March 14, 2004
NOTE: Ticket orders for Georgia Tech’s first-round NCAA Tournament game can be placed on www.ramblinwreck.com. Orders will only be accepted from current Georgia Tech season-ticket holders and Alexander-Tharpe Fund contributors until 5 p.m. Monday, and requests will be filled in order of A-T point priority. Those receiving tickets will be notified Tuesday. Georgia Tech’s allotment includes tickets for the session in which Tech is playing only, and the tickets are priced at $55.
Making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001 and its 13th overall, Georgia Tech (23-9) earned the third seed in the St. Louis Regional, and the Yellow Jackets open the tournament by facing 14th seed Northern Iowa (21-9) on Friday in Milwaukee, Wis. Tipoff is at approximately 3 p.m. ET.
Tech and the Panthers, the champions of the Missouri Valley Conference, are bracketed at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center with No. 6 seed Boston College and No. 11 seed Utah, with the two survivors from that “pod” advancing to the St. Louis Regional, which also includes No. 1 seed Kentucky, No. 2 seed Pittsburgh, and No. 4 seed Kansas.
Also playing first round games in Milwaukee are No. 6 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 11 seed Richmond, and No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. No. 14 Central Florida.
Game Times are as follows:
Friday, March 19Boston College vs. Utah, 12:30 p.m. ETGeorgia Tech vs. Northern Iowa, 30 minutes after conclusionof previous game (approx. 3 p.m. ET)Wisconsin vs Richmond, 7:30 p.m. ETPittsburgh vs UCF, 30 minutes after conclusion of previous game
Sunday, March 21 Games are 2:15 p.m. ET and 4:45 p.m. ET, Teams TBA
Tech is in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four seasons under head coach Paul Hewitt, who also guided the Jackets to the Big Dance in 2001, when Tech fell to St. Joseph’s in the first round.
Tech’s No. 3 seed is its highest since 1996, when it was also the the third seed and advanced to the Sweet 16.
In 12 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, Tech has a record of 16-12 with berths in the Sweet 16 in 1960, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992 and 1996 and one Final Four appearance in 1990.
Tech previously played in Milwaukee in the 1992 NCAA Tournament, an appearance made memorable by James Forrest’s buzzer-beating shot that lifted the Jackets over No. 2 Southern California and into the Sweet 16.
Northern Iowa, coached by Greg McDermott, is making just its second NCAA appearance and its first since 1990, when the Panthers knocked off No. 3 seed Missouri in the first round. Tech and Northern Iowa have never played before.
Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt
“First, I’d obviously like to congratulate our players. They have done a great job this season, and regardless of what happens from this point forward, this season has absolutely been a success for them. We know that we’ve got more to do, and we’re going to play against a championship-caliber team in Northern Iowa. It’s ironic that I was listening to their game last Sunday night on the radio on my way to a junior college tournament game. It’s just so funny that I listened to the game. They are a good team, and they’re playing well of late. They have a winning streak going and they beat a No. 9 seed in Southern Illinois. They have a good coach, Greg McDermott. They are a well-coached team, a good team, and we’ll know a lot more about them over the next few days as we still have to break down tape. We have tape on them. Again, I’m just happy for our players. I tell them all the time that we (coaches) have a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament-we have more chances than them-and I cherish it, I’m happy, personally, but I’m thrilled for them. We have a chance as a coaching staff to do this again next year and the year after that and the year after that, but for these players, they get four cracks at it. For Marvin Lewis and Robert Brooks, they are going to their second tournament, Clarence Moore is going as his first time as a participant and the rest of these players are going for the first time, but I’m very very happy for them and they deserve all the credit in the world for what they’ve done.
How do you break down your Regional for the players?
I don’t even know what Regional we’re in. I don’t know who else is in it, all I know is that we’ve got Northern Iowa and I did notice that Boston College and Utah are in it as well. But honestly I don’t even know what Regional we’re in. I thought we were going to be somewhere in the Southeast, but we’re going to Milwaukee.
Was the third seed expected?
“I thought we were going to be anywhere from a three to a six seed, but honestly, it doesn’t matter this year. This year, more than anything, I felt like three to six was the range. I said that three to six would be what I expected, I thought that we may have had a chance to sneak into a two seed if we had finished off this weekend, but we didn’t. But like I said, this year, more than any other year, it really doesn’t matter.
Is this tournament the biggest chance that Georgia Tech has at becoming a household name?
“This is the tournament where everybody, Northern Iowa included, has a chance at making a mark. They still talk about Valpo and the shot that they made, so everybody has an opportunity. We don’t walk into the tournament with a chip on our shoulder, it’s a time for everybody to really enjoy what they accomplished for the season and a time to elevate the status of your program.”
Comment on this being a big step up this year.
“This is a step up, and obviously the credit goes to these players, Marvin (Lewis) and the other seniors, Jarrett (Jack)’s improvement and development from last year to this year. What I keep telling people is that it’s about players, it’s not about coaching. What you try to do is get guys structured and put them position where they can be successful, but you can design as many plays as you want, but unless you’ve got a guy that can finish the play, make the shot, take a charge or get the rebound, you can practice until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t have guys that are capable and able, it doesn’t make a big difference.
“It says a lot about these guys and how they didn’t listen to a lot of the stuff. Early in the year, in the first week or so of practice, I remember coming in and telling my staff and the players that if the teams that they were showing on television now were some of the best in the country, then we’re right there. Certainly getting to New York (NIT) was big to reinforce that, and then winning in New York just said that we didn’t take a backseat to anybody, we can play anybody in the country. I also think that playing in this league also helps us, it keeps you humble and keeps you hungry playing in this league because you can’t have an off-night and come away with a win. I think being a part of the ACC has been a big part of the development of this basketball team, because it keeps you humble.
Do you know anything about Northern Iowa’s style?
“Not yet, but Pete Zaharis does, he’s been taping the games. As a matter of fact, when the name came up he said that they could really move the ball on offense. We get so wrapped up in our season that we don’t get a chance to watch these games, much less many other ACC games. With the players, they’re so wrapped up in their academic commitments here and what we have them doing that they don’t have much time to watch television on games outside the ACC and other friends playing.
Comment on ACC getting six teams.
“I thought that Florida State should have gotten in. I thought either Florida State or Virginia, especially with Virginia getting seven wins in this league, and another in the tournament. You can’t convince me that one of those two teams didn’t belong in the tournament. Tim Pickett, clearly in my mind, is the best player that is not playing in the NCAA Tournament this year, maybe one of the best 20 players in the country, period.
Senior Guard Marvin Lewis
(on being a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament)
“We’re definitely excited, not really surprised, but excited about the opportunity to be a number three seed, and we’re just going to look forward to Friday, and try to play our best.”
(on how you’re playing as a team going into the tournament)
“I think our team is coming together at the right time. Coach always talks about how February is a time when teams come together, and I think we did a good job of that, and now we have to keep it up. It’s just a one-game tournament as we see it, and we’ll be playing on Friday. Preparation is just the same. You have to look at it as a one-game tournament, and you’ve got to be mentally prepared, and physically. So, we’re going to get some practices in and prepare for Friday.”
(on playing an unfamiliar opponent)
“We respect our opponent, as they were a championship team, they won a championship last week, and you’ve got to respect a team like that. But, because of the schedule we’ve had, we’ve just been concentrating on us, and now that school’s back, since we were on spring break, we’ve got to focus on academics too.”
Junior Guard B.J. Elder
(on how you’re playing as a team going into the tournament)
“I think the team feels really confident going into the tournament. We’re going to get back in on Wednesday, have a good, hard practice and get prepared for Friday.”
“For us to get an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, this is my first chance to get an opportunity to do that since I’ve been here, and everyone’s really excited about this and trying to get Tech basketball to where it was.”
(on playing an unfamiliar opponent)
“The coaches will get us prepared the best way they know how, and then it’s all about us coming out and playing hard.”
Sophomore Guard Jarrett Jack
(on being a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament)
“We knew that if we had a good tournament showing this past weekend that our seeding could go up. I think that our performance reflected the seed that we got from the committee.”
(on how the team is playing going into the tournament)
“I definitely think we’re starting to get the confidence back that we had at the beginning of the season. Right now, I just think that you have to be mentally focused, and that it’s one game and you can be going home. If you go out there and play every game like it’s your last, you should be fine.”
Junior Center Luke Schenscher
(on playing in Milwaukee and his familiarity with the area)
“Coach came in and said we were playing in Milwaukee, I said ‘Where’s Milwaukee?’, and he said it’s in Wisconsin, and I said ‘Where’s Wisconsin?’. I know where Iowa is, and I’ve been near there. I came over on a tour with the Australian team and we were in that area.”
“We just have to go into the first round and take what we’ve got from the ACC and we’ve played against top-25 teams day in and day out in the ACC and hopefully we can use that as a stepping stone going into the tournament.”
“They won their conference championship, and any team that can win their conference championship deserves a lot of respect. It’s definitely going to be a tough game.”
(on being a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament)
“I’m not too sure about how the whole thing works with the seedings, as I’m new to it. But, being a three-seed is something that definitely shows we’ve had a good season.
“If we can keep doing what we’ve been doing, we just have to come out and keep playing with that intensity and we’ll see what happens.”
