ESPN’s BPI Sees A Close Matchup Between Georgia Tech and Virginia Today

Georgia Tech will take on Virginia in the second round of the ACC tournament early Wednesday Afternoon. Georgia Tech is coming off a season-low 43 points against Wake Forest in one of their worst performances of the season, especially after a particularly hot stretch that saw them win seven of nine games. The Yellow Jackets struggled with turnovers, registering 16 in the game, which led to 23 points for the Demon Deacons, and also lost the rebounding battle, which is rare for a Damon Stoudamire-coached team. Georgia Tech also struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 3-23 from long range and not finding a rhythm. They will face a familiar foe in Charlotte on Wednesday.  

Virginia took the earlier matchup 75-61 at John Paul Jones Arena, a place where Georgia Tech has struggled and is just 1-12 at that gymnasium. Tech has historically struggled against the Cavaliers with their last win coming in 2008.

The Cavaliers are led by Isaac McKneely who leads the team in scoring (14.0 PPG) and is top three beyond the arc shooting the three at a 41% clip. In the previous matchup against the Yellow Jackets, McKneely finished with 20 points on 8-14 shooting and knocked down four three-pointers. McKneely is capable of exploding for high-scoring outputs if he gets in a rhythm. It will be important the Yellow Jackets try to make it tough for him on Wednesday. 

ESPN’s BPI is currently split on the matchup. Georgia Tech is given a 50.7 to win on a neutral court against the Cavaliers. Georgia Tech has fallen five spots since its 69-43 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday and is ranked as the No. 97 team in the country according to BPI. 

An area to watch in this game will be the rebounding battle. Georgia Tech is a top unit in the ACC and when you look at the matchup they get on average about 37 rebounds a game compared to 29 for the Cavaliers. Ibrahim Souare is a player where the light bulb is starting to click as he comes on late in the season and is providing valuable minutes for the Yellow Jackets. His rebounding and finishing around the rim will be a thing to watch. He finished last game with eight points and 11 rebounds. 

We would be remiss if we didn’t bring up one of the best players in the ACC, Baye Ndongo. 
Ndongo had an incredible second half of the season that saw him be named third-team All-ACC. He averaged 14.4 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game against ACC competition. The ACC had little to no answers for Ndongo as he got 10 of his 12 double-doubles against the ACC. Ndongo is currently 13.6 points per game and 9.1 rebounds for Georgia Tech. 

Nait George was named All-ACC honorable mention after continuing to improve this season. He is ranked top 12 in the country with 6.5 assists. George is also the third-leading scorer for the Yellow Jackets averaging 12.4 points per game. George had an incredible four-game stretch where he scored 20 points in each game, including a season-high 28 points against No. 10 Clemson in a triple-overtime victory. That stretch saw him be named ACC Player of the Week for his performances. George is a pivotal part of the success of this team especially when they are struggling from the field. George will need to be assertive and continue to set the table for the Yellow Jackets if they want to make some noise in the ACC tournament. 

This is it for the Yellow Jackets, if they want any chance at the tournament, which is slim, they have to run the table and pick up more victories and win to secure an automatic bid. It certainly won’t be easy but it is March and anything can happen. Just look at NC State last year and their incredible run. Let the madness begin.

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