Virginia begins play in ACC tournament vs. surging Georgia Tech team

No. 4 Virginia vs. Georgia Tech in Washington, 7 p.m. ESPN/NBC29

Virginia clobbered Louisville on senior night, 68-46, getting contributions from every senior, the most noteworthy one being Mike Tobey exploding for 15 points and 20 rebounds. Where has that been his whole career? And of course, walk-on Caid Kirven even got in on the action with a 3-pointer in the final minute, harkening back to the amazing moment two years ago when Thomas Rogers did the same thing against Syracuse. The bench absolutely exploded.

Now, Virginia turns its attention to D.C. and the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers' first opponent, in the quarterfinals, is Georgia Tech, which topped Clemson, 88-85 in overtime, in the second round Wednesday.

The bench had a lot of fun after Cade Kirven's 3 against Louisville.
Photo by Matt Riley, UVa

The Yellow Jackets overcame an 18-point second-half deficit with 9:25 left. Marcus Georges-Hunt led Tech with 28 points, making 16 of his 17 free throws. Adam Smith had 23 points, making 4 of 7 3-pointers. Nick Jacobs added 12 points.

Georgia Tech was one of five ACC teams to hand Virginia a loss this season, way back on Jan. 9, 68-64, in Atlanta. It was in the middle of a troublesome stretch for UVa in which it dropped three of four contests. Tech built a big lead in the first half and led by 11 at the break, 35-24. Virginia tied the game with just over six minutes left, 49-49, on a 3 by Marial Shayok, but the Jackets responded with an 11-0 run that ended up being too much for the Cavaliers to overcome. Georgia Tech got 16 each from Quinton Stephens, Smith, and Jacobs. Stephens made all four of his 3-pointers and Smith made four of nine. Virginia shot just 40 percent and got 19 from Malcolm Brogdon, 13 from London Perrantes, and 11 from Anthony Gill. Virginia made just 4 of 18 3s and probably had its worst free throw shooting game of the season, going 14 of 22 from the stripe.

Both teams are playing better now. After dropping three of four, UVa has gone 11-2 down the stretch of the season with the losses coming on the road to Duke and Miami by a combined four points. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, continued to struggle after the victory over Virginia, losing six of the seven games that followed.

But the Jackets rebounded and have now won seven of their past nine. This recent stretch has even begged the question could the Jackets, now 19-13 overall, make a case for inclusion into the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection. The answer is most likely no, however it is interesting to note they are now up to 63 in the RPI, having just passed Syracuse (64), which was projected to be the last team in the field by ESPN's Joe Lunardi after the Orange lost to Pittsburgh in the ACC tournament Wednesday. In their second-to-last game of the year at Louisville, the Yellow Jackets lost to the Cardinals, 56-53. Had they pulled that upset off, we might actually be talking about a bubble team. Still, should Virginia lose tonight, it will be worth noting to see if Georgia Tech starts to creep on to the bubble for some analysts. It would have one more win to get before getting to the ACC title game, meaning even another possibility to climb. At the very least, this recent run has most likely helped the Yellow Jackets seal an NIT bid and maybe even saved coach Brian Gregory's job. This is easily his most successful season in his five-year tenure, but he's had only one other winning season (a mere 16-15).

If Virginia plays close to the level it has been, I feel pretty good about this game. Georgia Tech should have momentum, but could also be tired after having to rally from a big deficit Wednesday and play overtime. The Yellow Jackets are 7-2 over their past nine games as I mentioned, but they don't have an impressive win away from home during that stretch. Wednesday was a nice victory, and the other wins away from home came at Boston College, which just ended the season as one of the worst ACC teams in history, and at Florida State, which has crumbled down the stretch. A Virginia team that brings at least its B+ game will be a tough challenge for the Jackets.

One thing Virginia must do is clean the glass. Rebounding was a big issue in the last meeting in Atlanta, with Tech grabbing 41 to UVa's 29. Against Clemson, Georgia Tech had 46 rebounds to the Tigers' 28. Tech has been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. Virginia must also guard the 3-point line. The Jackets made eight in the first meeting. Smith is one of the best shooter in the conference. UVa has done a better job guarding the 3-point line in the second half of the year and that must continue.

On offense, Virginia played poorly in Atlanta. Brogdon made just eight of 20 shots, and was 1 of 9 from 3. Perrantes made just 1 of his 4 3s. And I already mentioned the poor free throw shooting. A worse performance on offense from the Wahoos seems unlikely. And what of Tobey? If UVa can get more efforts out of Tobey like the one he had vs. Louisvlle, the sky is the limit for this team.

As long as UVa shakes off any rust early and gives a solid performance, this should be a win. Georgia Tech has impressively turned its season around, but I think the Cavaliers will be a bit too much in front of what will be a pro-Virginia crowd (except for maybe some Virginia Tech fans, who will watch the Hokies take on Miami in the nightcap).

Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.