Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Game Preview, Score Prediction

The Cavaliers once again look to earn their first road win of the season as they battle the Yellow Jackets on Saturday night in Atlanta

Hoping to capitalize on the momentum of its rivalry win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Virginia once again searches for its first road victory of the season as the Cavaliers head down to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech on Saturday night. 

Read on a for a full preview of Virginia at Georgia Tech, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a prediction for Saturday night's matchup. 

See our live blog for Virginia's game at Georgia Tech here: Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Live Updates | NCAA Men's Basketball

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (12-5, 3-3 ACC) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-8, 2-4 ACC)

When: Saturday, January 20th at 6pm ET

Where: McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Georgia

How to watch: ACC Network

How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

How to listen: SiriusXM 381, SXM App 971 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates

All-time series: Virginia leads 47-40

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Georgia Tech 74-56 on December 31st, 2022 in Atlanta. 

Game Notes

• Virginia owns a 47-40 advantage over Georgia Tech in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1947-1948 season. 
• Georgia Tech is 24-16 against Virginia in Atlanta, but the Yellow Jackets haven't defeated the Cavaliers since 2016. 
• Virginia comes into this game riding a 10-game winning streak against Georgia Tech, including four-straight victories at McCamish Pavilion. 
• Georgia Tech's last victory over Virginia came on January 9th, 2016 in Atlanta. 
• Virginia has won 18 of the last 20 games against Georgia Tech. 
• UVA is 17-2 against Georgia Tech under Tony Bennett. 
• Virginia is 2-5 away from home this season and 0-4 in true road games.

Opponent Scouting Report: Georgia Tech

2022-2023: 15-18, 6-14 ACC
2023-2024: 9-8, 2-4 ACC

The Josh Pastner era of Georgia Tech basketball is over after seven seasons. There wasn't much success for the program in that period with the exception of an aberration in 2021, when the Yellow Jackets won the ACC Tournament title thanks in part to not having to play No. 1 seed Virginia, who bowed out of the semifinals due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team, giving Georgia Tech a free pass to the title game. 

Now, Georgia Tech is looking to turn over a new leaf under new head coach Damon Stoudamire, who returned to the college ranks after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant with the Boston Celtics. The Yellow Jackets suffered a couple of humbling early losses this season, one to UMass Lowell and then a 35-point blowout at Cincinnati, but bounced back in a big way with back-to-back impressive home victories over then-No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 7 Duke. 

It's been up and down since then, with Georgia Tech losing to Georgia, Nevada, Florida State, Boston College, Notre Dame, and then Duke in the rematch, but also picking up wins over Penn State and at Clemson in double overtime last Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets have had 12 games determined by single digits this season, including two overtime games. Georgia Tech certainly has experience in games coming down to the wire. 

Georgia Tech is led by three double-digit scorers: Miles Kelly, Kowacie Reeves, and Baye Ndongo. A 6'4" junior guard and a key holdover from last year's team, Miles Kelly paces the Yellow Jackets in scoring at 15.5 points per game. He is a much improved rebounder as a guard, collecting more than six boards per game, but his three-point shooting is way down, currently shooting 28.0% as compared to 37.9% last season. 

Kowacie Reeves transferred from Florida and, conversely to Kelly, has blossomed as a three-point shooter this season, knocking down 41.9% of his triples, up from 26.2% a season ago. The 6'6" junior guard is averaging 12.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and hit five threes in Georgia Tech's win at Clemson on Tuesday. 

Baye Ndongo is the third piece of Georgia Tech's leading trio. A 6'9" freshman from Senegal, Ndongo is averaging a near double-double at 12.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and also serves as a capable rim protector, blocking 1.3 shots per contest. And although he rarely takes threes, Ndongo is capable of stretching the floor as a 37.5% three-point shooter. 

After not playing in the first three games of the season, 6'3" freshman guard Naithan George has started the last 13 games and has established himself as the team's top offensive facilitator, averaging 4.7 assists to go along with 8.3 points per game. 

Georgia Tech has rotated its starting lineups quite a bit, with 6'11" senior forward Ebenezer Dowuona, a transfer from NC State, starting nine games. The Yellow Jackets have two experienced guards coming off the bench in 6'2" senior Kyle Sturdivant, who averages 7.8 points per game and shoots 34.2% from three, and 6'6" junior Dallan "Deebo" Coleman, who averages 7.5 points per game and shoots 36.8% from beyond the arc. Georgia Tech has ten players averaging double-digit minutes played per game, including a pair of transfer forwards in Tyzhaun Claude (Western Carolina) and Tafara Gapare (UMass), who offer depth in the front court. 

What to Watch For

Minor's emergence and Harris' return sparking a shift for Virginia?

Prior to Wednesday's win over Virginia Tech, UVA had largely played bad basketball for more than a month, with its only wins coming against bad teams. Virginia Tech was the first halfway decent team the Cavaliers had defeated since early December and it was the return of Dante Harris, who had been out since November 22nd with an ankle sprain, and the emergence of Jordan Minor as a possibly reliable force at center that sparked the victory. Now, the question is can Virginia ride the momentum of those personnel changes to exorcise its road demons?

Read more: Patience Pays Off for Jordan Minor in Breakout Game Against Virginia Tech

Rebounding battle

There are few things that Georgia Tech does exceptionally well but one of them is rebounding. The Yellow Jackets are third in the ACC in overall rebounding and second in offensive rebounds. Virginia, meanwhile, is dead last in the conference in rebounding (a stat that is somewhat watered down by UVA's slow pace of play, but is still damning), and has had problems keeping opponents off the offensive glass. Jordan Minor and the rest of the Cavalier front court will have to be disciplined in their box outs to limit Georgia Tech's second-chance opportunities. 

And again... can they do it on the road?

Virginia owns the nation's longest home winning streak at 20-straight victories at John Paul Jones Arena, including a 10-0 mark at home this season. But the Cavaliers have been Jekyll and Hyde this year, with their disastrous alter ego coming out on the road, going 0-4 in true road games this season and losing those games by wide margins. Saturday's game at Georgia Tech is a golden opportunity for UVA to put an end to that trend. 

Prediction

I've gotten burned picking the Cavaliers on the road this season. But the return of Dante Harris and the possibility of Jordan Minor giving Virginia a semi-consistent answer in the front court could be a sign that perhaps UVA is ready at last to turn a corner. The first evidence to support that notion will come Saturday, as the Cavaliers finally bring something closely resembling their A-game on the road for the first time all year. 

Score prediction: Virginia 64, Georgia Tech 58

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