UVa wrecks the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech

Virginia 70, Georgia Tech 38

The Cavaliers had no problems Thursday night against the Yellow Jackets, dominating from the very beginning and stomping Ga. Tech 70-38. A week off after the tough Duke loss didn't seem to make UVa rusty. Rather, the Hoos looked quite sharp, winning an ACC game by their biggest margin since 1991 when they beat N.C. State 104-72. Tech led 3-2 but it was all Virginia the rest of the way.

UVa took care of business by shooting 48.3 percent from the field while holding the Jackets to a paltry 29.2 percent. Virginia made five 3-pointers while Tech made just one. Sammy Zeglinski, who had a rough shooting night and finished with zero points against Duke, hit two 3s and finished with 10 points. Mike Scott led the way once again with 18 points, and Joe Harris added 16 for the Cavaliers.

Assane Sene rolled his right ankle near the end of the first half trying to block a Georgia Tech shot. It looked pretty bad, and I'd have to guess he'll be out for at least the Virginia Tech game on Sunday and probably longer than that. Virginia held up well without Sene, but still, he is a big key to that interior defense and his presence will definitely be missed.

Darion Atkins and Akil Mitchell will need to fill the void left by Sene and while I'm not sure if they can provide what Sene did on defense (although Atkins is a terrific shot blocker who had two swats in this game), they should be able to hold their own and probably are better offensive weapons than Sene so hopefully things will balance out there.

Atkins had a great steal in the second half and cruised in for a dunk. It looked like it took him just two steps to go from just outside the arc to the basket for the slam. He has great athletic ability.

Paul Jesperson hit two 3s, both in the second half and both while the game was out of reach. He also made a couple bad decisions and had a couple turnovers but it was good to see him shoot confidently and play some extended minutes in the blowout.

Jontel Evans had six points and two steals and did a great job of penetrating all game.

It was a spectacular all-around effort for Virginia. The team clicked on offense for the first time in a long time. UVa is going to be extremely hard to beat with defense like this and when it can score 70 points. Hopefully the Hoos can keep it up on both sides of the floor. In a game where the Cavs could have been looking ahead to the rivalry with Virginia Tech on Sunday and finding it hard to get in zone after a week off, they instead came to Atlanta with a business-like attitude and quickly dispatched of the Jackets.

As I've noted, Virginia gets to play Virginia Tech next at home on Sunday at 6 p.m., a game I'll be at (yes, I'll be missing the AFC and NFC championship games, it was a tough call, but one I had to make -- and that's why they invented DVR). The Hokies lost, 82-68, tonight to North Carolina in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech played well in the first half and led the Tar Heels 39-34 at the half but UNC won the second half 48-29, a period that included a 19-0 run for the Heels. Virginia Tech is now 0-4 in the ACC. The Hokies could be desperate for a victory Sunday or just give up. It's a rivalry and I expect the Hokies to come out fighting.