Jan. 10, 2003
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech returns to Atlantic Coast Conference action after a two-game hiatus by hosting NC State at 4 p.m. Saturday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the second of three consecutive home games for the Yellow Jackets.
The Yellow Jackets come into the game at 6-5 overall and 0-1 in the ACC, while NC State is 8-2 overall and 1-0 in conference. The game will be televised regionally over the Raycom/JP Sports ACC Network, and be aired in Atlanta on WATL-TV (Ch. 36). The Georgia Tech-ISP Radio Network will also carry the game, in Atlanta on WQXI-AM (790), WMGP-FM (98.1) and WSNY-FM (100.1).
Tickets for the game are available by calling 888-TECH-TIX or at the gate Saturday.
Tech lost its conference opener, 84-77, at No. 23 Maryland on Dec. 29. Tech is coming off an 81-55 home-court win over Cornell Wednesday night, which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Jackets used a 15-0 run early in the second half to break open a seven-point game, and shot 58.6 percent after intermission to pull away. The Wolfpack have not played since last Sunday, when they opened their conference schedule with a 75-63 home-court win over Virginia.
A win Saturday for Tech would end a streak of three consecutive 0-2 starts in conference play dating back to the 1998-99 season. The Jackets began last season 0-7 before logging their first conference win, but have won seven of 10 league games since.
Tech has not lost at home in five tries this season, including an 83-77 win over then-No. 17 Georgia in the second game of the campaign on Nov. 27, and has won seven straight home games and nine of 10 since last season (only loss was to Duke in that stretch). The Yellow Jackets have averaged 88.0 points per game at home and outscored their guests by an average of 22.8 points. Tech has shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from three-point range at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, and has a 1.54-1 assist/turnover ratio at home.
“Anytime you go through a losing streak, it’s nice to come home and get a win,” said head coach Paul Hewitt of Wednesday night’s win over Cornell. “Cornell runs a similar style to NC State, and that should benefit us.
“Our offense is getting a little more crisp. Early in the year, we’ve hurt ourselves with poor offensive execution and difficult shots. Wednesday night we moved the ball well and made 14 three-point shots against their zone, which was a product of moving the ball , attacking the zone off the dribble, throwing it inside and making good decisions.”
Georgia Tech has used four different starting lineups this season, with freshmen Jarrett Jack, a 6-3 point guard, and Chris Bosh, a 6-10 forward, the only two players to start every game. The Jackets’ starting five for the last three games has been Jack, Bosh, 6-4 guard Marvin Lewis, 6-4 sophomore B.J. Elder and 7-1 sophomore center Luke Schenscher.
Elder, a sophomore who has started the last eight games after missing the season opener with a sore foot, ranks ninth in the ACC in scoring at 15.8 points while hitting 47.6 percent of his field goal attempts (8th in the ACC) and 45.9 percent of his three-point tries (2nd in the ACC). Bosh, who is 22-of-29 from the floor in his last three games, averages 15.6 points (10th in the ACC), leads the ACC in field goal percentage (60.8) and is second in rebounding at 9.6 per game.
Lewis, a sharpshooting junior averaging 11.5 points a game, returned to the starting lineup for the last five games and is averaging 12.8 points while hitting 23 of 46 field goal attempts (15-of-32 on threes) during that stretch. Jack, who has struggled recently with his shooting (6-28 overall, 1-1 from three in his last two games), averages 7.6 points and 6.3 assists (fifth in the ACC).
Schenscher returned to the starting lineup at Maryland and notched season highs of 13 points and nine rebounds (also a career high) while making 6-of-10 from the floor. He averages 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds for the season and is hitting 55.7 percent of his field goal tries.
Tech gets help off the bench from 6-8 sophomore Ed Nelson, who has started five games and averages 8.0 points and 6.6 rebounds (second on the team, 11th in the ACC), and 6-6 sophomore forward Isma’il Muhammad, who has started six games and averages 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds. Anthony McHenry, a 6-7 sophomore averaging 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds, provides excellent defense on the wing and has averaged 6.5 points in his last two games.
Robert Brooks, a 6-8 junior averaging 0.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, and 6-9 freshman Theodis Tarver (2.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg) add depth in the frontcourt, while Jim Nystr?m, a 6-4 freshman from Sweden, is 3-of-8 from three-point range since he became eligible on Dec. 29.
NC State is led by 6-6 sophomore forward Julius Hodge, who leads the Wolfpack in scoring (19.2) and rebounding (6.7) and also averages 3.8 assists. He finished second to Tech’s Ed Nelson in the voting for ACC Rookie of the Year last season. The rest of the Wolfpack lineup includes 6-3 junior Scooter Sherrill (11.3) and 6-3 senior Clifford Crawford (8.0) in the backcourt, and 6-8 junior Marcus Melvin (14.1) and 6-9 sophomore Josh Powell (11.5) in the frontcourt.
“NC State is a very good basketball team, led by Julius Hodge, who could have very well been the ACC Rookie of the Year last year,” Hewitt said. “He has come back with an awful lot more ability to score off the dribble and shoot the ball. Marcus Melvin is an excellent scorer, and Josh Powell, a local kid, is playing very well. The move the basketball well, and move well without the basketball.”
TECH SERIES VS. NC STATE
oNC State leads the overall series, 41-30, having won nine of the last 12 meetings between the two teams. Prior to that, Tech had won seven in a row.
oGeorgia Tech and NC State have split their regular-season meetings each of the past three years, each team winning at home. Tech is 18-11 against the Wolfpack in Atlanta, including one “home-court” meeting that was played at the Omni in 1986, and has won the last three games against NC State in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Pack’s last win in the Thrillerdome was a 51-50 decision on Feb. 2, 1999.
oThe last four meetings between the two teams have been decided by an average of 11.5 points. The six meetings before that were decided by an average of 4.2 points.
oDating back to the 1996-97 season (the last 13 games of the series), Tech has averaged just 59.9 points a game against the Wolfpack, with a high of 71 in last year’s loss at Raleigh. State has averaged 64.3 points during that stretch.
oLast season, the Wolfpack won on Jan. 19, overcoming an 11-point second-half deficit to win 84-71 at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh. Five Tech players scored in double figures, led by Tony Akins with 17 points. In Atlanta on Feb. 20, Tech won 65-59, overcoming an 8-point halftime deficit behind 17 points from Akins (he had 19 in the game).
oTech and NC State are 2-2 in ACC Tournament games, the last meeting occurring in 1997 in a 60-46 Wolfpack victory in Greensboro. The Jackets won first-round games in 1996 in Greensboro (88-73) and 1990 in Charlotte (76-67).
HOPING FOR A BETTER START
Georgia Tech, who hopes for a better start to this year’s ACC schedule than it had last season, has won seven of its last 10 conference games, since beginning last season 0-7 in league play.
The Yellow Jackets finished the 2001-02 ACC slate at 7-9, which was the biggest turnaround in conference history. Tech’s seven ACC wins broke the previous record of four straight wins by a team beginning the season 0-7 or worse, held by NC State in 1996-97 and Florida State in 2001-02. Tech wound up defeating every team in the ACC during the season except Duke and Maryland, who handed the Jackets their only two losses after January.
The Jackets closed the first trip through the ACC with a 77-46 home-court rout of Florida State, which started Tech’s resurgence through the second half of the conference schedule. After that, Tech won six of its eight ACC tilts in February and March and added a 20-point road win at Saint Louis.
AN OFFENSIVE BURST
It could be the comforts of home, but Georgia Tech shook off its offensive doldrums at least temporarily Wednesday night against Cornell, shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from three-point range in its 81-55 victory. It was Tech’s first 80-point game since Troy State, and its history under Paul Hewitt shows a 21-5 record in two-plus seasons when the Jackets score 80 or more in a game.
The Yellow Jackets connected on 58.6 percent of their field goal attempts after halftime, hitting 8-of-11 three-point shots.
Save for solid shooting efforts against Cornell, Marist (49.1 percent), Troy State (55.2 percent), Tech has struggled offensively since its 3-0 start. Tech has averaged 72 points in the last eight games, and 67.8 points in the five road games during that stretch.
TECH PUTS CLAMPS ON CORNELL
Save for a five-minute barrage of threes t the end of the first half, Georgia Tech recorded its best defensive effort since Dec. 7 against Cornell Wednesday night, limiting the Big Red to 36.4 percent from the floor, 55 points in all. In the second half, Tech limited Cornell to 31 percent overall and just 2-of-13 from three-point range.
Tech is 24-1 under Paul Hewitt when the opponent shoots less than 40 percent from the floor, and 33-11 when the opponent fails to score 80 points.
LEWIS PICKING UP STEAM
Marvin Lewis, Tech’s most experienced player and its best outside shooter, has put together a hot streak for Georgia Tech, shaking a slump that took him out of the starting lineup. He is averaging 15.2 points in his last three games, hitting 16 of 29 shots from the floor and 10 of 19 from three-point range.
“Marvin has adjusted to his role,” said Hewitt of his Dean’s List junior. “This year we asked him to be our vocal leader, which is a little out of step with his character. He is getting more comfortable doing the things leaders have to do.”
Lewis played inspired basketball in his return home at Maryland, scoring 12 points, and followed that with 13 at Tulane and 20 Wednesday night against Cornell, his highest total since his season-opening 28 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Since returning to the starting lineup against Troy State, Lewis has averaged 12.8 points in five games, hitting 23-of-46 shots from the floor (50 percent) and 15-of-32 (46.9 percent) from three-point range.
The ACC’s top returning three-point shooter (1.74 per game, 39.1 percent last season) has creeped back into the ACC rankings in three-point field goals per game, hitting 2.18 per game to rank sixth, and he is now at an even 40 percent for the season, seventh in the conference.
He also is one of the ACC’s top marksmen from the foul line, hitting 87.2 percent for his career. He has missed just 18 free throws in his career, going 123-for-141.
ELDER STAYS ON TOP
B.J. Elder, Tech’s 6-4 sophomore guard, has reached double figures in six straight games and nine of 10 in all this season, leading the Yellow Jackets in scoring (15.8, ninth in the ACC) and three-point percentage (45.9, second in the ACC) this season.
The Madison, Ga., native scored 21 points against Tennessee and matched his career high of 25 against Troy State with a career-high seven assists, hitting 11-of-16 from three-point range in the two games. He then scored 19 in Tech’s first ACC game at Maryland before leveling off to 11 points in each of Tech’s last two games.
The last Tech player to lead the conference in three-point percentage was Travis Best (45.7 in 1993). Elder ranks eighth in overall field goal percentage (47.6) and is third in three-point field goals per game (2.80). He has taken care of the ball better than anyone on the team this season, with just 14 turnovers.
He scored 24 points in his season debut against Georgia, which was his first game of the season, making 10 of 18 field goals and was 4-of-9 from three-point range. His final three-pointer gave Tech the lead for good at 79-77 with 1:50 to go. He sat the rest of the game after suffering leg cramps.
BOSH M’GOSH
Freshman Chris Bosh has begun to re-assert himself offensively for the Yellow Jackets, hitting 22-of-29 shots in his last three games (75.9 percent) and scoring 16 points at Maryland, 18 at Tulane and 20 Wednesday night against Cornell.
The 6-10 rookie, who twice was been named ACC Rookie of the Week in December, leads the ACC in field goal percentage (60.8). [John Salley is the last, and only, Tech player to lead the ACC in field goal percentage, 62.7 percent in 1985.]
“Chris has to assert himself a little more around the basket,” said Hewitt. “His ability to shoot is a matter of adjusting to the speed of college basketball. He’s always been able to shoot the ball. We’re seeing more and more of his ability coming out.”
Against Cornell Wednesday night, Bosh hit 8-of-10 shots from the floor, and stepped behind the three-point line to go 3-for-3. Prior to that, Bosh had attempted just seven three-pointers and made two.
Bosh ranks 10th in scoring (15.6) and second in rebounding (9.6). He leads all freshmen in rebounding and is third among rookies in scoring. The Texas native has scored more points than any Tech player this season (172), but has taken fewer shots (97) than any of Tech’s top three scorers.
He began this season in impressive fashion, scoring a double-double in the first five games, and he has missed two others by one rebound. He has led Tech in rebounding in all but one game, has just 19 turnovers in 304 minutes of court time, and ranks fourth in the ACC in blocked shots.
