Dec. 27, 2013
THE FLATS – Looking to build momentum for the beginning of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, Georgia Tech finishes its non-conference slate with a 7 p.m. game Sunday at Charlotte. It is the second of four straight road games for the Yellow Jackets.
Fox Sports 1 will provide national television coverage of the game, Tech’s first appearance on the young network. 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 Tech radio broadcast can be heard nationally on satellite radio – Sirius channel 134 and XM channel 192.
The Yellow Jackets (8-4) have a 1-1 record on opponents’ home courts this season, including a 76-63 loss at Vanderbilt in Tech’s last game on Dec. 21 and an 80-71 win at Georgia on Nov. 15.
In its third season under head coach Brian Gregory, Tech has returned four starters – center Daniel Miller, big forward Robert Carter, Jr., and wings Marcus Georges-Hunt and Chris Bolden – from a team that posted a 16-15 overall record last season and went 6-12 to tie for ninth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Jackets are averaging 73.2 points per game and hitting 44.3 percent of their shots from the floor so far. Tech also has outrebounded each opponent this by an average of 7.2 per game, has a plus-1.2 assist/turnover ratio and has improved vastly at the free throw line (70.2 pct.) over last year. Tech ranks sevneth in the ACC in scoring defense and sixth in field goal percentage defense.
Charlotte (8-3) won six of its first seven games, including a 63-61 win over 13th-ranked Michigan on Nov. 24 to win the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Following Sunday’s game, Tech opens ACC play with a pair of road games at Maryland (Jan, 4) and Duke (Jan. 7).
Fast Break Points
• Tech plays its next three games on the road and does not play again at home until Jan. 11, when Notre Dame tips off a stretch of three straight ACC games at McCamish Pavilion.
• Tech and Charlotte have one common opponent – East Tennessee State. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Buccaneers 74-57 on Dec, 7, and the 49ers took an 80-75 win to open the season.
• What team besides Ole Miss (North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State and Dayton) has the most common opponents with Georgia Tech on its non-conference schedule? IPFW (Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne) of the Summit League, which is 9-4 this season. The Mastodons lost to Dayton by 1, lost to Illinois by 2, and defeated Kennesaw State by 10.
• Tech’s three losses have come to teams with a combined record of 27-10 and RPI rankings of 25, 40, 46 and 87 (CBS). Illinois had an RPI rank of 18 at the time of the Dec. 3 Yellow Jacket win and is currently No. 45.
Series vs. Charlotte
Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt are meeting for the eighth time in a series that dates back to 1970, and for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The Yellow Jackets lead the series 6-1.
• Charlotte won the last meeting, an 86-83 decision in double overtime on Jan. 2, 2011 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Alan Major’s first season as the 49ers head coach.
• The teams have met twice in Charlotte, Tech winning both times. The Yellow Jackets won the only other meeting at Halton Arena, 76-67 on Jan. 2, 2010, and defeated the 49ers 86-68 on Jan. 14, 1985 in the Charlotte Coliseum.
• Tech is 61-44 all-time against teams currently members of Conference USA.
• Tech head coach Brian Gregory is 5-4 all-time against Charlotte as a head coach. The teams met nine times while Gregory was the head coach at Dayton.
Noting the Yellow Jackets
• Four Georgia Tech players are averaging in double figures through the first 12 games. Senior Trae Golden (12.3 ppg) and sophomore Marcus Georges-Hunt (11.9 ppg) have traded the team scoring lead over the past several games, while post players Daniel Miller (10.6) and Robert Carter, Jr.) also are in double digits for the season.
• Robert Carter, Jr., (9.4 rpg) ranks second in the ACC in rebound average, hold the lead at times this season, while Daniel Miller (8.1) ranks third. Carter is tied for the ACC lead with four double-doubles. The last Yellow Jacket to lead the ACC in rebounding was Alvin Jones (10.4) in 2000-01.
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.
