Feb. 18, 2013
Complete Game Notes | Where to Watch | Purchase Tickets | Coach Gregory presser
THE FLATS – Looking to even the season series and continue its recent dominance of North Carolina at home, Georgia Tech hosts the Tar Heels in a 9 p.m. regionally-televised Atlantic Coast Conference game Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion. The contest finished a stretch of three games in six days for the Yellow Jackets.
Tech (14-10, 4-8 ACC) has four of seven games since an 0-5 start to the conference schedule, and the Yellow Jackets are coming off a 57-56 win Saturday at Wake Forest, their second straight ACC road win this season. Tech, which fell, 79-63, in the first meeting with the Tar Heels on Jan. 23 in Chapel Hill, is 10-4 at home this season, but just 2-4 at McCamish Pavilion in ACC games.
Tuesday’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. 113, XM Ch. 193). The game is being televised on the ACC Network, including WATL-TV in Atlanta, and is also available online via ESPN3 outside the ACC footprint.
North Carolina (17-8, 7-5 ACC) has won seven of 10 games since beginning the ACC schedule with two losses. The Tar Heels defeated Virginia, 93-81, Saturday in Chapel Hill, snapping a two-game losing streak. Carolina is 3-6 on the road this year, 2-3 in conference play.
Tech, which earned its first ACC road win of the season last Saturday at Virginia Tech, completes a stretch of three games in six days when it hosts North Carolina at 9 p.m. Tuesday night.
Opening Tip
• Georgia Tech has won six of its last seven meetings with North Carolina in Atlanta dating back to 2002. The loss came by a score of 83-82 on Jan. 16, 2008.
• With its win over Wake Forest, Georgia Tech accomplished its first season sweep of an ACC opponent since the 2010-11 season. The opponent then was Wake Forest, whom Tech defeated 74-39 at home and 80-54 in Winston-Salem.
• Tech’s win at Wake Forest gave the Yellow Jackets four conference victories, matching last season’s total.
• Tech captured its second ACC road win at Wake Forest, the most for the team in one season since 2007-08, when the Yellow Jackets went 4-4. Tech was 3-29 in the four seasons in between.
• Georgia Tech is five games ahead of its 24-game record a year ago.
• Tech has led at the half in seven of its 12 ACC games. Tech’s biggest halftime lead has been 23 over Wake Forest, and its largest deficit was 10 to Miami. Tech is 4-5 this season overall when it has trailed at the half.
• Four of Tech’s eight conference losses have come by five points or less – 56-53 to Clemson, 56-54 to Florida State, 63-60 at Clemson and 70-65 (in overtime) to Virginia Tech.
• Tech continues to be ranked high in the nation in scoring defense (30th) and field goal percentage defense (20th), and ranks third and second, respectively, in the ACC in those categories.
• Tech is 10-4 at home in its first season in McCamish Pavilion and has averaged 7,217 in attendance with two sellouts.
• Five of Tech’s losses this year have come against teams ranked in the top 50 of the CBSSports.com RPI rankings including ACC foes Miami (2), NC State (18), Duke (1) and North Carolina (36). The Yellow Jackets have lost only three times to teams outside the top 100.
• Tech’s non-conference losses came to teams with a combined 34-17 record. Illinois is No. 29 in the current CBS RPI rankings, while California is No. 53. Saint Mary’s (21-5, No. 47) has the best overall record and highest ranking among the opponents Tech has beaten.
• After getting outrebounded in its first three ACC games by an average of 9.3, Tech has outrebounded six of the last nine teams it has played (one tie).
• Head coach Brian Gregory utilized seven different starting lineups last season. Two players – Kammeon Holsey and Daniel Miller – started every game. This year he has utilized three different lineups, and three players – Carter, Jr., Miller and Udofia – have started every game.
Series Notes vs. North Carolina
• North Carolina has a 62-24 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, and a 48-22 advantage since Tech joined the ACC.
• North Carolina has won the last two meetings in the series, including a 79-63 victory earlier this season (Jan. 23) in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels also won the only meeting in 2011-12, a 93-81 decision in Chapel Hill. Before that, Tech had won four games in a row for its longest winning streak in the series.
• Tech has won 10 of the last 19 meetings with North Carolina dating back to the 2001-02 season.
• The teams have played 35 times in the city of Atlanta, but met only 23 times at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, where the Tar Heels won 12 of 23. Tech won six of the last seven meetings in the Thrillerdome, however.
• Between 1982 and 1996, the Yellow Jackets played eight of their home games with the Tar Heels at the old Omni arena in downtown Atlanta (2-6 record). Counting ACC and SIC Tournament games played in the city, Tech is 14-21 vs. North Carolina in Atlanta.
• Tech is 8-3 in games played away from Chapel Hill since 2000-01, including three ACC Tournament wins. The Jackets are 8-8 against the Tar Heels under Roy Williams, 8-9 against Williams all-time. Brian Gregory is 1-3 as a head coach against North Carolina, with the win coming as head coach of Dayton in the 2010 Post-Season NIT championship game.
• Tech has lost nine of the last 10 meetings in the Smith Center and is 4-22 all-time in the building. Counting regular-season games in Greensboro, Tech is 5-29 on the road against UNC.
• In ACC Tournament play, the Yellow Jackets have won five of nine meetings, and Tech has won the last three encounters (2004, 2005, 2010). Two of Tech’s five tournament wins occurred in championship games, the 1985 final in Atlanta and the 1993 final in Charlotte.
• Tech’s greatest success in its series with North Carolina occurred during the middle 1990s when the Jackets won five of seven meetings, including three straight wins over No. 1-ranked Tar Heel teams during the 1993 and 1994 campaigns.
