TV: ACCN
2 Likes
Here’s our chance to get a 7-game win streak, which we haven’t done all season
(It’s not easy to get to 22-3 without a 7-game win streak)
4 Likes
Must win for seeding purposes. I wasn’t aware how terrible GT is. Probably have a 5 seed ceiling if we lose this and it would help to not play another close game as well
3 Likes
Kinda obvious given the relative rankings, but this is a good matchup for us.
GT does things the hard way on offense, lots of mid-range shots, post-ups, and very little number of 3s (32% of FGA). The shot types they get are the ones our defense wants to let opponents have (“tough twos” as Malik put it in the OSU postgame). Ndongo and Reeves are their best options. Past UVA teams have made Ndongo look like an ACC first teamer because they’ve had trouble against his postups, but we have been stout in the post this season.
Defense-wise, they are a solid rim protection team (55% at rim, 49% on 2s overall) but middling elsewhere. Notre Dame and Stanford thrashed them on the offensive boards recently. They are small at the 4 80% of the time with the 6’5-6’6” wing crew of Reeves, Craft, and Mustaf all seeing time there; Ndongo only gets a little time there. TDR should have an advantage. They’ve gotten hurt by transition offense at times, so would be a good game to push the pace off of their turnovers (18% rate this season).
6 Likes
Big difference in average age between the 2 lineups as well. I watched them yesterday and they looked like a young team - skinny, unsure, and a bit of the Bambi look. They are quick and fairly athletic.
2 Likes
Yeah, this feels like a game where we have a real chance to get the offense clicking a bit. We have some mismatches at the wing, as you point out, and other than rim protection, they don’t play a lot of defense–particularly lately. In their last five games, they’ve given up 91, 90, 95, 83, 89 pts–all in regulation. And while they rebound reasonably well on defense, our offensive rebounding should prevail.
2 Likes
Daaamn. Now I’m looking forward to this one! Let’s get our offense back on track before the mostly-home stand to finish the season.
1 Like
LOL 
Now you jinxed it. Final score: UVA 62, GA Tech 46.
1 Like
No, we’ll still put up 89 points. But they’ll put up 83, and we’ll pull away in the last minute.