Jan. 18, 2011
ATLANTA – Looking to build on a resounding win Sunday over North Carolina, Georgia Tech hosts Wake Forest in its second straight home game, 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
By knocking off the Tar Heels, 78-58, Sunday night, Tech (8-8, 1-2 ACC) notched its first ACC win in memorable fashion and snapped a three-game losing streak. The Yellow Jackets, who led wire-to-wire in that game and outscored the Tar Heels by 19 in the second half, are 6-2 at home this season.
Tickets are available online by clicking here or by calling 888-TECH-TIX.
Head coach Paul Hewitt’s team, which returns two starters and eight letterwinners from a team that reached the championship game in last year’s ACC Tournament and won their first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, is one of the youngest in the ACC, with freshmen and sophomores making 56 of 80 possible starts and playing more than 70 percent of the minutes. Tech has been picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Wake Forest (7-11, 0-3 ACC) comes to Atlanta having lost its first three ACC games by an average of 23 points. The Demon Deacons’ only win in their last eight games was a 79-63 defeat of High Point on Jan. 5.
Wake Forest is one of Tech’s two permanent home-and-home partners in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The teams will meet again Mar. 3 in Winston-Salem. Tech and Wake split their two meetings last year, with the Yellow Jackets winning, 79-58, at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Tech has won six straight over the Demon Deacons in Atlanta.
Game Data
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-8, 1-2 ACC) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-11, 0-3 ACC)
Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Eastern time
Site: Alexander Memorial Coliseum (capacity 9,191), Atlanta, Ga.
Television: ESPNU – Carter Blackburn, play-by-play; LaPhonso Ellis, color
Radio: Georgia Tech/ISP Sports Network, live on flagship station WQXI-AM (790 the Zone) and WYAY-FM (106.7) – Wes Durham, play-by-play; Randy Waters, color.
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 217; XM Ch. 191
Tickets: 888-TECH-TIX or click here
Tech Record Breakdown: 6-2 at home, 0-5 on the road, 2-1 neutral
Series History: Wake Forest leads, 36-33 (Tech leads 23-9 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum)
At Alexander Memorial Coliseum: Georgia Tech is 552-190 in its 54th and final season in the building.
Series History – Tech vs. Wake Forest
> The Yellow Jackets have won four of the last six meetings, including a split of the 2009-10 regular-season series. Tech won a 79-58 decision in Atlanta, the highest margin of victory for Tech in the history of the series. Tech now trails the overall series, 36-33.
> Tech is 23-9 in games played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, winning each of the last six meetings.
> The home team has won 28 of the last 36 regular-season games in the series, with Wake Forest winning four times in Atlanta during that span, and Tech winning four times in Winston-Salem.
> Tech is 30-25 against Wake Forest since 1985, including 12 straight victories from 1985-91.
> Tech is 10-12 against Wake Forest under head coach Paul Hewitt, and 12 of the 22 meetings have been decided by fewer than 10 points (four in overtime).
> Though this is Tech’s first meeting against a Jeff-Bzdelik-coached Wake Forest team, it is the second time the Yellow Jackets have faced Bzdelik, who was the head coach at Air Force when the Falcons defeated Tech, 54-46, on Dec. 28, 2005, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Last Year vs. Wake Forest
Jan. 28 in Atlanta – D’Andre Bell led a balanced offense with 16 points, Derrick Favors blocked five shots and No. 22 Georgia Tech pulled away early in the second half for a 79-58 rout of Wake Forest.
Tech did its best work at the defensive end, holding the Demon Deacons almost 19 points below their scoring average. After the Deacons scored the first two baskets of the second half to close a six-point deficit to 35-33, Georgia Tech took control with a 19-4 run.
Wake Forest shot just 33 percent from the field and had only two players in double figures: Al-Farouq Aminu with 15 points and Ishmael Smith with 12. Gani Lawal had 14 points and Brian Oliver added 13, while Iman Shumpert and Favors chipped in with 11 each.
Feb. 13 in Winston-Salem – Al-Farouq Aminu had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Wake Forest beat No. 20 Georgia Tech 75-64. Ishmael Smith had the clinching hoop with just over a minute left for the Demon Deacons, who won their fourth straight game. Gani Lawal had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Glen Rice Jr. added 14 points for Georgia Tech.
Freshman Derrick Favors, who was without a field goal for nearly 29 minutes, had consecutive buckets inside as Georgia Tech went ahead 62-60 with 8:50 left. It turned out to be Georgia Tech’s last field goal.
