Dec. 3, 2012
Complete Game Notes
Gameday advisory: We’re expecting a full house for tonight’s game at McCamish Pavilion. If you do not have a GTAA-issued parking permit, the State Street Deck and Centergy Deck on Spring Street are available to the public. Also, be aware of construction on Fowler Street between 10th Street and Ferst/Fifth. Please plan accordingly. Gates open at 6 p.m.
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech, back home from its only road trip of the pre-conference season, begins a stretch of seven consecutive home games Tuesday night when the Yellow Jackets host state-rival Georgia at 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.
Tech (4-2) is coming off a 2-2 road trip, earning a third-place finish in the DirecTV Classic in Anaheim, Calif., where it sandwiched victories over Rice (54-36) and Saint Mary’s (65-56) around a loss to California (68-57), the tournament champion. The Yellow Jackets finished off the trip with a 75-62 loss at No. 22 Illinois, which had won the Maui Invitational and is undefeated.
Tuesday’s game is being televised nationally on ESPNU and can be viewed online through the WatchESPN app or ESPN3. The Tech radio broadcast can be heard over the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network (790 AM, 106.7 FM in Atlanta), as well as satellite radio on Sirius Ch. 149 and XM Ch. 190.
Tech, in its second season under head coach Brian Gregory, began its season with a pair of home court wins over Tulane (79-61) and Presbyterian (52-38) before its eight-day trip to California and Illinois.
Georgia (2-5), in its fourth season under head coach Mark Fox, comes to Atlanta following a 64-53 loss at South Florida Friday night. The Bulldogs defeated Jacksonville at home in their season opener and East Tennessee State on Nov. 23 for their two victories.
Tech continues its homestand Saturday against UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m.
Parking Information – Parking is available for fans in the State Street Deck (W25) and in the Centergy Deck, across the 5th Street bridge from campus.
Opening Tip
• Every player suiting up for Georgia Tech Tuesday night is from the state of Georgia, seven of those from the Atlanta metropolitan area.
• Every player who scored a point in last year’s game at Georgia, except Glen Rice, Jr. (12 pts), is back for Tuesday night’s game.
• Tech’s last three games have been played against teams either ranked in the nation’s top 25 or are receiving votes. California and Saint Mary’s were Tech’s final two opponents in the DirecTV Classic, and Illinois jumped into the top 25 following its victory in the Maui Invitational.
• In both of Tech’s losses, the Yellow Jackets held leads well into the second half. Tech led Cal by three at the 15:33 mark, and Illinois by four with 7:15 left.
• The Yellow Jackets’ third-place finish in the DirecTV Classic was their best finish in a holiday tournament since finishing third in the 2007 Paradise Jam.
• After the series moved back to the campuses beginning in 1995, Tech went 6-2 against the Bulldogs at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
• The Illinois game capped a three-game stretch in which the Yellow Jackets have played two teams receiving votes in the national polls (California, Saint Mary’s) and a team ranked No. 22 (Illinois), the first top 25 team Tech has faced this year.
• Tech’s most frequent starting lineup this season has been Mfon Udofia and Brandon Reed at the guards, Marcus Georges-Hunt and Robert Carter, Jr., at the forwards and Daniel Miller at center. Jason Morris started in place of Georges-Hunt against California.
• Robert Carter, Jr., and Marcus Georges-Hunt became the first pair of freshmen to start a season opener for Tech since Derrick Favors and Mfon Udofia did so against Florida A&M on Nov. 14, 2009.
• Tech has not played a game closer than nine points so far. Its four wins have come by an average of 14.8 points, it’s two losses by 12.0 points.
• Tech has held its opponents to 55.7 points per game, third-best in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets have held two opponents under 40 points.
• Tech’s opponents have shot 39.1 percent from the floor collectively, fourth in the ACC. California had the best success rate at 44.2 percent. Tech’s three-point percentage yield (28.6 percent) is third-best in the ACC.
• Tech ranks third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in turnover margin (+2.8) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.0) after ranking last in those categories a year ago.
Series Notes vs. Georgia
• Georgia Tech snapped a 13-game series losing streak in games played in Athens with a 68-56 win over Georgia last December. It was Tech’s first win in Athens since Nov. 26, 1976, a stretch that spanned three Tech coaches – Dwane Morrison (0-for-his-last-4), Bobby Cremins (0-4) and Paul Hewitt (0-5) and six U.S. Presidents.
• Georgia Tech leads the overall series 102-86 and has played the Bulldogs more than any other opponent in its basketball history.
• The series has been played alternately on the respective schools’ campus since the 1995-96 season. Of the 17 meetings since then, the home team has won 14 times. Georgia has won twice in Atlanta, both at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in 2000 and 2010.
• Before the December, 1995 meeting in Athens, the teams played 14 straight years at the Omni in downtown Atlanta, which was located on the site of the current Philips Arena. Tech went 8-6 against the Bulldogs in the facility, including eight of the last 10 before the neutral series ended. The teams have played on neutral sites other than the SEC or Southern Intercollegiate Championships only one other time, that coming at the 1960 Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla.
