ATLANTA—The Hornets have arrived in Atlanta to prepare for their game against Georgia Tech which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. (CT).
The game against the Rambling Wreck is the second game of a seven-day, four game road trip which will lead the Hornets into the Christmas break.
ASU comes into the game with a 1-8 record after falling 80-67 at Evansville last Saturday in Evansville.
In the outing at Evansville, the Hornets had a solid offensive game shooting over 46 percent from the field and knocking down over 38 percent of their three point attempts and over 73 percent from the free throw line. After reviewing the game film the coaching staff saw some positives the Hornets had exhibited in the game.
“We are doing a lot of good things,” Head Coach
Lewis Jackson said. “We are moving the ball well; we had 19 assists, so we are doing a good job of sharing the ball. Our offense is getting a little better.
For the first time this season Joshua Freelove was held scoreless in the game against Evansville. He continues to be the leading scorer at 12.3 points per game.
Shawntez Patterson is next at 11.8 points per game and
Phillip Crawford, who is coming off a 22-point performance, is averaging 10.3 points per game.
The concern continues to be the rebounding. After a couple of games where the Hornets looked like they had turned the corner in rebounding, they fell back into their old habit against Evansville. The Hornets actually out rebounded Evansville 18-17 in the first half, but the second half was a different story as the Purple Aces won the rebounding battle 19-9.
“Again, our effort and energy is high and you know you will make mistakes,” Jackson said. “What we need to do is to concentrate on our rebounding.”
Georgia Tech enters the game with a 6-2 record and is undefeated at home (4-0) so far this season. A freshman, Marcus Georges-Hunt, leads Tech in scoring at 11.8 points per game. Senior Mfon Udofia, is also scoring in double digits at 10 points per game.
The home-standing Rambling Wreck will be taller than the Hornets at every position and will present several matchup problems.
“They are huge”, Jackson said. “I think we are going to be out sized at every position. What we are going to do is come out and compete and play hard and leave it all on the line and let the end of the game decide itself.”
The pre-conference schedule has seen the Hornets play teams from Conference USA, Southeastern, Sun Belt, Horizon League, MEAC and Missouri Valley. The Hornets will now have a chance to play a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference with a strong national reputation in Georgia Tech.
“It is a good opportunity for us,” Jackson said. “This is our second time playing them since I have been back at ASU and the guys are excited to be playing a team from the ACC. We have played teams from other conference as well this season, but this gives us another opportunity to come out and improve against a very good team.”
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports South with a 6:07 p.m. (CT) tip off time. Bob Rathbun will be providing play-by-play and former Auburn standout Daymeon Fishback will do the color. The game will also be broadcast online on ESPN3.
