Virginia cannot afford to lay another egg this weekend with Georgia Tech in JPJ to close out the 2023-2024 regular season.
Now, here’s the not fun part of the story of this game: Georgia Tech is not going to just lay down for the good guys.
This is a Tech team that beat Duke at home, lost by five at Duke in the return match, won in two OTs at Clemson, beat UNC at home, and, oh, yeah, the Yellow Jackets are on a three-game winning streak, which includes a one-point win at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
Be afraid; be very, very afraid.
Georgia Tech rotation
It’s not a stat-heavy group.
Three guys average in double-digits in scoring:
- 6’6” junior Miles Kelly (14.6 ppg, 5.8 rebs/g, 37.7% FG, 33.2% 3FG)
- 6’9” freshman Baye Ndongo (11.7 ppg, 8.2 rebs/g, 55.7% FG)
- 6’7” junior Kowacie Reeves (10.1 ppg, 4.1 rebs/g, 41.6% FG, 39.1% 3FG)
Ndongo, in the 75-66 loss to Virginia on Jan. 20, had the best numbers of those three: 15 points (6-of-7 FG, 3-of-4 FT) and five rebounds.
The point guard, 6’3” freshman Naithan George (9.4 ppg, 4.6 assists/g, 41.1% FG, 29.7% 3FG), had a big game in that one: 15 points (4-of-8 FG, 1-of-4 3FG, 6-of-6 FT) and nine assists.
Tafara Gapare (5.2 ppg, 3.4 assists/g, 35.5% FG, 17.4% 3FG), a 6’9” sophomore UMass transfer, has been getting more minutes of late, and been productive with them (8.7 ppg, 42.3% FG, 22.2% 3FG in his last three games).
Also be on the lookout for 6’3” senior Kyle Sturdivant (8.8 ppg, 2.8 assists/g, 41.3% FG, 39.4% 3FG) who had eight points (3-of-9 FG, 2-of-6 3FG) in the loss to Virginia, and has averaged 12.8 points per game (39.6% FG, 44.8% 3FG) in his last five games.
How Virginia matches up
Georgia Tech led the first matchup by 11 midway through the first half before Virginia seized control with a big, extended run.
Isaac McKneely (20 points, 7-of-13 FG, 6-of-9 3FG) and Reece Beekman (19 points, 7-of-16 FG, 2-of-6 3FG, 11 assists) were, shocker here, the guys who put the points on the board.
Jordan Minor (11 points, 4-of-5 FG, 3-of-6 FT) and Ryan Dunn (nine points, 4-of-4 FG, 1-of-1 3FG, 0-of-2 FT, 10 rebounds, three blocks) also had strong outings.
Virginia shot 50 percent from the floor overall and was 11-of-23 from three in the win, and the D forced a lot of long-range misses from Tech (9-of-27 from three).
It will be incumbent for Beekman to keep George out of the lane – nine assists and six free-throw attempts is several too many of each for Virginia’s liking.
I see Tony Bennett going with Dunn on Ndongo to keep the freshman from having the kind of impact that he had in Atlanta in January.
The big question for the ‘Hoos: can they get enough offense?
Virginia has been in the 40s in four of its last five games.
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Chris Graham
