Jan. 27, 2006
ATLANTA –
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Looking to snap a four-game skid, Georgia Tech will have to do it on the road. The Yellow Jackets travel this weekend to visit Boston College in a nationally televised game at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday and Virginia Tech in a regionally televised contest Tuesday (7 p.m.).
Sunday’s game at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., is being televised nationally on the Fox Sports Net (FSN), while Tuesday’s contest at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va., will air in Atlanta on FSN South. Radio coverage for both games is provided by the Georgia Tech-ISP Sports Network, airing in Atlanta on WQXI-AM (790) and WREK-FM (91.1). Both games can also be heard on XM Satellite Radio (Ch. 193 for the BC game, TBA for Virginia Tech).
Tech (9-8 overall, 2-4 ACC this season) has lost consecutive games to No. 18 NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson and No. 18 Maryland, the latter two at home. It is the Jackets’ longest losing streak since late in the 2002-03 season (five games). The Jackets are 1-5 away from home this season, 0-4 on opponents’ home courts, and five of their next seven games are on the road.
Boston College (15-4, 3-3 ACC) has won four in a row over Florida State, Holy Cross, Miami and North Carolina, the last three on the road. The Eagles are 8-1 at the Conte Forum this year, losing only to NC State on Jan. 10.
Fortunes have changed for both teams since their first meeting on Jan. 8, won 60-58 by Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Eagles were then ranked No. 11 and the Jackets in the midst of their best stretch of basketball this season. Sunday marks Tech’s first game at the Conte Forum, and its first visit to Boston since 1980.
After a five-game period in which the Yellow Jackets had played very good defense (58.8 ppg), they have given up an average of 83 points during the four-game skid. Those four opponents collectively shot 47.2 percent from the floor, 51.6 percent from three-point range. The Jackets showed improvement last time out against Maryland, forcing 25 turnovers (16 steals), and they have held the last two foes to 41.5 percent from the floor.
Tech, meanwhile, has short-circuited itself on offense with turnovers in a couple of games (49 combined against Wake Forest and Clemson) and scoring droughts (one field goal over an 11:35 stretch against Maryland, one over a 12:53 stretch against Clemson).
The Yellow Jackets received good news against Clemson when junior guard Mario West returned to the court, putting Tech at full strength for the first time since Dec. 7. Tech has used five different starting lineups this season, and eight players have started at least two games.
Anthony Morrow, the ACC’s seventh-leading scorer, and Jeremis Smith, the conference’s second-leading rebounder, have formed a potent inside-outside combination for the Yellow Jackets this season and are the only Tech players to start every game.
Morrow, a 6-5 guard from Charlotte, N.C., has averaged 17.5 points a game overall. He is second in the ACC with a 42.2-percent success rate from three-point range and is third in the conference in three-point field goals (2.88 per game). One of three Tech players averaging in double figures, Morrow has averaged 17.7 points and shoots 39.5 percent from three-point range in ACC games.
Smith, from Fort Worth, Texas, has transformed himself into a force in the paint on both ends of the floor this season, posting seven double-doubles. Fully recovered from a dislocated kneecap that sidelined him for 17 games last year, Smith averages 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while hitting 50.0 percent of his field goal tries.
Zam Fredrick, a 6-0 guard from St. Matthews, S.C., has started 15 of Tech’s 17 games at point guard, ranks eighth in the ACC in assist average with 4.1 per game while averaging 9.9 points. D’Andre Bell, a 6-5 wingman from Los Angeles, Calif., has started Tech’s last eight games at the other wing spot, averaging 5.6 points in those games, and averages 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds for the season.
Ra’Sean Dickey, a 6-9 sophomore from Clio, S.C., and Theodis Tarver, a 6-9 senior from from Monroe, La., man the post for Tech. Dickey, who has started the last two games and nine overall this season, leads Tech in field goal percentage (56.5) while averaging 11.0 points and 7.1 rebounds. He has three double-doubles in his last four games. Tarver, who has started eight games this season, averages 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds for the season.
Off the bench, freshman Lewis Clinch, a 6-3 guard from Cordele, Ga., has played well since missing five games with a stress fracture in his left leg. He has four double-figure scoring games this season and averages 7.2 points a game. Paco Diaw, a 6-6 freshman from Dakar, Senegal, is Tech’s other perimeter reserve (1.1 ppg, 1.1 apg), while freshman Alade Aminu, a 6-9 player with good athletic ability and shot-blocking skills, has averaged 2.6 points and 2.0 rebounds as Tech’s other post reserve.
Comments from head coach Paul Hewitt
[On forcing 25 turnovers, 17 in the second half against Maryland] – “I can’t say that we [played better in the second half] because early in the second half, we had a couple of baskets to get us within six and all of a sudden, they had the run that pushed it up to 20. Our press was good. I felt that over the past couple of games, we needed something to jump-start our aggressiveness and our press was good. I thought we did a good job of getting in the passing lanes and applying our full-court pressure. The problem is that we couldn’t capitalize on some of those turnovers and we didn’t get any stops.”
[On succeeding with pressure using different players] – “Mario (West) is obviously back, and though he’s not at full-strength, he’s close. He did some good things yesterday. Ra’Sean (Dickey) has been more consistent over the past couple of games. We’ve had this thing where a couple of guys have played well and some of the others haven’t played well. Today, Jeremis (Smith) got into foul trouble. In this league and in college basketball in general where there’s so much parity, your group has to play well together all the time to give yourself a chance to win. It’s disappointing to lose two in a row at home and four in a row overall is bad enough.”
[On the Sunday-Tuesday road trip] – “I think the hard part is that we’re going to miss class on Monday. Typically, for a weekday game, we’ll miss class the day of the game. From a basketball standpoint, it may not be the worst thing in the world because we can get out on the road, be around each other, and try to work through some of these difficulties.”
[On what he wants to see from this team] – “I think the thing that I want to see more of out of them is a sense of urgency in how we play. A loose ball may go by and we might not go after it. One of the things we’ve talked about is stepping up and taking charges. You have to be able to give your body up. I don’t think it’s a case of guys not doing it because they don’t want to win, it’s just a matter of urgency that has to be applied in order to be successful every time you step on the floor.”
[On playing at the Conte Forum] – “It can be a very loud crowd. When we used to go up there with Villanova, it was always a hostile crowd. They’re like anywhere else, and I think they’re a good fit for the ACC in terms of how they support their team.”
[On playing at Cassell Coliseum] – “I’ve heard that it’s a very difficult place to play at. I’ve never been there myself, but everyone I’ve talked to says so. Ranked teams used to go in there and lose all the time. Connecticut and Providence have had long winning streaks snapped by going into Virginia Tech.”
[On Boston College since the first meeting on Jan. 8] – “I think their veteran players have adjusted well and their coaching staff has made some changes in terms of travel to make sure that their players are rested. They’re a good basketball team, and I watched some of their game [Wednesday] night after our game. Their spacing in terms of offense has improved and they’re passing the ball really well.”
[On what practice will be like in preparation for this trip] – “One of the things we talked about is the idea of going back to some drills that we practiced earlier in the season like playing with your hands higher and busting up people’s offenses. We came out of that stretch playing some great defense but over the last month, we’ve had a lot of games and we tend to stay away from those drills because you have to prepare for other teams. With this team, we might need to keep focusing on the things that have hurt us and the defensive aspect of the game. You saw it during the Vanderbilt and Boston College games where we did what we needed to do.”
