Feb. 6, 2016
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech (12-10, 2-7 ACC) continues a three-game homestand bridging the two halves of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule when the Yellow Jackets host #17/15 Miami (17-4, 6-3 ACC) at 1 p.m. Sunday at McCamish Pavilion.
Complete Game Notes | Purchase tickets | Watch live online
Tech dropped an 80-71 decision at home to Duke Tuesday night and have lost two straight since capturing a 90-83 win at NC State on Jan. 27. The Jackets are 1-3 at home in ACC play, a Jan. 9 win over #4 Virginia. Tech’s seven ACC losses this season have come by a total of 39 points, an average of 5.6 points per game.
The Hurricanes, who entered the top 25 after a 5-0 start this season and have remained there, defeated Notre Dame, 79-70, at home Wednesday night and have won four of their last five games. Miami has won just one of its three ACC road games to date, however, on Jan. 20 at Boston College.
Sunday’s game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and will be streamed live on the WatchESPN app. Radio coverage of the game 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). The game can also be heard nationally on satellite radio (Sirius ch. 83, XM ch. 193).
TRANSITION POINTS
• Miami is the fifth top-25 team Georgia Tech has played since the beginning of January and the sixth this season. The Yellow Jackets are 1-4 against top-25 teams, having beaten #4 Virginia at home on Jan. 9.
• Miami comes into Sunday’s game ranked 17th in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. Tech has already played the No. 1 (Duke), No. 2 (Notre Dame), No. 4 (North Carolina), No. 7 (Virginia) and No. 18 (Pittsburgh) and No. 22 (Villanova) teams in adjusted offensive efficiency.
• Sunday is the only scheduled meeting between Tech and Miami during the regular season. The two teams met only in Coral Gables last year.
• Tech’s nine ACC games have been decided by an average of 5.4 points, none by more than the nine-point defeat to Duke Tuesday night. Miami’s nine ACC games have been decided by an average of 12.1 points, with eight points being the closest finish.
• Tech has already played seven of the top eight teams in the current ACC standings, and the Yellow Jackets’ nine opponents have a combined regular-season record of 132-51 (.721).
• Tech’s overall strength of schedule ranks the 19th strongest in the CBSSports.com RPI rankings (5-8 vs. top-100 teams). The Jackets’ non-conference schedule strength is rated No. 84.
• Dating back to the 2014 ACC Tournament, 21 of Tech’s 24 losses to ACC teams in that period have been decided by nine points or fewer.
• Tech has a minus-0.67 “Luck” rating, KenPom.com’s measure of a team’s number of close games and its success in them. The Jackets rank No. 310 in that category, or to look at it another way, the 41st unluckiest team in the country. Tech was No. 323 out of 354 last year.
• According to KenPom.com, Tech has the ninth most experienced roster in the nation, with an average number of years experience at 2.37.
• Still relentless on the boards – Tech is out-rebounding its opponents by 7.6 per game, which ranks 22nd in the nation and No. 3 in the ACC. Tech has out-rebounded 17 of 22 opponents this season with two ties. Tech is No. 4 in the ACC and 20th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.8).
• Turnovers down – Tech is averaging 10.1 turnovers this season (2nd in the ACC, 10th NCAA), down two-and-a-half per game (12.7) from last season. Tech has averaged 9.3 turnovers in ACC play, the second-lowest figure among the 15 teams.
• Scoring up – Tech is averaging 75.9 points per game, 73.3 in ACC games, both figures nearly 13 points per game higher than a year ago. The Yellow Jackets have connected on 44.4 percent of their field goal tries, an increase of four percent over last year.
• Outside threat – Tech’s 35.2-percent success rate from three-point range is up almost nine percent over last year. The Yellow Jackets have hit 33.8 percent against the ACC.
• Tech has been outscored from the free throw line eight times in nine ACC games, and by a total of 178-120. In the second half of those games, the difference is 128-65. Only at NC State did the Yellow Jackets have the advantage (29-19).
• Four Georgia Tech players are averaging in double digits – Marcus Georges-Hunt (15.6 ppg), Adam Smith (14.5), Nick Jacobs (11.5) and Charles Mitchell (10.9). Tech has not finished a season with four or more players averaging in double figures since 2008-09.
• Tech has used four different starting lineups this season. Marcus Georges-Hunt and Adam Smith are the only Jackets to start every game.
• In ACC games, Marcus Georges-Hunt is averaging 17.1 points per game (9th in the ACC) and Adam Smith 16.4 (12th).
• Nick Jacobs has scored in double figures seven straight games, averaging 15.4 points (52.9 pct. FG, 18-of-22 FT) and 7.0 rebounds over that stretch.
• Charles Mitchell is bidding to become the first Tech player to average in double digits in points and rebounds since Alvin Jones in 2000-01. Only Jones and Malcolm Mackey (1991-92 and 1992-93) have done so since Tech joined the ACC. Mitchell has 12 double-doubles this season.
• Mitchell leads the ACC in rebound average (10.5 rpg) and is No. 2 in offensive rebounds (3.91 per game). Mitchell ranks 13th in the nation in both those categories.
• Adam Smith leads the ACC in three-point field goals made (3.19 per game) and fifth in percentage (41.9). He ranks 16th and 47th, respectively, in the nation in those two categories. He has averaged 3.56 three-pointers in ACC games and has made 40 percent of his tries.
• In 22 games, Smith has made more three-pointers (70) than Tech’s leader in each of the past five seasons and the most for any Tech player since 2008-09.
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH MIAMI
After winning the first two meetings with Miami after the Hurricanes became members of the ACC, Georgia Tech has dropped eight of the last 12, but pulled a surpise 70-50 thumping of the 23rd-ranked Hurricanes last year in Coral Gables..
• Miami has an 11-8 lead in the all-time series which dates back to 1953, and is 11-6 against the Yellow Jackets since joining the ACC.
• Tech’s only other win in the last six meetings also took place in Coral Gables, a 71-69 victory over 6th-ranked Miami in on March 6, 2013. It was only the second win for Tech at the BankUnited Center and first since Feb. 26, 2005. It also was Tech’s first win over a top-10 team on the road since the 2003-04 season.
• Miami has won the last four meetings in Atlanta and is 2-0 at McCamish Pavilion. Miami won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams in 2011-12, as well as their ACC Tournament meeting, both games at Philips Arena. Tech failed to score 50 points in any of those meetings.
• Miami was the opponent for Tech in its last game at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, a game the Yellow Jackets won 66-57 to close out the 2010-11 regular season, and that remains Tech’s last victory in the series. Tech won four of six games against the Hurricanes in the building.
• Eleven of the 19 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.
• The last meeting between the two schools prior to Miami’s joining the ACC occurred in December of 1997 as part of the Orange Bowl Classic doubleheader at Miami Arena, the Hurricanes’ home court until the team moved into the on-campus Convocation Center last year. The Yellow Jackets, led that year by senior forward Matt Harpring, won that game, 69-61.
• Tech played Miami twice under former head coach Whack Hyder, losing the first-ever meeting in the series by 22 points in 1953, then taking a six-point homecourt victory in 1967. That was the only pre-ACC visit by the Hurricanes to Alexander Memorial Coliseum, and the 90-84 Tech win has been the highest scoring game in the series.
TECH PLAYERS VS. MIAMI
Marcus Georges-Hunt has averaged 13.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in four career games against Miami. The senior has hit 47.3 percent of his shots from the floor and 7-for-12 from the free throw line.
Georges-Hunt sparked Tech’s 70-50 thumping of the 23rd-ranked Hurricanes last year in Coral Gables, hitting 10-of-12 shots from the floor and scoring 24 points. Georges-Hunt also scored the winning basket in the Jackets’ 71-69 upset of the #6 Hurricanes in Coral Gables his freshman year.
Adam Smith has averaged 8.7 points and hit 5-of-13 from three-point range in three career meetings with Miami, including a 15-point effort last year in Coral Gables.
Charles Mitchell has scored six total points in three career games vs. Miami.
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.
