March 8, 2013
Complete Game Notes | Coach Gregory Interview | Where to Watch
THE FLATS – Making its second long road trip in four days, Georgia Tech completes its regular-season basketball schedule this weekend with a 12 noon Saturday contest against Boston College at the Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Tech (16-13, 6-11 ACC) pulled off a stunning 71-69 victory over 6th-ranked Miami Wednesday night in Coral Gables and flies to Chestnut Hill having won twice in three games. The Yellow Jackets are 6-6 over its last 12 games after an 0-5 start in conference play this year, and head into the final weekend tied with the Eagles for eighth place in the ACC standings.
Saturday’s game can be heard over the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network (790 AM, 106.7 FM in Atlanta), as well as satellite radio (Sirius Ch. 136, XM Ch. 193). The game is being televised on the ACC Network (WATL-TV in Atlanta), and is also available online on ESPN3.
Boston College (14-16, 6-11 ACC) has won two straight games, at home over Virginia last Sunday and at Clemson Tuesday night to lift the Eagles into eighth place. BC is 4-4 at home this season in conference play, including wins over Clemson, Wake Forest and Maryland in addition to the victory over Virginia.
Following this weekend’s action, Tech will find out its ACC Tournament seeding, game time and opponent for next Thursday’s opening round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
Opening Tip
• The winner of Saturday’s game will be the 8th seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Greensboro and play at 12 noon Thursday against the 9th seed.
• Tech and Boston College may wind up playing each other again Thursday in the 8-9 game regardless of Saturday’s result. Clemson and Wake Forest are tied for 10th place at 5-12. Only a Tech loss, a Clemson win and a Wake loss would drop the Yellow Jackets to the 10th seed. The Yellow Jackets hold a tiebreaker over Wake Forest head-to-head and would get the 10th seed in the event of a three-way tie with the Tigers and Demon Deacons.
• Georgia Tech is traveling 3,042 air miles this week – a round trip of 1,208 miles to Miami and 1,874 miles to Boston and back. The high temperature in Miami Wednesday was 79 degrees, while the projected high Saturday in Boston is 41.
• Tech is 1-4 all-time at the Conte Forum. That victory occurred March 8, 2008, which coincidentally was the Tech’s fourth ACC road victory that year. A win Saturday would be Tech’s fourth ACC road win this year.
• After getting outrebounded in its first three ACC games this season by an average of 9.3, Tech has outrebounded 10 of the last 14 teams it has played (one tie). In its last three games, Tech has outrebounded the No. 1 (Maryland), No. 2 (NC State) and No. 3 (Miami) teams in the ACC in rebound margin against league foes by an average of 4.0.
• Tech coach Brian Gregory’s next victory will be the 200th of his 10-year head coaching career. Gregory won 172 games in eight seasons as the head coach at Dayton and has a 199-127 career record.
Series Notes vs. Boston College
• Georgia Tech and Boston college split their regular-season meetings in 2011-12, each team winning on its hoem court. Tech won the first meeting between the two teams last year, a 51-47 decision on Feb. 4 at Philips Arena, and BC took a 56-52 decision on Feb. 29 at the Conte Forum.
• The Eagles have won four of the last six games in the series.
• Twelve of the games in the short series have been decided by less than 10 points, 10 of them by four points or less, and two in overtime.
• The meetings in Boston have been played at three different venues. The Jan. 29, 2005 game was Tech’s first visit to the Conte Forum, BC’s current home court. The first game in the series on Dec. 31, 1946, was played at Boston Arena, and the teams also played in the Boston Garden on Jan. 19, 1980.
• Prior to BC’s entry into the ACC, the teams met four times on neutral floors, including one outside the United States, a 65-62 overtime win for the Yellow Jackets in the 1986 Suntory Ball in Tokyo, Japan.
• The teams have met twice in NCAA Tournament competition, both of them won by Tech. The Yellow Jackets downed the Eagles, 103-89, in the 1996 Southeast Regional second round in Orlando, and eliminated the Eagles two seasons ago, 57-54 in the second round in Milwaukee.
