Feb. 15, 2011
ATLANTA – Taking a break from Atlantic Coast Conference play, Georgia Tech returns home Wednesday night to face Chattanooga at 7:30 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The game will not be televised.
The Yellow Jackets (10-14, 3-8 ACC) are looking to snap a five-game skid in which they have lost to Maryland, Miami, Clemson, Florida State and Virginia Tech, and in the process have fallen to 11th place in the ACC standings.
Tech is 8-5 at home this year, including a 5-2 mark in non-conference games. The Jackets lost to Georgia in early December and Charlotte in early January.
Tech leads the ACC in turnovers forced (17.1 per game) and steals (9.7 per game) and ranks eighth in scoring defense. But Tech has averaged just 63.2 points and shot just 35.6 percent during its last five games.
Head coach Paul Hewitt’s team, which returns two starters and eight letterwinners from a team that reached the championship game in last year’s ACC Tournament and won their first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, is one of the youngest in the ACC, with freshmen and sophomores making 80 of 120 possible starts and playing around 70 percent of the minutes.
Chattanooga (14-13 overall, 10-5 Southern Conference) comes to Atlanta having lost three straight games, all on the road, including losses at Western Carolina and Appalachian State on back-to-back nights last weekend. Still, the Mocs have a half-game lead over the Catamounts in the Northern Division of the SoCon.
Following Wednesday night’s game, Tech has just two of its last five games at home – Virginia on Feb. 23 and Miami on Mar. 6.
Game Data
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-14, 3-8 ACC) vs. Chattanooga Mocs (14-13, 10-5 SoCon)
Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
Site: Alexander Memorial Coliseum (capacity 9,191), Atlanta, Ga.
Television: none
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network from IMG College, live on flagship station WQXI-AM (790 the Zone) and WYAY-FM (106.7) – Wes Durham, play-by-play; Randy Waters, color.
Satellite Radio: XM Ch. 190 (Georgia Tech broadcast)
Tech Tickets: 888-TECH-TIX
Tech Record Breakdown: 8-5 at home, 0-8 on the road, 2-1 neutral
Series History: Georgia Tech leads, 14-2 (2-0 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum)
At Alexander Memorial Coliseum: Georgia Tech is 554-193 in its 55th and final season in the building.
Series History – Tech vs. Chattanooga
> Georgia Tech has won the last 12 meetings in the series and has a 14-2 overall lead.
> Since Tech joined the ACC, the teams have met five times, playing home-and-away series in the mid-1980s and the early 1990s.
> Wednesday night’s game concludes the latest home-and-away agreement. The Jackets defeated Chattanooga, 95-64, last season at McKenzie Arena.
> Only two of the previous 16 meetings have been played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Tech defeated the Mocs 74-58 on Nov. 27, 1984, and 97-84 on Dec. 7, 1991.
> Tech was a member of the Southern Conference from 1921-32.
Last Year vs. Chattanooga
Dec. 14 at Chattanooga – Gani Lawal scored 29 points to lead No. 22 Georgia Tech to a 95-64 victory at McKenzie Arena.
Derrick Favors had 14 points, Glen Rice added 11 and Mfon Udofia and Maurice Miller had 10 each for the Yellow Jackets in their first true road game of the season.
Ty Patterson scored 22 points, one off his career high, on 8-of-14 shooting for the Mocs (5-5), while Vanderbilt transfer Keegan Bell added 13 on 5-of-17 shooting.
Chattanooga trimmed a 16-point deficit to six before the Yellow Jackets closed the first half on a 13-0 run to take a 52-33 lead. They expanded the lead to 23 points by holding the Mocs scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the second half.
Georgia Tech controlled the second half, never leading by less than 15 points and the largest lead was 32 points with 3:54 to go.
The Yellow Jackets shot 60.8 percent from the field, including 43.8 percent from 3-point range, and finished with a 35-29 rebound advantage.
One of the ACC’s Most Improved Players
Already established as one of the ACC’s top defensive players, Iman Shumpert is one of the most improved players offensively in the conference this season. With the exception of assists and turnovers, the 6-5 junior is well past his previous season totals in every statistical category, IN SIX FEWER GAMES.
His scoring average improvement (+7.4 ppg) is the fifth-highest of any ACC player. His rebound average is up 2.4 per game. With the exception of three-pointers, his shooting percentages are also up significantly.
Year G-GS Min FG-FGA Pct. 3P-3PA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. Reb. A St Pts AvgFr. 31-31 31.6 106-271 .391 32-102 .314 86-131 .656 3.9 4.9 2.1 330 10.6So. 30-29 30.1 104-270 .385 37-111 .333 54-75 .720 3.6 4.0 1.9 299 10.0Jr. 24-24 31.9 136-336 .405 33-119 .277 112-137 .818 6.0 3.5 2.8 417 17.4
Tech Trifecta
Iman Shumpert is bidding to become only the seventh player in ACC history to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists in the same season. The Oak Park, Ill., junior is averaging 17.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists for Paul Hewitt’s Yellow Jackets. Shumpert also leads the Jackets (and the ACC) in steals, and would be the fourth player on the list below to lead his team in those four categories. (Shumpert also leads the Jackets in all four categories in conference games only.)
ACC TrifectasPlayer, School Year Pts. Reb. Ast.Greivis Vasquez, Jr., Md.* 2009 17.5 5.4 5.0Julius Hodge, Sr., NCS 2005 17.0 6.6 4.8Anthony Grundy, Sr., NCS* 2002 17.8 5.5 3.5Tim Duncan, Sr., WF 1997 20.8 14.7 3.1Bob Sura, Jr., FSU* 1994 21.2 7.9 4.5Danny Ferry, So., Duke 1987 14.0 7.8 4.3*Also led team in steals
