The Hokies need to win at least two games to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday and the 11th seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are the Hokies first opponent. First round action in the 58th annual ACC Tournament begins tomorrow and the Hokies have the nightcap against Paul Hewitt’s 5-11 squad. Virginia Tech holds an 11-4 all-time series advantage over the Yellow Jackets but can the Hokies pull out of their late season nose dive before its too late?
| Starting Lineups | ||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | Georgia Tech | |||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG |
| G | Green | 6’4” | So. | 11.4 | 2.4 | Miller, M | 6’2” | Sr. | 6.1 | 2.2 |
| G | Delaney | 6’3” | Sr. | 18.8 | 3.5 | Shumpert | 6’5” | Jr. | 17.5 | 6.1 |
| G/F | Bell | 6’7” | Sr. | 7.2 | 5.7 | Morris | 6’5” | Fr. | 6.0 | 2.1 |
| F | Allen | 6’7” | Sr. | 13.8 | 10.0 | Storrs | 6’5” | Sr. | 2.7 | 1.8 |
| F | Davila | 6’8” | Jr. | 7.7 | 5.3 | Miller, D | 6’11” | Fr. | 4.5 | 4.9 |
Game notes:
| Team | VT | GT |
|---|---|---|
| ACC Record | 9-7 | 5-11 |
| RPI | 66 | 162 |
| PPG | 71.1 | 68.6 |
| Opp. PPG | 63.1 | 67.3 |
| Reb. Margin | +2.3 | +1.1 |
| Turn. Margin | +1.8 | +3.0 |
| FG% | 45.6% | 40.8% |
| Def. FG% | 41.3% | 43.9% |
| 3PT% | 33.7% | 30.2% |
- Georgia Tech is 3-11 away from home this season. The Hokies are 8-7 away from Cassell.
- Georgia Tech is 0-7 in games decided by 5 or fewer points.
- The Yellow Jackets’ 3-point field goal defense (38.2%) is 11th worst in the nation.
- Georgia Tech is 4th in the nation with 9.7 steals per game.
- The Hokies have averaged 40 free throw attempts in their last 4 wins over Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets are led by junior guard Iman Shumpert, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists. A fierce defender, Shumpert and Georgia Tech will look to frustrate the Hokies’ guards, who shot 6-of-7 from deep in the last meeting. Wing Glen Rice, Jr. is the team’s second biggest offensive threat, though the Hokies will have to do a better job defending Brian Oliver, who scored 28 against the Hokies in January and returns from injury this week.
Georgia Tech’s only road win in 2011 was an 80-54 win over Wake Forest on March 3rd. The Yellow Jackets’ only other wins away from Atlanta were early season victories over UTEP and Richmond. The Hokies have played once already in Greensboro Coliseum, a 92-70 win over UNC Greensboro back on November 21st. The Hokies shot 53.7% from the field and 25% from three point range in that game.
The Hokies biggest challenge in this game will be maintaining composure against Georgia Tech’s aggressive guards with so much on the line. Georgia Tech is averaging 10 steals per game over their last 5 and the Hokies committed 18 turnovers in their last outing at Clemson. Add in the fact that Jeff Allen is less than 100% going into tomorrow’s game and the Hokies must get no less than an A- outing from the backcourt in this matchup. Not much has changed for the Hokies. When they score more than just 61 points the Hokies are 18-0, when they don’t they’re 1-10. Can the Hokies pull out of their offensive slump? Paul Hewitt’s 69-114 record away from home leads me to believe Virginia Tech will have it’s fair share of chances. Fingers crossed that the Hokies will convert.
Prediction: Hokies 70 Georgia Tech 64
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