By Randy Rosetta
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Georgia Tech heads into the meat of the ACC season in need of a boost, and to get the league season jump-started the Yellow Jackets will have to put an end to some notable negative streaks.

Tech (13-7, 2-5) has tumbled to the bottom tier of the standings with three straight double-digit losses – two against the ACC’s hottest teams (North Carolina and Virginia Tech).

To get back on track, the Jackets have to first end their skid against last-place Wake Forest when the teams collide Tuesday night at 8 (EST) in Winston-Salem, N.C.

That may sound like a relatively easy task because the Demon Deacons (9-11, 1-7) haven’t won in 3� weeks. But Georgia Tech is 0-4 on the road this season and has won only once at Wake in the last eight trips.

The Jackets need to rev up their offense to get back on track. After scoring less than 73 points just once in the first 17 games, Tech has scratched out 61, 65 and 65 points in the three losses.

First-half struggles have been at the core of Tech’s problems. The Yellow Jackets have fallen behind by double digits in each of the losses before halftime and have shot a combined 35.8 percent over the first 20 minutes of the three games.

Tech has also gone cold from 3-point range, finding the mark on only 13-of-56 (23.2 percent) in the three-game stretch.

Turning things around will depend on how two freshmen re-establish the consistency that allowed them to emerge as the Jackets’ leaders. Forward Thaddeus Young leads Tech with 14.4 points a game but managed only 6 points in a narrow loss to Virginia Tech. Point guard Javaris Crittenton is averaging 13.3 points a contest and ranks third in the ACC with 110 assists. In the last three outings, those numbers have dipped to 8 points and 3.3 assists per game.

Wake could be the cure to Tech’s offensive woes. The Deacons rank last in the ACC in scoring defense (75.2 points allowed per game), field-goal defense (47.9 percent) and 3-point field-goal defense (38.1 percent). Over the last six games – all losses – four Wake opponents have shot 52.7 percent or higher from the field.

The Deacons have also been foul-prone as opponents have averaged 23 free-throw attempts in the last six games.

Senior forward Kyle Visser has been rock-solid for Wake all season, averaging 17.3 points and 7.2 rebounds a contest. And freshman playmaker Ishmael Smith is the ACC’s assist leader with 5.9 a game. Other than those two, though, the Deacons have struggled to establish a third consistent player.

Georgia Tech is a 5.5-point favorite for tonight's game on WagerWeb.com.

MARYLAND at FLORIDA STATE, 8 p.m. EST Tuesday: The Seminoles are hovering around the middle of the ACC standings with three wins in four games and open a key four-game stretch tonight when they entertain the Terrapins. Starting tonight, FSU (15-6, 3-4) can both make up ground both in the league standings and take major steps toward fortifying an NCAA Tournament resume. The Seminoles' next three games are on the road at Duke and Clemson and a home game vs. second-place Boston College. Florida State has won three ACC home games in a row this season and eight of nine overall. The ’Noles have edged Maryland the last three times the Terps have visited Tallahassee. FSU senior Al Thornton has made a charge into the ACC scoring race by averaging 23 points over his last six games to boost his overall season scoring average to 18.2 points per game. Thornton’s 22.4 points a contest are the ACC’s best in league games. He is one of six league players producing 18.2 points a game or more. Thornton is also the best free-throw shooter (84.9 percent) on the ACC’s best foul-shooting team (78 percent). Maryland (16-5, 2-4) is producing 80.7 points a game (third in the ACC), bolstered by the league’s best 3-point shooting percentage (39.2 percent). Mike Jones ranks second in the league in 3-point accuracy (43.7 percent) and 3-pointers made (2.6 per game). The Terps have also doled out 359 assists, with Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez each dishing off 84 times this season. Maryland also boasts the ACC’s top field-goal defense, limiting foes to 37 percent from the floor.  The Seminoles are -3 tonight on WagerWeb.com.

MIAMI at No. 3 NORTH CAROLINA, 7 p.m. EST Wednesday: The Tar Heels have bounced back from their only ACC loss by routing Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest by a total of 64 points, and UNC capped that by handing Arizona its worst loss in Tucson (92-64) in Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson’s 24-year tenure. Carolina (19-2, 5-1) leads the ACC with 87.8 points a game, 50.5 percent shooting from the floor, a +10.1 rebound margin and 19.3 assists per game. Freshman point guard Ty Lawson produced one of his best games of the year at Arizona with 18 points and 8 assists. Lawson ranks fourth in the league with 109 assists, which gives the Heels at least one player in the top four of the ACC in assists, scoring and rebounding. Tyler Hansbrough is fourth in the league in scoring with 18.2 points and third in rebounds with 8 per contest. Miami’s season has turned sour with four consecutive losses, three by 19 points or more. The Hurricanes (9-12, 2-5) have topped 67 points just once in their last five games, although that came in their last outing – a 92-85 home loss to ACC leader Virginia Tech on Saturday. Denis Clemente erupted for a career-best 24 points against the Hokies to take some heat off of Jack McClinton (16.1 ppg), the ACC’s best 3-point marksman at 43.8 percent. Freshman Brian Asbury has risen to the occasion against ranked foes this season, supplying 14 points and 6.5 boards on average in games vs. Georgia Tech, Maryland, Duke and Virginia Tech. 

N.C. STATE at No. 16 VIRGINIA TECH, 9 p.m. EST Wednesday: The league-leading Hokies come in red-hot after winning consecutive league road games for the first time since 1984-85. Virginia Tech takes on N.C. State on Wednesday and again Feb. 19. In between, the Hokies (16-5, 6-1) tangle with three of the teams chasing them – road games at Boston College and North Carolina sandwiched around a home game with in-state rival Virginia. Zabian Dowdell has been key to Tech’s resurgence with 20 points or more in seven straight games and a 21.7-point scoring average in league games. The Wolfpack (11-8, 1-5) have struggled in ACC play but can right the ship in the next few weeks with consecutive games against the Hokies and North Carolina this week and again Feb. 18-21. N.C. State’s problems have been on offense. The Pack have scored 62 points or less in four of their ACC losses and won’t find things any easier against Tech’s defense, which ranks second in the ACC in scoring defense (62.4 ppg) and is holding foes to 39.9 percent shooting from the field. N.C. State has a reliable 1-2 punch in freshman Brandon Costner andsophomore Ben McCauley, who average 16.9 and 15.8 points per game, respectively. Costner is the ACC’s freshman leader in scoring and rebounds (7.8 per game) and has produced 11 points or more in every game this season with five double-doubles.

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