<p>Georgia Tech finally resembled the team that made it to the Final Four last season.</p><p>Maybe it was the banner.</p><p>After unveiling the emblem of their Final Four season in a ceremony before the game, the fourth-ranked Yellow Jackets routed Michigan 99-68 on Tuesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.</p><p>Georgia Tech (4-0) took control early with a 20-0 run, led by 27 points at halftime and was able to finish the game with a couple of walk-ons on the court.</p><p>"All this year, we've been waiting to come out and make a statement," Elder said. "Tonight, we came out and established ourselves."</p><p>B.J. Elder scored 27 points, the bulk of them coming on seven 3-pointers. Will Bynum had 19 points, knocking down three shots from outside the arc. Jarrett Jack had 16 points and was even more efficient setting up his teammates, finishing with 11 assists.</p><p>Georgia Tech had easy home wins against overmatched Alabama State and Arkansas-Little Rock, but that was sandwiched around a surprisingly close one-point win at Illinois-Chicago.</p><p>Referee Gary Maxwell, who handled the game in Chicago, had a question as he ran by the Georgia Tech bench late in the game.</p><p>"Where was this team last Monday night?" Maxwell asked coach Paul Hewitt.</p><p>Georgia Tech has four returning starters from the team that lost to Connecticut in the national championship game.</p><p>"We're trying to focus on the future, not the past," Jack said. Still, "going so deep in the tournament last year, that gave us a cohesiveness you can't coach."</p><p>It sure showed in this one.</p><p>Georgia Tech took control about 3 minutes in. Elder got the big run started with a layup, and the Yellow Jackets fed off their stifling defense to blow out the Wolverines (3-3).</p><p>After shooting just 43 percent in its first three games _ failing to make half the shots in any of them _ Georgia Tech shot 54 percent (39-of-72) from the field, including 13-of-23 beyond the arc.</p><p>"The thing that I'm more proud of thus far is our defensive effort," Hewitt said. "And now we're starting to hit shots, and it just raises your defense up to another level. I'm very optimistic about what this team can do."</p><p>After John Andrews' basket pulled Michigan to 10-9, the Wolverines went more than 4 1/2 minutes without scoring. They missed nine consecutive shots and turned it over twice.</p><p>The Yellow Jackets rarely missed, winding up at 60 percent (24-of-40) in the first half in taking a 59-32 lead.</p><p>Elder was unstoppable the entire game, hitting 10 of 12 shots overall, including 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. He kept working himself open and had plenty of good looks at the basket thanks to Jack.</p><p>"It's just a matter of finding the right spots on the floor and spacing," Elder said. "When I was open, I was knocking shots down."</p><p>Michigan was at its worst. The Wolverines had been respectable in their first two losses, which included a one-point setback in overtime to No. 21 Arizona.</p><p>Courtney Sims scored 17 points for Michigan, which had 18 turnovers and shot just 41 percent.</p><p>Wolverines coach Tommy Amaker was especially disappointed with guards Daniel Horton and Dion Harris, who combined to shoot 5-of-19, with 10 turnovers and only assists.</p><p>"I thought their floor game was horrendous," Amaker said. "We aren't going to be a very good team or even have a chance of competing at the level of the teams we are going to face if those kids don't play better."</p><p>Georgia Tech also got some good news off the court. An MRI confirmed that touted freshman Jeremis Smith did no additional damage when he dislocated his right kneecap in last Friday's victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.</p><p>Smith will likely be out six to 12 weeks, but the Yellow Jackets feared the gruesome injury _ which left him sprawled on the court, screaming in agony _ could have been much worse.</p>
