Georgia Tech Basketball vs Virginia Tech: Preview and Score Prediction
Georgia Tech came close to going on the road and taking down Wake Forest on Saturday evening, but some poor officiating cost the Yellow Jackets a chance at winning back-to-back games for the first time since beating Northeastern and then Georgia. Josh Pastner's team has played well enough to win in their last two games after a nine game losing streak, but can they continue it at home against Virginia Tech tomorrow.
Virginia Tech (15-9, 5-9 ACC) has bounced back from a 1-7 start in conference play to win four of its last six games, including home wins against Duke, Syracuse and Virginia. The fourth win was the Hokies’ first in a road game this season, a 93-87 decision Saturday at Notre Dame. In its 1-7 league start, Virginia Tech lost the seven games by an average of five points. While Virginia Tech's record might not blow you away, they have quality wins over teams like Virginia and Duke (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Winning tomorrow night at home is going to be a challenge for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech is 2-5 against Virginia Tech at McCamish Pavilion, with four of the losses coming by five points or fewer.
Offensively, Virginia Tech is sixth in the ACC in scoring offense and fifth in scoring defense. The Hokies are second in the ACC in field goal percentage and sixth in field goal percentage allowed, but they are not the strongest three-point shooting team in the ACC, ranking only ninth in three-point percentage. Virginia Tech is also 11th in offensive rebounding in the ACC.
The top scorer for Virginia Tech is Grant Basile, who is the seventh leading scorer in the ACC, averaging 16.3 PPG. Tech is going to need to make it a priority to stop him from taking over the game tomorrow night. Another Virginia Tech player to know will be forward Justyn Mutts. Mutts ranks in the top ten in the conference in both rebounds (7.2) and assists (4.7) per game. He is also second in the ACC in steals per game, averaging 1.6.
In the KenPom Rankings, Virginia Tech ranks 61st in the country, while Georgia Tech is at 206.
Tech is No. 3 in the ACC in three-point defense and is 37th nationally, allowing 30.8 percent from distance. Tech is No. 2 in the ACC in bench scoring, its reserves contributing 20 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season, and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 14 of 25 games (Per Georgia Tech PR).
One of the biggest reasons that Georgia Tech has played well the last three games has been the return of guard Lance Terry.
Since Terry returned from his hamstring injury (last three games), Tech has averaged 68 points per game, connected on 43.2 percent of its shots from the floor and 38.1 percent (24-of-63) of its three-point attempts. In the four games he missed, Tech averaged 53.8 points, hit 34.5 percent of its field goals and 25.2 percent of its threes. Center Ja’von Franklin has averaged 15.3 points and 10.2 rebounds across Tech’s last three games. He has hit 19-of-33 shots from the floor, 8-of-10 from the foul line, and recorded 10 assists, six blocks and four steals. Point guard Deivon Smith is one of 12 ACC players to have a 20-percent defensive rebound rate, according to KenPom. At 6-foot-1, Smith is the shortest of the 12 by six inches and is the only guard (Per Georgia Tech PR)
Virginia Tech has won 22 of 30 all-time meetings with Georgia Tech, including 18 of 25 as a member of the ACC. The Hokies swept the 2021-22 regular-season series from the Yellow Jackets - 81-66 in Blacksburg and 62-58 in Atlanta - after Tech had taken the lone regular-season meetings the two years prior (69-53 in Blacksburg in 2020-21, 76-57 in Atlanta in 2019-20 season, snapping a six-game losing streak in 2019-20 and matching its largest margin of victory in the series) (Per Georgia Tech PR).
How To Watch Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech
Who: Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech
When: 7:00 p.m., Wednesday
Where: McCamish Pavilion
TV: ACC Network
Live Stream: FuboTV (Start your free trial)
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 371, SXM app 371 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
Score Prediction
I don't think it is out of the question that the Yellow Jackets could possibly pull an upset tomorrow. Georgia Tech has played well in the last three games against NC State, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech is not a powerhouse in this year's ACC. That being said, I think the Hokies are the more well-rounded team and fight a way to win in Atlanta tomorrow night.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 66, Virginia Tech 77
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