Dec. 4, 2015
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech (5-2) renews one of its oldest rivalries Saturday when the Yellow Jackets travel to New Orleans, La., to face Tulane (5-3) in a nationally televised game at 5 p.m. Eastern time at Fogelman Arena at Devlin Fieldhouse on the Tulane campus.
The Yellow Jackets are meeting the Green Wave for the 70th time and for the first time since the Green Wave helped Tech open McCamish Pavilion on Nov. 9, 2012. This is the first true road game for Tech, which split a pair of games against Arkansas and Villanova last weekend in the NIT Season Tipoff in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tech opened its season with four straight home games, and came within a last-second three-point basket of winning all four. The Jackets defeated Cornell (116-81), Tennessee (69-67) and Green Bay (107-77) before losing to East Tennessee State (69-68). Tech comes into Saturday’s game on the strength of a 77-61 home-court win over Wofford Tuesday night.
Tulane has won four of its last five games, including a 64-62, win over cross-town rival New Orleans, 64-62, Wednesday night. The Green Wave opened their season with losses to Alabama A&M and Southern University sandwiched around an overtime win against Drake.
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) as well as nationally on satellite radio (Sirius ch. 108, XM ch. 201). The CBS Sports Network will televise the game live nationally.
TRANSITION POINTS
• Four Georgia Tech players are scoring in double digits through seven games – Charles Mitchell (14.6 ppg), Marcus Georges-Hunt (14.0), Adam Smith (12.0) and Nick Jacobs (10.4).
• Tech is out-rebounding its opponents by 14 per game, which ranks seventh in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC behind Louisville (+16.2). Tech is No. 1 in the ACC and ninth nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.3).
• No Tech player in the Atlantic Coast Conference era has begun a season with seven straight double-doubles as has Charles Mitchell, and the longest streak of double-doubles at any point in a season has been five (Malcolm Mackey in 1991-92 and Gani Lawal in 2008-09).
• Tech is averaging 81.7 points per game (seventh-highest in the ACC) and has hit the century mark twice this season. The Yellow Jackets have connected on 47.2 percent of their field goal tries (No. 9 in the ACC).
• Tech is third in the ACC in assist average (16.6 per game) and has assisted on 55 percent of its made field goals.
• In a reversal of fortune from previous Brian Gregory-coached Tech teams, Tech ranks higher in offensive categories than in defensive ones, at least in the early going. The Jackets are currently 10th in scoring defense and 10th in field goal percentage defense.
• Tech’s starting lineup for the first seven 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 has played at least 10 players in every game this season, and played its entire 12-man roster against Cornell, Green Bay and Wofford.
• Mitchell leads the ACC in rebound average (12.9 rpg) and in field goal percentage (62.5 pct.). Mitchell ranks fifth and 30th, respectively, in the nation in those categories.
• Marcus Georges-Hunt is eighth in the ACC in free throw percentage (82.2). Of the top 10 in percentage, only Grayson Allen of Duke and Anthony Barber of NC State have been to the line more than Georges-Hunt.
• Adam Smith is fourth in the ACC in three-point field goals made (2.86 per game)
• Josh Heath is No. 7 in the ACC in assists (4.57 per game) and sixth in assist-turnover ratio (3.20-1). Tech’s point guard tandem of Heath and Travis Jorgenson have 51 assists and 15 turnovers for a 3.4-1 ratio. Tech has a 1.46-1 team ratio (6th in the ACC).
• Tech’s top five scorers this season – Mitchell, Georges-Hunt, Smith, Jacobs and Quinton Stephens – have hit a combined 86.5 percent (96-for-111) of their charity tosses this season. They went 16-for-21 against Wofford while the Jackets were 21-for-29 (72.4 percent) as a team.
• 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.
• Tech is playing on the home court of a non-Power 5 conference team for the 17th time since 2000, and for the fifth time since Brian Gregory became Tech’s head coach. The Yellow Jackets have lost five of the last six such games, one of the losses coming at Tulane.
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH TULANE
Georgia Tech and Tulane are meeting for the 70th time, which the Yellow Jackets holding a 36-33 lead.
• The schools were both charter members of the Southeastern Conference, which Tech left after the 1963-64 academic year, and Tulane departed after the 1965-66 academic year. They were also both members of the Metro Conference from 1975-78. Tech left to join the ACC after the 1977-78 season, while Tulane remained until 1985. The teams played each other in basketball regularly in between those periods.
• Tulane was a member of Conferense USA from 1995 through the 2014-15 season, and is now a member of the American Athletic Conference.
• Only Georgia (191 meetings), Auburn (114), Vanderbilt (73) and Kentucky (71) have been more frequent opponents for Tech among non-ACC foes. The Yellow Jackets played Tennessee for the 70th time on Nov. 16.
• Tulane was Tech’s first opponent in McCamish Pavilion when it opened on Nov. 9, 2012, and the Yellow Jackets won, 79-61.
• Tech is 9-22 against Tulane in New Orleans, including a 57-52 loss to the Green Wave on its last visit Dec. 3, 2011.
• Brian Gregory was the Tech coach for those two games, but never faced Tulane while he was the head coach at Dayton.
• Tech was 4-2 against Tulane as members of the Metro Conference, and 17-18 as members of the SEC.
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.
