Dec. 12, 2014
Coach Gregory interview | Complete Game Notes | ESPN3 link
THE FLATS – Looking to rebound from a home-court loss to USC Upstate eight days ago, Georgia Tech comes out of fall semester exams with a home game Monday night (7 p.m.) against Appalachian State at McCamish Pavilion.
Tech is 6-2 in its fourth season under head coach Brian Gregory after dropping a 59-54 decision to USC Upstate at home on Dec. 6. The Jackets had won three straight games, including a 66-58 win at Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Appalachian State, 3-3 under first-year head coach Jim Fox, is playing its first season in the Sun Belt Conference after a long stint in the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers also lost their last game (68-51 at home to Hofstra) following a three-game winning streak that included road wins at Virginia Tech and Jacksonville.
Monday’s game will be not be televised but can be viewed online at ESPN3.com. The Georgia Tech IMG Radio Network, with flagship station WCNN (680 AM/93.7 FM) will also carry the game. Radio coverage can also be heard in satellite radio nationally (Sirius Ch. 108, XM Ch. 193).
Tech plays two of its next three games at McCamish Pavilion. After Monday’s game, the Yellow Jackets host Vanderbilt on Saturday, Dec. 20.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MONDAY’S GAME
• Georgia Tech and Appalachian State are meeting for the fifth time in the schools’ histories, and for the first time in 16 seasons. The teams last met on Dec. 5, 1998, a 74-72 overtime victory for Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Three of the four prior meetings were played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
• Georgia Tech’s next victory will be the 50th for head coach Brian Gregory as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach. Gregory picked up his 200th overall career win at the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
• Georgia Tech and Appalachian State will be forever linked as the first two stops in the head coaching career of Bobby Cremins. Cremins became the youngest head coach in Division I in 1975 at Appalachian State, and led the Mountaineers to a 100-70 record, including one Southern Conference title and one NCAA Tournament appearance, in six years before taking the post at Tech in 1981.
• Georgia Tech is 3-0 under Brian Gregory in its first game following fall semester finals, having won those games by an average of more than 30 points.
• Tech’s loss to USC Upstate caused the Jackets to fall several spots, to between No. 66 and 93 in the various RPI rankings. The Jackets are 3-1 vs. teams in the top 100, having defeated Georgia, Rhode Island and Northwestern.
DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Two former notable Georgia Tech players from the last decade – guards Jarrett Jack and Matt Causey – will walk across the stage on the McCamish Pavilion floor this weekend to receive academic degrees.
Jack, fulfilling a promise to his mother, is receiving his bachelor’s degree in management nearly 10 years after he played his final Tech game. Jack, a nine-year NBA veteran now playing for the Brooklyn Nets, starred at point guard for the Yellow Jackets from 2002-05, leading Tech to a pair of NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the national championship game in 2004, and an NIT berth.
Causey, who played for the Jackets in 2007-08, completed his masters degree in business administration. After beginning his college career at Georgetown and playing at North Georgia College, Causey sank Notre Dame on a last-second three-pointer in the Paradise Jam and scored 30 in a win over Virginia Tech later that season.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is beginning its fourth 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 (@GTMBK).
For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be purchased here.
