Virginia vs Georgia Tech Basketball Preview
By Josh Burton
Following a big 65-57 win over rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday night, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team is 12-5, 3-3 in ACC play. They'll now head to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech this Saturday (1/20). The game is scheduled for a 6 pm EST tip and will air on the ACC Network.
About Georgia Tech
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are led by first year head coach Damon Stoudamire, who had been an assistant for the Boston Celtics the last two years. The Jackets are currently 9-8 overall and 2-4 in ACC play, with their most notable victory being over Duke 72-68 in early December. They are coming off a grueling 2OT victory on Tuesday night in which they outlasted Clemson 93-90.
Georgia Tech plays ten players double digit minutes. They have been working different guys in, as they have used nine different players in their starting lineups. In the last contest against Clemson they lined up:
PG - Naithan George (6’3” Freshman) Averages 8.9 points and 4.7 assists per game
G - Miles Kelly (6’6” Junior) Averages 15.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game
G - Kowacie Reeves Jr. (6’7” Junior) Averages 12.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game
F - Baye Ndongo (6’9” Freshman) Averages 12.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game
F - Ebenezer Dowuona (6’11” Senior) Averages 10 minutes per game
Minor Makes Major Impact
Graduate transfer Jordan Minor made his second start for the Wahoos on Wednesday night and gave his best performance to date. Jordan scored 16 points to go along with 5 rebounds while playing solid defense all night. He held his ground against talented Hokie center Lynn Kidd, helping limit him to a season-low 2 points.
Obviously the emergence of Jordan Minor will pay big dividends for a Cavalier team that sorely needed a physical inside presence and scoring threat. Look for him to continue to build on his recent success and continue to provide a big impact.
Dante Returns
Guard Dante Harris made his long awaited return for the Cavaliers on Wednesday night. After suffering an ankle injury in practice leading up to the contest against Texas A&M, he had missed the last 10 games leading up to the Commonwealth Clash. In his return, he scored 5 points while also dishing out 5 assists.
His return gives the Wahoos another badly needed ball handler and also allows Reece Beekman to move off the ball. Dante also offers a quickness that we don’t normally see from UVA players, providing more lineup and matchup flexibility for the young team.
Road Woes
As I mentioned in the Virginia Tech game preview, this year's Wahoos have been noticeably worse on the road. One of the biggest reasons for this is the shooting splits. Second-year Andrew Rohde, for example, has hit 31.1% of his attempts while in JPJ. On the road, however, he is hitting a very dismal 11.8%. While 31% isn’t a good average, the 20% drop-off certainly stands out.
Isaac McKneely is another example of the same pattern. At home, he’s hitting 51.7% on 5.5 attempts per game. Outside of JPJ he’s converted 33.3% on just 4.2 attempts per game. So not only is Isaac shooting a substantially lower percentage, he’s not getting as many shots on the road. Part of this could be opponents' game-planning to limit him. For this team to be as successful as possible, I believe he has to be a major scoring contributor and continue to hunt his shots.
Graduate transfer Jake Groves is the other player whose splits are worth looking at. Groves hits 39.5% on 3.2 attempts from three at home. His percentage on the road actually rises considerably to 55.6%, but he is only attempting 1.8 threes. Jake was brought in for his offensive abilities, particularly his shooting. He needs to get more attempts on the road.
Next Up
After this game the Cavaliers will be back in JPJ, as they look to avenge a loss to NC State. This game will be on Wednesday night (1/24) and tip at 7 pm. Join me in following the Hoos on Locker Room Access!
(Featured Image Credit: Jamie Holt/UVA Athletics)