Looking at Georgia Tech’s matchup with No. 16 Virginia.
Objective: 60
Getting to 60 points will be an accomplishment for Tech. Virginia holds teams to an average of 53.5 points per game. The output for the Cavaliers’ six ACC opponents:
- Louisville, 53 points
- Florida State, 60 points
- Pittsburgh, 88 points (70 in regulation)
- Wake Forest, 62 points
- Clemson, 70 points
- Boston College, 54 points.
In the last game, the Cavaliers held Boston College to 38.5 percent shooting from the field and coach Tony Bennett’s assessment was that they “still have room for improvement.”
Tech has been much better in its past three games than it was in its first three ACC games – 74 points and 47 percent shooting from the field compared to 60.7 points and 37 percent shooting – but the huge caveat is that the Jackets’ first three opponents (North Carolina, Duke and Louisville) were much, much better defensively than the past three (Clemson, N.C. State and Virginia Tech).
Virginia will be a good litmus test, particularly for point guard Josh Heath. His past three games have been probably the best three-game stretch of his career. He’ll be relied on to help manage the Jackets’ offense, avoid turnovers and create good shots, tasks that figure to be considerably harder than they were against N.C. State, for instance.
Where Cavs might be weak
Virginia could potentially be vulnerable from beyond the 3-point arc, which, unfortunately for the Jackets, isn’t necessarily their strength. Pitt made 13 of 21 3-pointers. Florida State was 8-for-15. That said, Louisville was 2-for-14 and Boston College was 5-for-20.
Forward Quinton Stephens has been hot in his 3-point shooting in the past three games, but he’ll likely get little space. It’ll be incumbent on Heath and center Ben Lammers to find him either on drive-and-dish passes or kickouts from the post. Tech could very much use a big game from him.
Tough, tough matchup
If it hasn’t been made clear, this is a really tough assignment for Tech. The Jackets are 18-point underdogs. The website kenpom.com gives them a six percent chance of winning. Tech’s history doesn’t help. In the Jackets’ past two visits to John Paul Jones Arena, they endured two of the most thorough defeats of the Brian Gregory era – 82-54 in 2013 and 57-28 in 2015. The latter was the fewest points that Tech had scored in a game since the 1946-47 season. The last time the teams played was last season’s ACC tournament, a 72-52 defeat in the quarterfinals.
On the TV
The great Wes Durham will be calling the game for the ACC Network, accompanied by Jason Capel. You can watch the game in Atlanta on Peachtree TV. If you’re wondering, there’s a show about Johnny Carson following the game.
Per usual, the duo of Andy Demetra and Randy Waters will call the game on the Tech radio network.
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