Jan. 17, 2003
ATLANTA –
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Georgia Tech, off to its best start in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1996, goes on the road for the first time since Jan. 2 to meet Wake Forest at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in Winston-Salem.
The game will be nationally televised on the Fox Sports Net (Fox Sports Net South in Atlanta), with radio coverage provided on the Georgia Tech-ISP Network. In Atlanta, the game can be heard on WQXI-AM (790), WMGP-FM (98.1), WSNY-FM (100.1), WLKQ-FM (102.3) and WTSH-FM (107.1).
The Yellow Jackets (8-5 overall, 2-1 ACC) have won three straight games over Cornell, NC State and Florida State after dropping five of seven games in December. It is Tech’s best start to the ACC slate since the Jackets won their first three league games in 1996 en route to a 13-3 mark and the regular-season title. That Tech team went into the conference slate with a 6-7 overall record. Tech has won nine of 12 ACC games since last season’s 0-7 start.
Tech heads into its Sunday night game at Wake Forest with a point to prove. The Yellow Jackets are looking for their first win on an opponent’s home court this season, having lost all four opportunities so far, along with a 1-1 record on neutral courts. Tech has been a much better road team under Paul Hewitt, posting a 13-19 mark in his first two seasons following a 7-29 mark away from home in its last two years under Bobby Cremins. The Jackets’ road losses this season have occurred at No. 17 Minnesota, Syracuse (which is now ranked), No. 22 Maryland and Tulane.
The Yellow Jackets also are looking for their first win in Winston-Salem since 1998. Tech has lost four straight games at Joel Coliseum and is 5-14 all-time in the building.
“Going on the road to Wake Forest will be a tough task,” said head coach Paul Hewitt. “They just beat Maryland there. We feel like we’re capable of going up there and playing well, and if we do that, we’ll give ourselves a change to win the basketball game.
“They’ve got a great team. Josh Howard, their senior swingman, might be the best player in the league right now. He’s such a versatile scorer. Then they’ve got some young guys inside who are really banging. One kid, Eric Williams, might be their best player on the inside.
“[Having difficulty on the road] has become more true for college basketball across the nation. Teams protect their home courts very well. People have trouble winning on the road, probably because the players are getting younger.”
Georgia Tech’s starting five for the last five games has been 6-3 freshman Jarrett Jack, 6-4 junior Marvin Lewis, 6-4 sophomore B.J. Elder, 6-10 freshman Chris Bosh and 7-1 sophomore Luke Schenscher, and the Yellow Jackets are 3-2 with that group on the floor for the opening tip. Tech has used four different starting lineups this season, with Jack and Bosh the only two players to start every game.
Elder ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring at 16.3 points while hitting 49.0 percent of his field goal attempts (6th in the ACC) and 47.1 percent of his three-point tries (1st in the ACC). Bosh, who is 30-of-46 from the floor in his last four games (65.2 percent), averages 15.5 points (10th in the ACC), leads the ACC in field goal percentage (58.8) and is second in rebounding at 10.0 per game.
Lewis, a sharpshooting junior averaging 13.4 points a game, had a career night Tuesday against Florida State with 33 points (11-13 FG, 6-8 from three), and is hitting 47.1 percent of his three-point attempts (2nd in the ACC). Jack, who had eight assists against FSU, averages 7.8 points and 6.2 assists (fifth in the ACC).
Schenscher, who has started the last five games for Tech, averages 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds for the season and is hitting 54.9 percent of his field goal tries.
Tech gets help off the bench from 6-8 sophomore Ed Nelson, who averages 7.6 points and 6.2 rebounds (second on the team, 12th in the ACC), and 6-6 sophomore forward Isma’il Muhammad, who averages 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds. Anthony McHenry, a 6-7 sophomore averaging 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds, provides excellent defense on the wing.
As a team, Tech has played well offensively during its three-game winning streak, averaging more than 86 points a game while shooting better than 51 percent over the period.
“We’re not turning the ball over as much,” said Hewitt. “We’ve proven to ourselves that when we don’t turn the ball over as much, we score more effectively. In the North Carolina State game, we only had three turnovers in the second half and scored 53 points. Defensively, we’ve been very good all year, and when you can score on a consistent basis, it adds energy to your defensive effort.”
Wake Forest is one of the nation’s highest scoring teams at 83.8 points a game, and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 19 a game.
Howard, a 6-6 senior forward, is the Demon Deacons’ undisputed leader and a bonafide all-America candidate, averaging 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He is joined in the Wake starting lineup by 6-8 sophomore Vytas Danelius (11.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg), 6-9 sophomore Jamaal Levy (6.1 ppg), 6-9 freshman Eric Williams (12.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and 6-2 sophomore point guard Taron Downey (9.8 ppg).
TECH SERIES VS. WAKE FOREST
oGeorgia Tech and Wake Forest split their regular-season series last season for the ninth time in 12 years, and the Demon Deacons took the rubber match in the ACC Tournament opening round. Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Tech, 27-25, and has a 25-24 mark against the Yellow Jackets since Tech joined the ACC.
oTech is 5-14 in games played in Winston-Salem, and 7-17 in all road games (including regular-season games played in Greensboro) against Wake Forest.
oLast year: Georgia Tech defeated the 24th-ranked Demon Deacons, 90-77, at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 27. Wake Forest, then ranked 21st, defeated Georgia Tech, 87-74, in the team’s first meeting on Jan. 26 in Winston-Salem. The Deacons came back for a 92-83 win in the first round of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.
oIn the first meeting last year, Josh Howard led four Demon Deacons in double figures with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Wake shot 47.5 percent and outrebounded the Yellow Jackets, 38-32. Tony Akins scored 20 to lead Tech.
oIn the return game in Atlanta, B.J. Elder scored 25 points off the bench (23 in the second half) to lead the Jackets past the Deacons, overshadowing a 19-point, 8-assist game by Tony Akins on senior night.
oWake Forest has won all three of its meetings with Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament, including a 75-74 triumph in the 1996 championship game in Greensboro. The other was a 74-49 debacle on the 1994 first round in Charlotte.
oThe home team has won 15 of the last 18 regular-season games in the series, the exceptions being a 77-76 Tech win at Wake on Feb. 11, 1998, a 60-46 Wake victory at Tech on Feb. 27, 2000, and a 73-63 Wake win at Tech on Jan. 8, 1997.
oTech is 22-17 against Wake Forest since 1985, including 12 straight victories from 1985-91.
oThe closest game in the series’ last nine games was Tech’s six-point overtime win at Alexander Memorial Coliseum during the 2000-01 season.
POINT TO PROVE ON THE ROAD
The Yellow Jackets have played six games away from Alexander Memorial Coliseum this season and lost five of them, including an 0-4 record on opponents’ home courts. Tech’s only win away from home this season is a 67-53 decision against Marist at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7.
But Tech has accomplished much away from home since Paul Hewitt became head coach, most notably wins over UCLA and Kentucky on neutral courts in his first season, along with snapping a 16-game ACC road losing streak at Virginia and winning at Clemson for the first time in eight years.
Last season, Tech was 7-9 away from home (including a 4-6 mark on opponent’s home courts), and won at Clemson, Virginia and Florida State.
By the numbers, Tech is shooting just 39.8 percent from the floor and 29.2 percent from three-point range in road games this season. The Jackets have a minus-5.3 turnover margin on the road, and has been on the short end (81-74) in free throw attempts. Its hosts on the road have hit 45.2 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from behind the arc.
A BETTER START
Georgia Tech, looking for a better start to this year’s ACC schedule than it had last season, has won nine of its last 12 conference games and is off to its best start in conference play since 1996.
The Yellow Jackets finished the 2001-02 ACC slate at 7-9 after dropping its first seven, 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.
TECH AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Georgia Tech has won nine games against nationally-ranked opponents against 17 losses in two-plus seasons under Paul Hewitt, including a 1-2 mark this season. Tech took an 83-77 homecourt win over No. 17 Georgia on Nov. 27, and suffered road losses to No. 20 Minnesota (64-63) and No. 23 Maryland (84-77) At home, Tech is 4-5 against nationally-ranked opposition, and 6-6 against ranked teams in the city of Atlanta (including games at Philips Arena and the Georgia Dome).
ELDER-LEWIS-BOSH TRIO FUEL OFFENSIVE SURGE
It could be the comforts of home, but Georgia Tech shook off its offensive doldrums at least temporarily in its last three games, shooting a combined 51.5 percent in wins over Cornell, NC State and Florida State, including 53.7 percent from three-point range and 78.1 percent from the free throw line.
In each game, the Yellow Jackets have posted an explosive half of shooting, 68 percent in the first half against FSU, 64.5 percent in the second half against NC State and 58.6 percent in the second half against Cornell. Tech shot 57.7 percent against NC State for the game, its best single-game effort in more than three years.
The resurgence of junior guard Marvin Lewis has helped fuel the surge and has given Tech a potent scoring trio along with B.J. Elder and Chris Bosh. All three rank among the top 15 in the ACC in scoring average. Bosh and Elder rank first and sixth, respectively, in field goal percentage, and Elder and Lewis are the ACC’s top two three-point marksmen (46.0 percent combined) while ranking third and sixth in three-pointers made per game.
PUTTING THE CLAMPS ON
Along with Tech’s recent offensive surge, the Yellow Jackets have tightened their defense as well, holding its last three opponents to 63.3 points per game and 39.8 percent shooting from the floor, with Florida State’s 74 points and 42.2 field goal percentage the highest figures during that stretch.
Tech has also shut down two of the ACC’s top scorers in Julius Hodge (No. 1, 19.2 ppg before Tech) and Tim Pickett (No. 4, 18.0 before Tech). The Jackets held Hodge to just nine points (1-6 FG) and Pickett to 13 (5-16 FG, 3-11 on threes).
Tech is 24-1 under Paul Hewitt when the opponent shoots less than 40 percent from the floor, and 35-11 when the opponent scores less than 80 points.
TOEING THE LINE
Perhaps a new trend has taken root for Georgia Tech, which shot 49 free throws in its first game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Tech has attempted more free throws than its opponent in every game but two so far (295-209 for the season).
Tech has for the most part failed to cash in, however, ranking last in the ACC in free throw percentage. The Jackets still are shooting just 63.4 percent from the line this season, but have connected on 77.8 percent in three ACC games, including a 28-for-31 effort against Florida State.
In its last three games, Tech has made 78.1 percent of its charity tosses (50-of-64). Against FSU, with the Seminoles sending the Jackets to the line often late in the game, Tech was 25-of-28 in the second half, 14-of-16 in the final three minutes.
In its first two seasons under Paul Hewitt, Tech generally was on the short end when it came to getting to the line. Tech attempted more free throws than its opponent in only 19 games in two seasons, and won 18 of those. Opponents, on average, attempted four more free throws per game than Tech in those 61 games.
LEWIS RESURGENCE TURNS DRAMATIC
Marvin Lewis, Tech’s most experienced player and its best outside shooter, was already hot before Tuesday night’s game with Florida State. The 6-4 junior poured in a career-high 33 points, the highest total for a Tech player in three years, and hit his first eight shots in an 11-of-13 night (6-of-8 from three-point range).
Lewis has averaged 22.6 points in his last three games, made 66.7 percent of his field goal tries (22-of-33) and 13-of-19 three-pointers (68.4 percent). Suddenly, the Germantown, Md., native has risen to 15th in the league rankings for scoring (13.4 points per game), second in three-point percentage (45.1) and sixth in three-pointers per game (2.46). At 84.6 percent from the free throw line, he would rank seventh in the league with enough attempts.
His stretch of good play actually began with his return to the starting lineup against Troy State after a three-game stint off the bench, and began to heat up with a 12-point game at Maryland in front of nearly 20 family and friends. In those six games, Lewis has averaged 16 points, hitting 39-of-67 shots from the floor (51.9 percent) and 23-of-43 (48.6 percent) from three-point range.
In three ACC games, Lewis is averaging 20 points a game, hitting 72.4 percent of his field goals and 66.7 percent of his three-point attempts.
