Jan. 9, 2004
ATLANTA – Opening its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule on the road for the third straight year, the eighth-ranked Georgia Tech basketball team visits No. 12 North Carolina at 8 p.m. Sunday night in a nationally televised game at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Tech is 12-1 and hoping to rebound from a double-overtime loss at Georgia in its last game last Saturday. The Tar Heels (9-2, 0-1 ACC), who dropped a triple-overtime game to Wake Forest, 119-114, in their ACC opener in December, defeated Miami, 89-64, at home Wednesday night.
The game is being nationally televised on Fox Sports Net, and radio coverage can be heard on the Atlanta area on WQXI-AM (790) and WTSH-FM (107.1).
“I don’t think the Georgia game is playing into [the players’] thinking,” said head coach Paul Hewitt. “It’s the first conference game, and you always want to get that first one. We’d like to get off to a good start. The fact that it’s North Carolina, you realize the challenge is even greater.”
The Yellow Jackets, who had Tuesday and Wednesday off from practice this week, are searching for their first win in Chapel Hill since 1996, having lost seven in a row in the Smith Center since then. Tech lost 67-66 last year after losing a five-point lead in the final minute, and lost by six two years ago.
Tech is also searching for its first win in an ACC opener since the 1998-99 season, when it beat Carolina, 66-64, in Atlanta. The Jackets have played their opener at home only once since then, dropping an 84-70 decision to the Tar Heels in head coach Paul Hewitt’s first season at Tech.
“I’m anxious to get started, but not as anxious as our players,” said Hewitt. “They realize the ACC is a great league again this year. We’re ready to get started, and we might as well get started at Carolina.
“Sean May is a great scorer and rebounder. He draws a lot of attention, which makes the other players more effective. The guy that I’m more concerned about is Ray Felton. He really makes them go.”
The Jackets continue to play the same solid brand of defense they have played all season, despite the loss at Georgia. Tech’s opponents are shooting just 35.6 percent from the floor (only three have shot 40 percent in a game against Tech this season) and 25.9 percent from three-point range, figures which rank first and second, respectively in the ACC. Tech ranks second in the ACC in scoring defense (57.6 ppg) and 13th nationally, and stands third nationally in field goal percentage defense.
Offensively, Tech ranks third in the ACC and 25th nationally in points per game (81.3), first in the ACC and 17th nationally in field goal percentage (49.1), second in the ACC and 17th in the nation in assist average (18.3).
Four Jackets have scoring averages in double figures for the season, led by 6-4 junior B.J. Elder at 15.8 points per game. Elder, who matched his career high with 25 points at Georgia, ranks seventh in the ACC in scoring, has hit 33.8 percent of his three-point attempts and is shooting 42.1 percent overall.
Hewitt has employed the same starting lineup for every game this season — 6-3 Jarrett Jack at point guard, 6-4 Marvin Lewis and Elder on the wings, 6-7 Anthony McHenry at the strong forward spot and 7-1 Luke Schenscher at center.
Jack has been impressive in many respects, averaging 12.4 points a game (second on the team, 17th in the ACC) and 7.0 assists per game (2nd in the ACC, 9th in NCAA) while hitting 50 percent of his field goal tries and 34.2 percent of his three-point attempts. He also ranks second in the ACC in steals (2.61 per game) and fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.60-1).
Lewis, a senior, averages 11.8 points a game to rank fourth on the Tech squad. He broke a brief slump with 19 points against VCU, hitting 5-of-9 three-point shots. He has shot 43 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from three-point range (11th in the ACC) this season, and ranks sixth in the ACC in three-pointers per game (2.08).
Schenscher, a junior, averages 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds a game while hitting 55.7 percent of his shots for the season. He has cooled off after a recent hot streak, scoring just six points with five rebounds over his last two games. McHenry, a junior playing strong forward, has been solid all season averaging 3.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while blocking a 12 shots and hitting 50 percent of his field goals.
Tech’s top reserve has been junior forward Isma’il Muhammad, a 6-6 defensive whiz who has become a force offensively, averaging 11.9 points (third on the team, 20th in the ACC) while leading the conference in field goal percentage (66.0, 8th in NCAA). He has led Tech in scoring off the bench twice this season and has reached double figures eight times.
The other primary players off the bench include Clarence Moore, a 6-5 senior forward averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds; 6-0 junior Will Bynum, who became eligible Dec. 13 against Saint Louis and has averaged 7.8 points and 3.7 assists; and Robert Brooks, a 6-8 senior postman averaging 2.8 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Moore has averaged 13 points and 7.5 boards in his last two games while hitting 10 of 18 shots from the floor, and Bynum scored 15 points with 6 assists, his best in a Tech uniform, at Georgia.
Sophomore Theodis Tarver, who has been sidelined since the pre-season with a knee injury, will play his first game for the Yellow Jackets Sunday.
Tarver, a 6-9 forward from Monroe, La., dislocated the kneecap in his left knee in practice on Oct. 30, a week prior to the Jackets’ first exhibition game. No other damage was done to the knee, and Tarver spent seven full weeks rehabilitating the knee, then returned to the court full-time for practice when Tech returned from Christmas break.
Tarver emerged one of the keys of Tech’s late-season run a year ago, when the Yellow Jackets won four of their final six games and reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Tarver started all three NIT games, averaging 21 minutes, 6.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while going 8-for-8 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the foul line.
“I think he will help,” said Hewitt. “Our post defense was lacking in the last ball game. Having Theodis, who is the best shot blocker on our team, and a very good rebounder with an athletic big body, can help us against Sean May and their other guys who score around the basket.”
#8/8 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-1, 0-0 ACC)vs. #12/13 North Carolina (9-2, 0-1 ACC)January 11, 2004 * 8 p.m. ET * Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, N.C. (21,750)
TV: Fox Sports Net; Thom Brennaman, pbp; Mike Gminski, color; Dwayne Ballen, reporter
Radio: Georgia Tech/ISP Network (flagship WQXI-AM 790); Wes Durham, pbp; Randy Waters, color
Series vs. North Carolina: UNC leads 54-16 In Chapel Hill: Tech is 4-20 At Smith Center: Tech is 3-15
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt: 126-72 (.636), 7th season overall 60-45 (.571), 4th season at Tech 22-26 (.458) vs. the ACC 2-5 vs. North Carolina (0-3 in Chapel Hill)
North Carolina coach Roy Williams: 427-103 (.806), 16th season overall 9-2 (.818), 1st season at UNC 1-0 vs. Georgia Tech
Next for Georgia Tech: Jan. 15 vs. Virginia, 7 p.m. ET Next for North Carolina: Jan. 14 at Maryland, 9 p.m. ET
