Struggles at Georgia Tech

While N.C. State has tied a school record with five consecutive NCAA tournament trips, the Wolfpack’s record in Atlanta in the past five seasons is only 2-3. After winning at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum in both 2004 and 2005, the Pack fell 71-68 to the host Yellow Jackets on Feb. 12, 2006 — the teams’ last meeting. Even so, State has won seven of eight games overall against Georgia Tech.

State after beating top-10 teams

The Pack has beaten six top-10 teams dating back to the 2002-2003 season, including Saturday’s win against No. 3 North Carolina.Of the five previous wins over top-10 opponents, State has followed only one of them with a victory — in January 2003 when it beat No. 3 Duke on Wed., Jan. 22, then beat UNC 86-77 four days later. The Pack’s last win against a top-five team at the RBC Center — a 78-74 win over No. 1 Duke on Feb. 15, 2004 — preceded a 60-55 loss at Clemson three days later.

Lowe vs. the Yellow Jackets

First-year coach Sidney Lowe will coach against Georgia Tech for the first time tonight, but he saw the Yellow Jackets plenty in his playing career. He certainly wouldn’t mind having the same kind of success he had in his playing days, when his team was 8-0 against Georgia Tech.

Jackets haven’t swept Pack lately

Tonight’s contest is this season’s lone match-up between Georgia Tech and N.C. State, providing the Yellow Jackets the chance to sweep the season series between the teams for the first time since the 1995-1996 season, when Tech won the ACC regular season championship.Bobby Cremins coached the Jackets that season, and Les Robinson coached the Pack. Former coach Herb Sendek compiled a 16-6 record against Georgia Tech.

Final Four start of downhill trend for Tech

Since reaching the 2004 NCAA championship game, where it lost to Connecticut, Georgia Tech has posted a 45-37 overall record and a 15-26 ACC mark. The Yellow Jackets reached the NCAA Tournament second round in 2005, but didn’t reach the postseason after an 11-17 finish in 2006. This year’s Tech team is 14-8 overall and 3-6 in the ACC coming off an 80-62 win over No. 25 Clemson on Saturday.

Yellow Jackets in search of momentum

Georgia Tech started the season 11-3, but has now lost five of its last eight contests. The rough period has had its highs — a 74-63 home win against Duke on Jan. 10 and Saturday’s win against Clemson. But the Yellow Jackets also lost at Wake Forest, the ACC’s last-place team, on Jan. 30.