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Tech Men Visit No. 4 Wake Forest

Jan. 19, 2004

ATLANTA – Riding a two-game winning streak, No. 12 Georgia Tech goes back on the road Tuesday night to face No. 4 Wake Forest at 9 p.m. at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The game will be regionally televised on the Raycom/JP Sports ACC Network (WPXA-TV in Atlanta) and can be heard in the Atlanta area on WTSH-FM (107.1).

The Yellow Jackets are 14-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC following homecourt victories last week over Virginia (75-57) and Maryland (81-71). Wake Forest is 11-2 overall, 2-1 in the ACC after a pair of road losses last week to No. 18 Texas (94-81) and No. 2 Duke (84-72).

It is the first time both teams are in the Top 25 when they play since Mar. 10, 1996, when the Demon Deacons took a 75-74 victory in the ACC Tournament championship game. The winner of Tuesday’s game will tie NC State for second place in the ACC standings.

Tech has its best record through 16 games since the 1985-86 team was 15-1. The 1962-63 team also was 15-1 through 16 games. The Yellow Jackets are looking for their first 3-1 start in the ACC since 1995-96. That team won the conference regular season title with a 13-3 mark.

“We played two good games last week, including a very hard-fought game against Maryland,” said head coach Paul Hewitt. “Will Bynum played an excellent game against Maryland, and Luke Schenscher continues to improve and is playing well.”

But the Jackets do not have history on their side, given the team’s difficulties on the road in recent years. Tech has lost five straight games to Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, last win on Feb. 11, 1998 (77-76), and is just 3-11 in the building. The Deacons have won 24 straight games in their home arena.

“We just need to concentrate on ourselves, and do the things we’re capable of doing. If we’re consistent about it, we give ourselves a chance to win. But if we turn the ball over a ton and blow defensive assignments, then we’ll lose. It comes down to making plays. The reason we won the other night is because Will Bynum made played, and Luke Schenscher made plays.”

Tech has outscored its opponents by 20.1 points a game, a figure which ranks second in the ACC and fifth nationally. Tech’s opponents are shooting just 36.6 percent from the floor (Tech has held 12 of 16 opponents under 40 percent this season) and 26.4 percent from three-point range, both of which lead the ACC.

Offensively, Tech ranks third in the ACC and 19th nationally in points per game (81.3), second in the ACC in field goal percentage (47.9).

Four Tech players are averaging in double figures this season, led by 6-4 junior B.J. Elder at 15.1 points a game (8th in the ACC), 6-3 sophomore Jarrett Jack (13.3 ppg, 15th in the ACC), 6-4 senior Marvin Lewis (12.0 ppg, 19th in the ACC), and 6-6 junior Isma’il Muhammad (11.6 ppg, 24th in the ACC).

Jack, Tech’s point guard, and Luke Schenscher, Tech’s 7-1 junior center, have started every game this season. Jack is third in the ACC in assist average (6.81 per game), third in steals (2.50 per game) and sixth in assist-turnover ratio (2.46-1), while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. Schenscher averages 9.1 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds (10th in the ACC) while hitting 55.0 percent of his shots. He has averaged 10 points and 9.3 boards in Tech’s three conference games.

Elder, who matched his career high with 25 points at Georgia and added 16 against Virginia, ranks eighth in the ACC in scoring. He has hit 33.7 percent of his three-point attempts (10th in the ACC) but has struggled overall this season at 40.3 percent.

Muhammad, a 6-6 defensive whiz who has started the last two games for Tech, averages 11.6 points a game, fourth on the team, and would lead the ACC in field goal percentage (64.4) but falls four field goals short of qualifying for the rankings.

Clarence Moore, a 6-5 senior, averages 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds for the season, and has hit 47.4 percent from three-point range and is second on the team in steals.

Will Bynum, a 6-0 junior who made his first start of the season against Virginia, came off the bench Saturday against Maryland to score a career-high 25 points (8-14 FG, 5-7 3FG). He averages 9.9 points and 2.8 assists this season in nine games since he became eligible.

Lewis, who has averaged 13.0 points in ACC games, averages 12.0 for the season while ranking ninth in the ACC in three-point percentage (35.1) and fifth in three-pointers per game (2.07).

Tech’s other primary reserves include McHenry (3.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg), a junior playing strong forward, and Theodis Tarver, a 6-9 sophomore postman, who has sat out the first 13 games with a knee injury but has averaged 1.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in the three games has he played.

Homecourt advantage and a lineup shuffle helped re-energize the Yellow Jackets in their two victories last week over Virginia and Maryland after two straight losses at Georgia and No. 12 North Carolina.

Having found itself behind early in both games, head coach Paul Hewitt inserted Clarence Moore, Isma’il Muhammad and Will Bynum into the lineup against Virginia, replacing B.J. Elder, Marvin Lewis and Anthony McHenry.

The result was a 75-57 victory over Virginia in which Lewis scored 17 points (6-9 FG, 3-6 3FG) and Elder added 16 off the bench, while Muhammad scored 13 in his first starting assignment of the season.

Elder was back in the lineup for the Maryland game, while Bynum came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points (19 in the second half) to key a second-half rally and an 81-71 Tech win over the Terrapins.

Muhammad and Moore are still in the starting five for the Jackets along with center Luke Schenscher, who averaged a double-double last week (11.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and point guard Jarrett Jack (14.5 ppg, 5.5 apg for the two games).

Schenscher also played excellent defense against the two post players he faced, holding Virginia’s Elton Brown to 10 points and just 2-of-6 from the floor. Maryland’s Jamar Smith scored just seven points on 2-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Tech Series vs. Wake Forest

>Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Tech, 29-25, and has a 27-24 mark against the Yellow Jackets since Tech joined the ACC.

>The Demon Deacons swept the season series from Tech last season, winning 73-66 in Winston-Salem on Jan. 19 and 75-67 in Atlanta on Feb. 20, and has won three straight in the series dating back to Tech’s 90-77 home-court win on Feb. 27, 2002.

>The home team has won 16 of the last 20 regular-season games in the series, with Wake Forest winning three times at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in that span, and Tech winning once in Winston-Salem.

>Tech has lost five straight games to Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, last win on Feb. 11, 1998 (77-76), and is just 3-11 in the building. Tech is 7-18 against Wake Forest on the road, including a 2-3 mark in regular-season games played in Greensboro and a 2-4 mark in games played in Winston-Salem prior to the opening of Joel Coliseum.

>Tuesday night’s game is the first time the two teams have met with both in the Top 25 rankings since Mar. 10, 1996, when Wake Forest defeated Tech in the ACC Tournament title game, 75-74.

>Tech is 22-19 against Wake Forest since 1985, including 12 straight victories from 1985-91.

>Tech is 2-5 against Wake Forest under head coach Paul Hewitt, including an 0-3 mark in Winston-Salem. The Jackets are 1-4 against Skip Prosser-coached Wake Forest teams.

#12/14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (14-2, 2-1 ACC)vs. #4/3 Wake Forest (11-2, 2-1 ACC)January 20, 2004 * 9 p.m. ETLawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,665)

TV: Raycom/JP Sports (WPXA-TV in Atlanta); Bob Rathbun, pbp; Mike Gminski, color

Radio: Georgia Tech/ISP Network (flagship WQXI-AM 790); Wes Durham, pbp; Randy Waters, color

Series vs. Wake Forest: Tech leads, 29-25 On the Road: Tech is 7-18 In Winston-Salem: Tech is 5-14 At LJVMC: Tech is 3-11

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt: 128-73 (.637), 7th season overall 62-46 (.574), 4th season at Tech 24-27 (.471) vs. the ACC 2-5 vs. Wake Forest (0-3 in Winston-Salem)

Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser: 222-99 (.691), 11th season overall 57-21 (.731), 3rd season at Wake Forest 4-1 vs. Georgia Tech (2-0 in Winston-Salem)

Next for Georgia Tech: Jan. 24 at NC State, 4 p.m. ET Next for Wake Forest: Jan. 25 at Florida State, 1 p.m. ET

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