March 4, 2003
RICHMOND, Va. – Georgia Tech looks to end a five-game losing streak and earn its first road win of the season Wednesday night when it visits Virginia for a 7 p.m. game at University Hall.
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Georgia Tech-ISP Network provides radio coverage, which can be heard locally on WQXI-AM (790) and WMGP-FM (98.1).
Tech is 12-13 overall and 5-9 in the ACC, tied with Clemson, Virginia and North Carolina for fifth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, three games behind fourth-place NC State. Virginia is 14-13 overall after dropping its last six in a row. The Jackets won the teams’ first meeting this year, 80-60, on Feb. 1 in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets have dropped their last five games to NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina by an average of 8.2 points, including a one-point loss at North Carolina Saturday.
Head coach Paul Hewitt’s team continues to search for their first road win of the season, having gone 0-10 on opponents’ home courts this season and 1-11 away from home overall. Tech led by as many as 10 points in the second half of Saturday’s game and held a 66-61 lead with 29.9 seconds to go before the Tar Heels rallied.
“I like how our guys competed. They’re playing very hard,” said Hewitt. “The thing now is not to drop our heads. After Saturday, we had some bad luck, and we’ve made some of our own bad luck, but we have to prepare for Virginia on Wednesday.
“These guys are searching for their own identity in terms of playing a full 40-minute game. The fact that we’ve won [at Virginia] the last couple of times might provide some confidence for Marvin (Lewis) and some of the sophomores, but the rest of the guys we rely on didn’t.
“We want to win both games and try to get that fifth seed. I’m not sure what the numbers are. With everyone at 5-9, I know it doesn’t look pretty in the standings. Our goal is to try and get to fifth place.”
During the five-game streak, Tech has shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 32.0 percent from three-point range, and averaged 62.4 points per game, nearly 12 points below its season average. The five opponents have shot a combined 48.9 percent against the Jackets, yet only one of those teams has managed to achieve its season scoring average against Tech (Florida State). Tech has held the four teams a combined 20 points under their collective averages for the season, and has given up just a half-point more per game (70.6) than its average yield for the season (70.0).
A win for Tech Wednesday would give the Yellow Jackets their second season sweep of Virginia in three seasons under Paul Hewitt, and their third straight win at University Hall. Tech won 82-80 last season and 73-68 in 2001.
Tech’s starting lineup includes 6-3 freshman Jarrett Jack at the point, 6-4 junior Marvin Lewis and 6-4 sophomore B.J. Elder on the wings, and 6-8 sophomore Ed Nelson and 6-10 freshman Chris Bosh in the frontcourt.
Tech has three players ranked among the ACC’s top 16 in scoring, led by Bosh, Tech’s ACC Rookie of the Year candidate, who ranks eighth in the ACC in scoring at 15.4 points per game, leads the ACC in field goal percentage (55.7) and blocked shots (2.12 per game) and is second in rebounding (9.2). Bosh, who notched his 11th double-double of the season Saturday at North Carolina (17 points, 10 rebounds), scored 22 against the Cavs on Feb. 1.
Elder and Lewis form one of the league’s top three-point shooting tandems. Elder ranks ninth in the conference 15.3 points a game overall and seventh in overall field goal percentage at 46.3 percent, and is sixth in the league in three-point percentage. Lewis, who scored 25 against Virginia in the first meeting, ranks 16th in the ACC overall at 12.6 points per game and is third in three-point percentage (41.0).
Jack, Tech’s fourth-leading scorer at 9.3 points along with 6.0 assists (fourth in the ACC), has given the Jackets another scoring threat of late, averaging 12.5 points over his last nine games and 11.0 against the league. Nelson, the ACC’s seventh-leading rebounder at 7.0 per game along with 8.4 points a game, averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in Tech’s two games last week.
Tech gets reserve help in the post from Schenscher, averaging 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while hitting 47.8 percent of his shots. Isma’il Muhammad, a 6-6 sophomore forward averaging 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds, and Anthony McHenry, a 6-7 sophomore averaging 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds, provide excellent defense on the wing.
TECH SERIES VS. VIRGINIA
*Georgia Tech has won six of the last seven meetings with Virginia, including the first meeting between the two teams this season, an 80-60 Tech win on Feb. 1 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets lead the series 32-26, and hold a 30-25 advantage since joining the ACC.
*Tech is 8-2 against Virginia teams coached by Pete Gillen, and is 5-1 against Virginia under Paul Hewitt.
*Tech is 9-15 against Virginia at University Hall, including wins in Tech’s last two trips to Charlottesville. It is Tech’s best winning percentage on an ACC foe’s home court.
*In the teams’ last meeting in Charlottesville, Tech defeated Virginia, 82-80, on a three-point basket by Marvin Lewis with one second to play. The Jackets rallied from an 80-74 deficit with 1:29 to play, taking advantage of four missed free throws by the Cavaliers. B.J. Elder, who scored 18 points, canned a three-pointer, and Tony Akins (23 points) drilled a pair of free throws to draw Tech within 80-79.
*Tech and Virginia have played to overtime five times since the 1983-84 season, including a 72-71 triple-overtime win for Tech in Atlanta on Jan. 23, 1984, and an 88-85 double-overtime triumph for Virginia in Charlottesville on Jan. 22, 1995.
*Improbably, the Yellow Jackets won all three of their meetings with the Cavaliers in 2000-01, and each time the Cavs were ranked in the top 10.
*Tech snapped a 16-game road losing streak in the ACC with its 73-68 victory over Virginia in Charlottesville on Jan. 9, 2001, then also defeated the Cavaliers on their home court, 62-56, on Feb. 11. The Jackets completed the sweep by eliminating Virginia in the first round of the ACC Tournament, 74-69, on Mar. 9 at the Georgia Dome.
ROAD STILL UNKIND
The Yellow Jackets are still looking for their first road win this season. Tech is 0-10 on opponents’ home courts this year, including an 0-7 mark in the ACC. Tech’s only win away from home this season is a 67-53 decision against Marist at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7, and the Jackets lost their only other neutral court game to Tennessee on Dec. 15. In its ACC road games this season, Tech has shot just 41.3 percent from the floor and 23.4 percent from three-point range. Tech has also fallen behind early in many of those losses. The Yellow Jackets broke a couple of trends Saturday at North Carolina, however, leading at halftime on an opponents’ homecourt for only the second time all season (Minnesota on Dec. 4 was the other), and shooting 50 percent for the game. It was the first time Tech had shot 50 percent in a road game since the Yellow Jackets’ win at Virginia last Feb. 23.
JACKETS LAMENT CLOSE LOSSES
Georgia Tech has lost four games this season away from home on the opposing team’s final possession, including Saturday’s 67-66 loss at North Carolina when Raymond Felton made two free throws with 7.7 seconds on the clock. Like the first three games, however, Tech had the ball last and was unable to get a good shot.
*Minnesota, ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll at the time, won on a basket from Rick Rickert with nine seconds left to take a 64-63 lead. Tech had the ball last, and almost didn’t get a shot off, but Marvin Lewis recovered a loose ball and tried a long three-pointer that rattled out at the buzzer.
*Against Tennessee on Dec. 15, Tech’s B.J. Elder made one of two free throws with 0.5 seconds left for a 69-67 lead. But the Volunteers’ Ron Slay inbounded the ball to halfcourt, where Jon Higgins launched a desperation heave that swished at the buzzer for the victory.
*At Clemson, Tech had 21 seconds to take a final shot, but Lewis’ three-point try from the corner was short.
*At North Carolina, after Felton’s free throws, B.J. Elder drove to the basket for a shot which was blocked out of bounds with 1.2 seconds left. Chris Bosh’s long-range shot attempt on the ensuing inbounds play came just after the buzzer sounded.
Tech held late leads in all four games. The Jackets led by 13 points (62-49) with 7:25 to go against Tennessee, but did not score a field goal the rest of the way. Tech led Minnesota, 49-42, with 10:40 left before the Gophers scored 11 straight points coming out of a timeout. At Clemson, Tech trailed most of the game until forging a 60-56 lead with less than five minutes.
At North Carolina, Tech led by 10 points with 8:11 to go, and still led 66-61 with 29.9 seconds left. But the Jackets twice missed the front end of one-and-one free throw opportunities and turned the ball over on a five-second call in the final seconds while UNC scored twice on layups and on Felton’s free throws.
SCORING TECH’S BIGGEST PROBLEM
Georgia Tech’s biggest problem over its five-game losing streak has been scoring. The Yellow Jackets have averaged just 62.4 points per game over the stretch, nearly 12 points under their seasonal average, and have shot 40.3 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from three-point range.
Tech shook its shooting woes at North Carolina Saturday, however, hitting 50 percent from the floor and 4-of-11 from three-point range, but turned the ball over 19 times (leading to 20 Carolina points) and shot just 6-of-10 from the line.
Another difference has been free throws. While Tech has averaged roughly the same number of field goal attempts and three-point attempts during the streak as it has all season, it has attempted just 14.2 free throws over the five-game period, compared to just under 22 for the season.
Meanwhile, despite permitting 48.9 percent shooting from the floor combined in four games, Tech has allowed only one of the five opponents to meet its season scoring average, and has limited them to a combined 20 points less than their seasonal norms. Tech’s 70.6-point yield over the four games is only 0.6 points more than its season yield.
THE FULL NELSON
Sophomore Ed Nelson is showing the warrior form that made him the 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year, and is in the midst of his best stretch of the season. The 6-8 Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in Tech’s two games last week, continuing a re-emergence that began back on Jan. 19 at Wake Forest.
Since returning to the starting lineup at Clemson on Feb. 5, Nelson has averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while hitting 48.3 percent of his field goal attempts. In 12 games from Jan. 19 on, he has averaged 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds, which led him back to the starting lineup after a 10-game reserve stint.
Nelson scored a career-high 22 points with nine rebounds last Wednsday against Duke, then followed with 12 points and sevn rebounds at North Carolina Saturday. He made 15-of-24 shots from the floor in the two games.
Vastly improved from the free throw line this season, Nelson is hitting 67.6 percent for the season, and has made 77.1 percent from the line (27 of 35) in his last 12 games, as well as 46.1 percent from the floor (47-of-102).
IN THE BOSH PIT
Chris Bosh has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the nation and the ACC, ranking third among the nation’s first-year players in rebounding (9.2) and field goal percentage (55.9). He already has received recognition for his efforts by being named to the all-District 5 first team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
The 6-10 forward has had an impact for the Yellow Jackets in every facet of the game and every column of the stat sheet. He leads the ACC in field goal percentage and blocked shots (2.12; 2.57 in ACC games), and ranks second in rebounding and double-doubles (11). He ranks eighth in scoring average (15.4 points per game), and has failed to reach double figures in points only three times this season.
Bosh ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds (3.24 per game) and has shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from three-point range. He has been to the foul line 41 times more than his closest teammate (101-of-138, 73.2 percent) and ranks fifth in the ACC in most free throws attempted.
Bosh has recorded 11 “double-doubles” in points and rebounds this season (second most in the ACC), including the first five games of the season and six in conference games (11 pts./12 reb. vs. NC State, 19/12 vs. Florida State, 22/10 vs. Wake Forest, 10/11 vs. Maryland, 15/12 vs. NC State, 17/10 vs. North Carolina). He has missed five others by one rebound.
