March 6, 2001

Georgia Tech (16-11, 8-8) vs. No. 12 Virginia (20-7, 9-7)
48th Annual ACC Tournament * March 8-11, 2001
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.

TV: RJ & ESPN
Radio: WGST (640 AM) in Atlanta (Wes Durham, pbp, Randy Waters, color), also on Ramblinwreck.com
Tech Record: 16-11, 8-8 ACC (5th place)
H: 11-3, A: 2-8, N: 3-0
Tech vs. Virginia: 29-25
Since joining ACC: 27-24
Vs. Virginia in ACC Tournament: 4-5
Vs. Virginia in Atlanta: 19-7
2000-01 meetings:
J. 9, GT 73-68 (Charlottesville)
F. 11, GT 62-56 (Atlanta)
Tech in ACC Tournament: 15-18
Hewitt Record: 82-38 (.683), 4th season
Hewitt at Tech: 16-11 (.593), 1st season
More info: Ramblinwreck.com

FIFTH-SEEDED YELLOW JACKETS OPEN ACC TOURNAMENT vs. VIRGINIA

ATLANTA - Hoping to add to its postseason resume, Georgia Tech opens the 48th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament by facing 12th-ranked Virginia on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Tech, 16-11 overall, earned the tournament's fifth seed with an 8-8 mark in ACC games, its best conference mark since winning the regular season title with a 13-3 record in 1995-96. The Yellow Jackets have been off since falling at Florida State, 69-59, on Feb. 28. Virginia is the tournament's fourth seed by virtue of a 9-7 ACC record along with a 20-7 overall mark. The Yellow Jackets captured both regular season meetings, winning 73-68 at Charlottesville on Jan. 9-the only home loss of the season for the Cavaliers-and then 62-56 in Atlanta on Feb. 11.

Junior guard Tony Akins, 5-11, is on a hot streak for Tech offensively, averaging 18.9 points in his last eight games while shooting 50 percent from three-point range. Tech continues to get strong inside play from 6-11 senior center Alvin Jones, who averaged 13.1 points and 10.6 rebounds and posted seven double-doubles in ACC play.

Akins leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game along with 4.1 assists. Senior guard Shaun Fein, 6-3, averages 13.7 for the season. Jones averages 13.6 points per game and leads the ACC in rebounding with an average of 10.1 per game. Freshman forward Marvin Lewis, 6-3, (9.3 points per game) and 6-7 senior forward Jon Babul (6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game) complete the starting lineup.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Hewitt
[On Alvin Jones] "I couldn't be more pleased with him. I remember telling my staff early in the year that if we were going to be as good as we could be, Alvin Jones would have to have a first-team all-ACC type of season. He's responded in a big way. He's taken the added responsibility of being a threat in our half-court offense.

"I expect [Hewitt's first ACC Tournament] to be very exciting, very intense. I'm really looking forward to it. I like the format of the tournament with four games on Friday. It's great for fans. We feel like we need to win Friday to solidify our case for the NCAA Tournament. If we can get that win, it's another quality win for us and our 17th win overall.

"We're confident going into every game. In the case of Virginia, both of the games we played could've gone either way. Shaun Fein made a miraculous shot at Charlottesville to put us up for with about a minute to go. The game here was a hard-fought, very ugly ball game. Neither team shot the ball well. We just got a couple of loose balls here and there to help us win. The other thing is that Donald Hand will not have another 0-for-9 shooting day against us like he did here. He's too good a player.

"We'll have to play our best game to win Friday. It will be a fast-paced game, very intense. It'll be hard-fought, with a lot of scrapping. But I imagine the offense will be at a higher level."

Tech in the ACC Tournament
Georgia Tech enters its 22nd ACC Tournament with a record of 15-18, including a 9-9 mark since 1990. Even though Tech has played in fewer than half of the ACC Tournaments, the Jackets have won more titles-three-than Clemson (0), Florida State (0), Virginia (1) and Maryland (2). In addition to winning the ACC Tournament in 1985, 1990 and 1993, the Yellow Jackets had runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1996, both times losing by a single point.

Tech has been the fifth seed four times (1987, 1989, 1991, 1995), but has never won a first-round game from that position.

Atlanta was the site of Tech's first ACC Tournament title as the Jackets claimed the trophy at the Omni in 1985, behind Mark Price and John Salley. Tech has a 4-2 record in ACC Tournament games in Atlanta, all at the Omni.

Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Series Notes
* Georgia Tech captured both meetings with Virginia this season. The Yellow Jackets were the only team to defeat Virginia on its home floor, defeating the then 10th-ranked Cavaliers 73-68 on Jan. 9 behind 25 points from Shaun Fein. Tech completed the sweep with a 62-56 win in Atlanta on Feb. 9 as Tony Akins scored 19 points.

* Freshman Halston Lane came up big in both games against Virginia, averaging 12.5 points and shooting 67 percent (10-15) in the two wins. He scored 10 points in 16 minutes at Charlottesville, including a three-pointer with 3:10 to play that gave Tech a 66-65 lead they would not relinquish. In Atlanta, he scored nine of his 15 points in the second half, including seven straight points in the final four minutes. He hit a jumper with 2:34 left that put Tech ahead for good at 55-54, and then a three-pointer that gave the Jackets a four-point lead with 1:16 left

* Georgia Tech has won three in a row over Virginia, 10 of the last 12 and 19 of the last 25 meetings to lead the overall series, 29-25. Virginia's last win was an 83-65 decision in Charlottesville on Jan. 8, 2000.

* Tech coach Paul Hewitt is 2-0 against Virginia. UVa coach Pete Gillen is 1-5 against Tech.

Tech vs. Virginia in the ACC Tournament
Georgia Tech has played Virginia in the ACC Tournament seven times, more than any other team. The Yellow Jackets are 3-4 against Virginia in ACC Tournament play. The teams last met in the 1995 Tournament, when the fourth-seeded Cavaliers won 77-67. Tech's last ACC Tournament win over Virginia was a 68-56 victory in the 1992 quarterfinals. Tech also defeated Virginia in two of its three ACC Tournament title runs, knocking off the Cavaliers in the 1985 quarterfinals, 55-48, and the 1990 championship game, 70-61.

Tech in the Georgia Dome
Georgia Tech has a record of 6-3 in the Georgia Dome. Tech's only appearance at the facility this year was an exhibition game against the California All-Stars. The Yellow Jackets' last regular season game at the Georgia Dome was an 80-39 loss to Kentucky on Dec. 19, 1998, while their last victory there was a 94-86 win over Louisville in 1997-98.

Georgia Tech is the host institution for the NCAA South Regional, March 23-25 at the Georgia Dome, as well as the 2002 and 2007 NCAA Final Fours.

Jones Named All-ACC, All-Defensive
Center Alvin Jones was named to the five-member all-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team, as selected by the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters Association.

Jones is the eighth different Yellow Jacket to earn first-team all-ACC honors but the first center. The only other Tech center to receive an all-ACC recognition was John Salley, who was named to the second-team in 1986.

Jones was also named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the fourth straight year.

Tony Akins and Shaun Fein were both named honorable mention all-ACC.

A Look at Tech's Record
* Tech has four wins over ranked teams in conference play - Virginia twice, Maryland and Wake Forest. Three of those wins came when the teams were ranked in the Top 10 (both vs. Virginia, first meeting vs. Wake Forest).

* Tech is 3-1 head-to-head against Virginia and Maryland, the two teams directly ahead of the Jackets in the ACC standings.

* Tech is 6-2 at home in conference play, 2-6 on the road (wins vs. Virginia and Clemson). Tech is the only team to win at Virginia, which is 13-1 at home.

* Tech's 2-8 overall on the road this season includes losses at Iowa, Stanford, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke and Florida State. All but NC State and Florida State are or have been in the top 25.

* Including neutral courts, Tech is 5-8 away from home.

* Tech has exceeded its total win and conference win totals from last season, and has its most conference wins since 1996.

* Tech is guaranteed a winning season for the first time since 1998 (19-14, third round of the NIT).

* Five of Tech's losses this season have come against teams who have held the No. 1 ranking at some point during this season - Stanford, North Carolina (twice) and Duke (twice).

* Tech has played 14 games against teams currently in the CollegeRPI.com Top 30, including non-conference games against Stanford (away), Kentucky (neutral), UCLA (neutral) and Georgia, posting a 6-8 mark.

* Tech has played 13 games against the Sagarin Index's Top 30-more than any other Division I team-and is 6-7 in those games, including three wins on opposing or neutral courts. The Jackets have two victories in eight games against Sagarin Top 10 teams.