Five Takeaways After Georgia Tech Picks Up Its Third ACC Win by Defeating Virginia Tech.

Georgia Tech finally ended its four-game losing streak and captured its ninth win of the season after defeating Virginia Tech at home. It was an impressive night on the offensive end for the Yellow Jackets as they finished 48% from the field in the win. Here are some takeaways from a much-needed win for Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech finally had a nice start to the game- Georgia Tech started the game on a 13-4 run led by Duncan Powell who had eight early points. The Yellow Jackets finished the first half 15-28 from the field and 5-10 from three-point range. The offense looked more in rhythm and the Yellow Jackets were sharing the ball which led to easy baskets around the rim. Georgia Tech finished the first half with 14 assists and 18 for the game. An impressive statistic is that Georgia Tech went through the first 13 minutes of the game with an assist on every shot they made. It wasn't until 6:21 left in the first half when Georgia Tech made a basket that wasn't on an assist. The Yellow Jackets have shown stretches where they can turn it on and be an efficient offense and will need more of it going forward especially early in games.

Georgia Tech's ACC tournament chances- Georgia Tech was nearly a bottom-three team in the ACC heading into tonight’s matchup. A bottom-three team doesn’t get invited to play in the ACC tournament essentially ending your season with the last game and for Georgia Tech that would be on the road against Wake Forest on March 8th. The Yellow Jackets now have their third ACC win and will get six days off to rest and heal up, hopefully getting some of their players back. The Yellow Jackets play better at home and they have better camaraderie when they are playing in front of the Georgia Tech faithful. Georgia Tech will be back in action next Tuesday against Notre Dame in Indiana and will need the same effort we saw on Wednesday night.

Baye Ndongo Bounce Back Game- Ndongo fouled out and finished with only three points in a 91-78 loss to Florida State on Saturday. Tuesday night was a different story. He came up with a huge steal late in the game when Georgia Tech was clinging to a 64-62 lead and was in desperate need of a bucket after the previous two positions had resulted in a bad shot and a turnover. He finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and five steals. It was a great bounce-back game from Ndongo and the Yellow Jackets will need him at this level if they want a chance to compete for a tournament spot.

Yellow Jacket's defense was much better on Tuesday night- When their offense struggled toward the end of the game, the Yellow Jackets used their defense to create deflections and block shots in order to seal the victory. They also held the Hokies' best scorer Tobi Lawal to 13 points on 5-13 shooting. The Hokies were held to just 37.3% shooting from the field and only made 11 field goals in the first half. The Yellow Jackets also forced 17 turnovers and finished with 11 steals in the game. The Hokies never got comfortable and struggled shooting 11-33 from inside the arc on Wednesday night.

Duncan Powell continues to assert himself- Call him Mr. Reliable. Powell got the start for the Yellow Jackets after Lance Terry was ruled out with the flu. Powell has come up big over the last few games offensively for the Yellow Jackets. He set a career-high finishing the game with 23 points and grabbing six rebounds. He was also efficient from the three going 3-4 from deep. It was the seventh career game Powell has scored 20 or more points. Powell has continued to prove that he should see the court more, even when the guys return from injury. In an injury-riddled season, Georgia Tech has needed other guys to step up and Powell has been one of those consistent players for head coach Damon Stoudamire.

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