the floor against Tennessee after hitting 25 of 30 attempts against Cornell. That’s still 68.3 percent for the season.
• Tech’s starting lineup for the first two games has been Josh Heath at point guard, Marcus Georges-Hunt and Adam Smith on the wings, and Nick Jacobs and Charles Mitchell at the post positions. Only Georges-Hunt began his career at Georgia Tech.
• Tech played its entire roster in the win over Cornell and went 10-deep against Tennessee.
• Seniors Marcus Georges-Hunt and Charles Mitchell and junior Quinton Stephens have been named Georgia Tech’s captains for 2015-16.
• Head coach Brian Gregory announced prior to the Cornell game that sophomore forward Abdoulaye Gueye and freshman center Sylvester Ogbonda will sit out this season as redshirts.
• Tech is playing four non-conference teams this season that it also faced during its run to the NCAA national championship game in 2004 – Cornell, Tennessee, Georgia and VCU.
• A couple of Tech players have received some pre-season recognition from basketball experts. Adam Smith, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, has been named one of the nation’s top 20 impact transfers both by Jeff Goodman at ESPN.com and Jon Rothstein at CBSSports.com. Rothstein also tabbed sophomore guard Tadric Jackson as one of 15 under-the-radar players who could have a breakout season.
ABOUT GREEN BAY
• The Green Bay men’s basketball team began in the 1969-70 school year where they competed at the NAIA level before it moved to NCAA Division II in 1973. In 1982, it moved to NCAA Division I where it competed in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (now the Summit League). Since 1994, Green Bay has been competing in the Horizon League (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate Conference).
• The Phoenix have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament four times (1991, 1994, 1995, 1996), compiling a 1-4 record. They have played in the post-season NIT each of the past two years.
• Green Bay went 24-9 overall last season and finished second in the Horizon League, and is playing its first season under head coach Linc Darner, who spent the past eight seasons at Florida Southern.
• Tech is 3-3 all-time against members of the Horizon League.
TENNESSEE LEFTOVERS
• Tech won its third consecutive game over a Southeastern Conference opponent. The Yellow Jackets defeated Georgia and Vanderbilt last season. Arkansas and Georgia are on Tech’s upcoming schedule.
• Tech held Tennessee to 35.1 percent from the floor, 31.4 percent in the second half. It was the 45th time in Brian Gregory’s tenure as Tech’s head coach that the Yellow Jackets limited an opponent to under 40 percent.
• Tech blocked 12 shots in the game — four by James White and three by Charles Mitchell. The total was the fourth-most in Tech history (school record is 15).
• Tech also had 10 steals in the game. The Yellow Jackets never had more than 13 combined blocks and steals in a game last season.
• Tech used 10 players in the game, but only seven scored.
• Nick Jacobs scored a career-high 23 points against Tennessee, hitting 9-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 free throws. He missed a double-double by one rebound. In four previous games vs. Tennessee, Jacobs averaged 7.3 points with a high of 13 and went 14-for-26 from the floor.
• Charles Mitchell scored 12 points and reached in double digits for the third straight game dating back to last season. It was his 17th double-digit game in a Tech uniform, and the 33rd of his career. He made 5 of 8 shots from the floor after going 10-of-11 against Cornell.
• Mitchell also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and posted his ninth double-double in a Tech uniform. It was his 21st career double-figure rebound game.
• Marcus Georges-Hunt scored 17 points and reached double figures for the 65th time in 96 career games at Georgia Tech.
• Georges-Hunt passed Jim Caldwell for 33rd place on Tech’s all-time scoring list, and now has 1,161 career points. He needs five to reach current Cleveland Cavalier Iman Shumpert, who holds 32nd place with 1,166.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is beginning its fifth year under head coach Brian Gregory. The Yellow Jackets have been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993), played in the NCAA Tournament 16 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on Twitter (@GTMBB).
For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be purchased here.
