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Yellow Jackets Take On Virginia
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Feb. 9, 2001
Georgia Tech (13-8, 5-5) vs. #6/9 Virginia (16-5, 5-5)
February 11, 2001 * 1:30 p.m. EST
Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald’s Center * Atlanta, Ga.
TV: Raycom/JP Sports (Bob Rathbun, pbp, Dan Bonner, color)
Radio: WGST (640 AM) in Atlanta (Wes Durham, pbp, Randy Waters, color), also on Ramblinwreck.com
Tech Record: 13-8, 5-5 ACC
H: 8-3, A: 2-5, N: 3-0
Tech vs. Virginia: 28-25
Vs. Virginia at AMC: 16-4
Vs. Virginia in Atlanta: 18-7
Since joining ACC: 26-24
Last meeting: J. 9, GT 73-68 in Charlottesville
Hewitt Record: 79-35 (.693), 4th season
Hewitt at Tech: 13-8 (.619), 1st season
Next Tech game: Feb. 14 at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: 888-TECH-TIX or www.ramblinwreck.com
NO. 6 VIRGINIA VISITS GEORGIA TECH
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech entertains No. 6 Virginia at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald’s Center in the back half of an important two-game Atlantic Coast Conference homestand.
Tech, 13-8 overall and 5-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, started the week off on the right foot Tuesday with a 72-62 win over 13th-ranked Maryland. The Yellow Jackets are in a fourth-place tie with the Cavaliers (16-5, 5-5 after a 90-80 loss at NC State Wednesday), one game behind the Terrapins and a game ahead of Wake Forest, Tech’s next opponent on Wednesday.
The Jackets are in the middle of six-game run that includes five teams ranked among the nation’s top 20, beginning with UNC and Maryland and continuing Wednesday at No. 19 Wake Forest. No. 3 Duke hosts Tech on Feb. 21.
Shaking off poor shooting performances against Florida State and North Carolina, Tech equalled its total of three-point field goals in those two games by going 9-for-20 against Maryland. Junior guard Tony Akins has averaged 23.0 points and hit 16 of 29 shots in his last two games. Tech continues to get strong inside play from center Alvin Jones, who is averaging 18.6 points and 10.1 rebounds in his last seven games.
The 6-11 senior has moved into the team scoring lead, averaging 15.3 points and an ACC-leading 9.6 rebounds this season and shooting 54.1 percent from the floor. Senior Shaun Fein, a 6-3 guard, averages 14.6 per game and is shooting 44.2 percent from three-point range. Also averaging in double figures are the 5-11 Akins, 13.4 points and 4.5 assists, and 6-3 freshman forward Marvin Lewis (10.4 points per game). The fifth starter is 6-7 senior forward Jon Babul, 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Yellow Jackets are shooting 39.7 percent for the season on threes, 38.8 percent in ACC games, which ranks third in the ACC.
Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Series Notes
Georgia Tech has won nine of the last 11 and 18 of the last 24 meetings with Virginia to lead the overall series with the Cavaliers, 28-25. Tech defeated Virginia in Charlottesville earlier this season, 73-68.
At Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the Yellow Jackets have won five in a row and 14 of the last 16 over the Cavs, including a 68-47 triumph last year. The run of success at home began with a triple-overtime thriller on Jan. 23, 1984 that Tech won 72-71. Virginia’s last win at the Thrillerdome was an 83-60 romp on Feb. 22, 1995, the last year the Cavaliers swept a season series from the Jackets.
The teams have played five overtime games, four of them since the 1989-90 season, including a 74-68 win at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 25, 1999.
Quoting Head Coach Paul Hewitt
“We rebounded well (in Tech’s first meeting with Virginia), especially in the second half when the game was in the balance. Virginia is a team that plays well of the dribble and is aggressive on the glass. We can contain their dribble penetration, which can help us in terms of boxing out and rebounding. If we do that again, we’ll have a chance to be in the game at the end.
“Tempo is a key, but we have to run as well. We feel like we’re at our best when we’re getting the ball up the floor and attacking people. But we can’t throw up hap-hazard shots or take too many chances. We still want to continue to run and push the ball, because we’ve had success doing that this year.
[On Tony Akins] “Tony has had the toughest adjustment of all our guys, learning an entirely new system as a point guard. He has to learn the system for himself and for everyone else on the floor. I think he’s really starting to get more comfortable with the shot selection that I’d like him to have. He’s a very good shooter. If he takes good shots while he’s getting his teammates involved, he’s probably one of the better guards in our league. He’s very quick, which makes it easy for us to break other teams’ full court presses. He’s very good at getting into the paint and create layups for himself or kick out for shots by our perimeter guys.”
Earlier This Season
Georgia Tech won a nip-and-tuck battle over the 10th-ranked Cavaliers in Charlottesville, 73-68, its first road win in two years and 16 games.
Shaun Fein led the Jackets with 25 points, including a back-breaking three-point try as the shot clock expired that gave Tech a 71-65 lead with 48 seconds left. Tony Akins, who had six points and six assists, sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 15.7 seconds remaining.
Freshman Halston Lane was Tech’s only other double figure scorer with 10 points off the bench, eight in the second half. He hit 4-of-5 shots, including a trey from the right corner at the 3:10 mark that gave Tech a lead (66-65) it would not relinquish.
The Cavaliers had four players in double figures, but shot just 35.1 percent from the floor and 6-of-25 from three-point range.
Last Time Out
Tony Akins scored 28 points on a assortment of drives to the basket and long-range shots to lead Georgia Tech over 13th-ranked Maryland, 72-62, at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Tech’s third win over a ranked team since January began.
Akins made 8 of 11 field goals, and all three of his three-point attempts, and hit 9 of 12 from the free throw line. Alvin Jones posted his eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds (7 of 13 from the free throw line), and Maryland native Marvin Lewis added 12 for the Jackets.
The Terrapins turned the ball over 23 times, a season high for a Tech ACC foe, and the Jackets committed a season-low 12 fouls.
Back in the Thrillerdome
Georgia Tech is playing its 45th season at Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald’s Center in 2000-01, and the Yellow Jackets are 8-3 on their home court this season. The Jackets have a record of 442-150 (.746) in the facility, which opened Nov. 30, 1956 with a 71-61 Tech loss to Duke.
Since the beginning of the 1981-82 season, Tech is 205-50 (.803) in its on-campus home, including an 11-3 mark last season. The Jackets are 117-5 against non-conference opponents at the Thrillerdome since 1981-82.