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- Created: March 21st, 2016
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NIT Tournament | Yellow jackets vs Gamecocks
By Don Phillips
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (20-14, 8-10 ACC) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (25-8, 11-7 SEC)
National Invitation Tournament • Second Round
9:00 PM ET, Monday March 21, 2016
Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
The Yellow Jackets have compiled a 20-14 overall record this season, the most wins by a Tech team since the 2009-10 season, and went 8-10 in the ACC, becoming only the 15th team to win as many conference games in the program’s 37-year history in the league. This Tech team is the 15th in program history to win 20 games, and only the fourth since 1996.
The Jackets go to Columbia having won seven of their last nine games, including an 81-62 victory over Houston Wednesday night at home in the NIT opening round. Over its last six regular season games, Tech defeated Florida State, No. 19 Notre Dame, Clemson, Boston College and Pittsburgh, and lost only to No. 11 Louisville, on the road by three.
The Jackets then defeated Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament before falling to fourth-ranked Virginia.
South Carolina began the season by winning its first 15 games before falling to Alabama on the road in its third Southeastern Conference game. The Gamecocks finished the regular season in third place in the SEC (11-7) before losing to Georgia in their first SEC Tournament game. South Carolina defeated High Point, 88-66, in its NIT opener.
Common opponents – Tech and South Carolina have both played Arkansas, Clemson, Georgia and Tennessee this season. The Yellow Jackets went 4-1 against those teams, while the Gamecocks went 3-4, losing to Georgia three times.
South Carolina is in its 108th season of varsity basketball in 2015-16. Carolina is led by fourth-year head coach Frank Martin. Alongside him are associate head coach Matt Figger, assistant coaches Perry Clark and Lamont Evans and director of men’s hoops operations, Andy Assaley.
South Carolina is 16-2 in home games this season, averaging 80.3 points per game in those contests. South Carolina’s nine wins away from home this season (five away, four neutral) are the most for the Gamecocks since the 2005-06 NIT championship team won 13 combined away from home (seven away, six neutral).
The Gamecocks received votes or were ranked for 15 weeks in the USA Today Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and for a total of 14 weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th, this season.
Frank Martin led teams are 8-5 all-time in postseason competition, including a 2-1 mark in NIT games after South Carolina’s 88-66 win vs. High Point last week in the first round of the 2016 NIT.
The Gamecocks concluded their 25th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2016 with an 11-7 record. Carolina owns a 155-253 (.379) all-time record in SEC play.
Gamecock opponents are averaging just 39.4 percent from the field this season, which ranks third in the SEC and 18th nationally. Carolina has held its opponent under 40% from the field in 20 of 33 games this season.
Selection: South Carolina