Feb. 3, 2014
Complete Game Notes | Coach Gregory Monday Presser | ACC Network affiliates | Watch live online
THE FLATS – Looking for its first win at Clemson since 2005, Georgia Tech hits the road for the fourth time in five games Tuesday night to take on the Tigers in an 8 p.m. contest at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The ACC Network (WATL-TV in Atlanta) will air television coverage of the game. Radio coverage of the game will be provided by the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network and can be heard in Atlanta on WYAY-FM (106.7). The Clemson radio broadcast can be heard nationally on satellite radio (Sirius ch. 108, XM ch. 191).
Tech (12-10, 3-6 ACC), coming off a 79-70 win at Wake Forest Saturday, has gone 5-5 in its last 10 ACC road games and is looking to snap an eight-game losing streak at Littlejohn Coliseum. After falling at Maryland and Duke to open the ACC schedule, the Yellow Jackets have two wins and an overtime loss in their last three road games.
In its third season under head coach Brian Gregory, Tech has played its entire conference schedule to date with no more than nine scholarship players, sometimes with as few as seven, as they did for most of the game at Wake Forest. Despite its shorthandedness, Tech has played well offensively, outpacing its scoring output against the conference from a year ago and shooting better than it ever has under Gregory. Tech has suffered, however, on the boards and on the defensive end.
Clemson (14-6, 5-3 ACC) is in fifth place in the ACC standings after capturing a 53-49 victory at Florida State Saturday, evening the season series with the Seminoles. The Tigers, the second-best scoring defense team in the conference (55.8 points per game) have also beaten Boston College, Duke, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest in conference play and are 9-1 at home this season.
Following Tuesday night’s game, Tech looks forward to four straight games at home, beginning with a 12 noon game Saturday against surging Virginia.
Fast Break Points
• Georgia Tech has lost its last eight games at Littlejohn Coliseum and has an 8-33 record in the building. Tech’s last win in the building occurred on Feb. 8, 2005.
• Georgia Tech’s last three ACC road trips have produced two wins and an overtime loss. Tech has won five of its last 10 ACC road games, winning at Virginia Tech, Wake Forest (twice), Miami and Boston College in that stretch. The Yellow Jackets won only three times in 36 ACC road games before that dating back to the 2008-09 season.
• Trae Golden aggravated a groin injury in Saturday’s game at Wake Forest and played only eight minutes. Jason Morris broke his right foot in Wednesday’s game at North Carolina and played only four minutes. The senior swingman was slated to have surgery Monday and is out indefinitely. He has played only nine games this season.
• Tech has played its ACC games this season with as few as eight scholarship players, and may play with only seven at Clemson Tuesday night. Forward Robert Carter, Jr., swingman Jason Morris, and guards Travis Jorgenson and Solomon Poole had combined for 22 starts and were all projected as major contributors this season when practice began. They have missed a total of 47 games this season (Carter, Jr., 9, Jorgenson 18, Morris 13, Poole 7).
• The absence of Carter, Jr., has hurt Tech in several ways, most notably on the glass, where the Yellow Jackets have been beaten on the boards four times in the nine games the ACC’s leading rebounder has missed. Tech had won the rebound battle against all 13 non-conference opponents this season.
• Their absences have given rise to bigger impact performances from senior Daniel Miller in the post, and freshmen Corey Heyward (21 minutes last 7 games) and Quinton Stephens (18.6 minutes in last 10 games).
Series Notes vs. Clemson
• This is the oldest and longest-running series the Yellow Jackets have with an ACC member. The 122 all-time meetings are 31 more than Tech has played with any other ACC member. The series dates back to the 1912-13 season, when John Heisman coached the Tech basketball team.
• Clemson is one of two permanent home-and-away opponents on Tech’s schedule each year (Notre Dame is the other).
• Clemson has won 13 of the last 16 meetings in the series, including the last seven in a row. The Yellow Jackets trail 40-31 to the Tigers since joining the ACC.
• The Tigers swept the season series from the Yellow Jackets in 2012-13, winning 63-60, on Jan, 29 at Littlejohn Coliseum, and 56-53 on Feb. 14 in Atlanta.
• Tech actually won four of the first five meetings with Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum under Paul Hewitt, but the Tigers have won the last eight in a row there.
• Tech is just 16-40 all-time in games played at Clemson, including an 8-33 mark in Littlejohn Coliseum.
• Tech was Clemson’s first opponent in Littlejohn Coliseum back on Nov. 30, 1968. The Tigers won, 76-72.
• Tech’s 111-108 win against the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 24, 2001 is the highest-scoring regulation game Tech has had with any ACC opponent. The Jackets defeated Florida State by the same score in Tallahassee (in two OTs) on Feb. 11, 1999, and lost to Wake Forest in the 2007 ACC Tournament, 114-112 in double-overtime.
• Tech has an all-time record of 40-23 against the Tigers at home, including 27-15 record at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets have won 21 of 30 against the Tigers at home since 1983.
• Clemson head coach Brad Brownell is 6-0 vs. Tech, while Brian Gregory is 0-4 vs. Clemson.
• The Yellow Jackets have won all three ACC Tournament meetings with the Tigers, including a 69-61 semi-final decision on the way to the 1993 conference title in Charlotte.
About Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its third year under head coach Brian Gregory. The Yellow Jackets have been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships, 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.
