Georgia Tech to complete regular season at Virgina Saturday night

THE FLATS – Having won four of its last five games, Georgia Tech is closing out its regular season on the road this week, taking on Virginia at 8 p.m. Saturday night at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, the final game of the regular season in the conference.

Tech (14-16, 7-12 ACC) has won three in a row, having defeated Miami (80-76), Florida State (85-76) and Wake Forest (70-69) in the last 10 days. The Jackets have also scored ACC wins over Duke, Clemson (on the road), North Carolina and Syracuse, and are tied for 11th place in the ACC standings with Boston College and Notre Dame entering the final Saturday of the regular season.

Virginia (21-9, 12-7 ACC) has not played since dropping a 73-48 decision last Saturday at Duke. UVA sits alone in third place in the ACC standings, but has lost four of its last six games. including home court defeats to Pittsburgh (74-63) and North Carolina (54-44). The Cavaliers have defeated Wake Forest (49-47) and Boston College (72-68) in that stretch.

Saturday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with a live stream available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available on SiriusXM channel 390 and the SiriusXM app.

WHAT’S AT STAKE SATURDAY

Four of the teams in the bottom five of the ACC standings are on the road Saturday. Georgia Tech is at Virginia, Notre Dame is at Virginia Tech, Miami is at Florida State, and Boston College plays at Louisville.

Tech can be seeded no higher than No. 11 in next week’s ACC Tournament, and no lower than No. 14, which means the Yellow Jackets will play in either the 2 p.m. game (12 seed vs. 13 seed) or the 7 p.m. game (11 vs. 14) in the opening round of next week’s ACC Tournament.

Seed scenarios may all shake out before Tech and UVA, the final game of the day, tip off on Saturday.

· Georgia Tech loses two-way tiebreakers with Boston College and Notre Dame, and wins a two-way tiebreaker with Miami.

· If Miami loses Saturday, it will be the 14 seed.

· If Boston College wins Saturday, it will be the No. 11 seed.

· If Georgia Tech wins and BC and Notre Dame both lose, Tech would be the 11 seed and play either BC, Miami or ND at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

· If BC, Tech and Notre Dame all win Saturday (3-way tie at 8-12), Tech would be the 13 seed because it is 0-3 against the other two. BC is 3-0 vs. the other two and would be the 11th seed, while Notre Dame would be No. 12 (2-2 vs. the other two). Tech would play Notre Dame at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

· If BC, Tech and Notre Dame lose and Miami wins, creating a 4-way tie for 11th at 7-13, Tech would be the 14 seed because it has the worst record against the other three teams (1-3). In that scenario, BC would get the 11 seed, Miami would be 12, Notre Dame 13 and Tech 14. Tech would face BC at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

· Also, if BC wins, Tech and Notre Dame lose and Miami wins, there would a 3-way tie for 12th at 7-13. Tech would be the 14 seed in this scenario (1-2 vs. the other two teams) and play BC at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

THE TIP-OFF

• Georgia Tech is riding a three-game winning streak for the first time since defeating Alabama A&M, Penn State, Massachusetts and Hawai’i in succession in December. Tech finished the regular season with three straight wins last season.

• Tech is 3-6 in ACC road games this season. Another win Saturday would give the Yellow Jackets a 4-6 record, same as its home mark in conference games. The Jackets are 4-8 in road games overall.

• This is the sixth consecutive season Tech has finished the regular season on the road. The last time the Jackets finished with a home game was 2017-18. Further, this is the third straight season that Tech finishes the regular season with TWO road games.

• Fourteen of Tech’s 19 ACC games have been decided by single digits. Twenty-one of Tech’s 30 games overall this season have been decided by fewer than 10 points, second-most in the nation (Tech is 12-9 in these games). Fourteen games have been decided by five points or fewer.

• Tech’s seven ACC wins have been earned by a total of 27 points. The Jackets’ nine-point win over Florida State last Saturday has been its widest margin of victory.

• Tech is 8-12 against Quad 1 (4-5) and Quad 2 (4-7) teams this season, with Quad 1 wins over Duke, Clemson, North Carolina and Wake Forest. Saturday’s game at Virginia represents another Quad 1 opportunity. Tech was 3-14 last season against Quad 1/2 foes.

• Four of Georgia Tech’s ACC wins have come against the ACC’s four highest-ranked teams in the NCAA’s NET rankings – North Carolina (9), Duke (10), Clemson (24) and Wake Forest (42). Virginia (50) is the next highest.

• Miles Kelly (14.6 ppg) leads three Yellow Jackets averaging in double figures this season, including freshman forward Baye Ndongo (11.7) and junior guard Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (10.1). Tech’s other rotation player averaged between 4.8 and 9.4 points per game.

• Tech has started two freshmen – Baye Ndongo and point guard Naithan George – in its last 26 games. The Jackets have not had two freshmen in its regular starting lineup since the 2018-19 season (Michael Devoe, Khalid Moore), and have not had a freshman regularly start at point guard since Jose Alvarado in 2017-18.

SERIES VS. VIRGINIA

• Virginia has won the last 11 games in the series, and 19 of the last 21 meetings to move ahead 48-40 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1947.

• The Cavaliers won the first meeting of the 2023-24 season in Atlanta by a 75-66 score.

• Tech is just 1-10 at John Paul Jones Arena and has lost on its last nine trips to Charlottesville. The Jackets’ last win on the Cavaliers’ home court was Jan. 27, 2008, a 92-82 overtime decision.

• The Yellow Jackets were 10-16 against Virginia at University Hall, the Cavaliers’ former home court, Tech’s best winning percentage on any ACC foe’s home court.

• Since Tech joined the ACC, the Yellow Jackets are 38-47 against Virginia.

• Tony Bennett is 18-2 vs. Tech.

• Tech has failed to score 50 points in six of the 20 meetings against Bennett’s Virginia teams. Tech’s high of 75 came in the very first meeting in 2010.

• Tech and Virginia have played to overtime seven times since the 1983-84 season, including a 72-71 triple-overtime win for Tech in Atlanta on Jan. 23, 1984, and an 88-85 double-overtime triumph for Virginia in Charlottesville on Jan. 22, 1995.