GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Paul Hewitt said he expects to return to coach Georgia Tech next season.

Asked after the Yellow Jackets were blown out by Virginia Tech 59-43  in the first round of the ACC tournament Thursday if he thinks he will be back, Hewitt said "Yes, I do but you know ..."

It has been a difficult season for the team. They lost eight consecutive conference games at one point and didn't win an on an opponent's court until the second-to-last regular-season game against Wake Forest.

Now, fans will wait to hear what decision athletic director Dan Radakovich will make. Will he keep Hewitt, or will he let him go? Starting over will cost the Georgia Tech Athletic Association $7.2 million, per Hewitt's contract. A decision likely will be made by Wednesday. Waiting any longer means the payout increases by more than $1 million because Hewitt must be notified no later than 30 days before April 15, per the terms of the contract.

Playing before an Alexander Memorial Coliseum-esque mostly empty arena, Georgia Tech (13-18) didn't look like the confident team that won its previous two games with a disciplined offense and efficient, pressing defense. It looked like the team that lost eight ACC conference games earlier in the season.

Despite slightly better shooting in the previous four games, the Jackets reverted to their ACC-worst form, missing 18 of 23 3-point attempts against the Hokies' 2-3 zone and making only 32.1 percent of their shots overall. Glen Rice Jr. led the Jackets in scoring with 14 points.

Hewitt said they prepared for Virginia Tech's zone, but during the game he said "it really bothered us.

"We got some good looks in the first half, didn't capitalize and as can happen this time of the year that rim got small on us."

With their offense misfiring, the Jackets couldn't press. The team that led the ACC this season in turnovers forced (16.7 per game) and steals created (9.7 per game) caused the Hokies to make only 13 turnovers and had only seven steals. They also made too many fouls at inopportune times, gifting the Hokies three-point plays often in the first half.

"Our zone was as active as it's been in two weeks," Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. It was the fewest points scored in the tournament since Virginia posted 41 in 1998. That was also coach Jeff Jones' last game.

Virginia Tech jumped to an 19-point lead in the first half with an 8-0 run to start the game followed by another 8-2 run midway through half. Georgia Tech cut the deficit to 11 on a 3-pointer by Iman Shumpert with 4:07 left. It was his only basket in the half. The Hokies closed the half with six consecutive points, including four from Malcolm Delaney, to push the lead to 17.

Hewitt said the team was getting good looks early and could have come back from the poor start, but they just couldn't make any shots.

Maurice Miller, who played in his last game, said as they fell further behind the team tried to rush things instead of working through their possessions, which put them deeper into a hole.

The Hokies increased the lead to 22 on a Jeff Allen jumper with 12:48 left and stretched it to 24 on an Allen layup four minutes later.

"I thought our effort was good," Shumpert said. "We had good looks, we just didn't knock them down."

Most of the questions after the game were focused on Hewitt's future. He said he feels embraced by the Georgia Tech community. He said he has a good relationship with the Atlanta media, save one person. He talked about the disappointment of this season.

"We didn't accomplish the things that I thought we were capable of accomplishing this year, that's it," he said.

But he talked like a man who plans to use this game and this season as a teaching point for next year's players.

"Maybe the experience of being in this moment, especially for the younger guys, hopefully they understand that regardless of what happened on the last play let's do the same thing we've been practicing and hope for better results."