Georgia Tech Loses Regular Season Finale vs Virginia 72-57; Yellow Jackets Will Face Notre Dame in 1st round of ACC Tournament
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Georgia Tech had a huge opportunity to get a road win vs Virginia and end their regular season on a four-game winning streak heading into the ACC Tournament. Charlottesville has not been kind to the Yellow Jackets over the years, but Damon Stoudamire's team was hoping to change that.
Unfortunately for Stoudamire and his team, they had their winning streak snapped tonight vs the Cavaliers. A turnover-prone first half, poor three-point shooting, and a scoreless night from Miles Kelly prevented Georgia Tech from being able to come back from a 14-point deficit. Virginia's defense was as advertised and the Yellow Jackets could not get close in the second half.
Let's recap a tough night in Charlottesville.
There were no changes to the starting lineup for Georgia Tech today. Nait George, Miles Kelly, Kowacie Reeves, Tafara Gapare, and Baye Ndongo were the first five on the floor.
The Yellow Jackets were going up against the ACC's top defense and they were going to have to make the most out of every possession and be sure to keep the turnovers to a minimum. Georgia Tech committed 17 in the win against Wake Forest, but they could not afford that against a disciplined Virginia team.
Turnovers were an issue throughout the first half for Georgia Tech.
Both offenses got off to a good start and nine minutes in, the game was tied 12-12. Ndongo was scoring early and the Yellow Jackets were finding their spots against the Cavalier's defense.
Then the same problems started to rear their head.
UVA went on a 6-0 run to take a 21-15 lead and Georgia Tech was already up to seven turnovers, which led to 10 points for Virginia.
Georgia Tech's offense also had a hard time scoring over the last seven minutes of the first half and UVA led 38-24. It was not hard to see why Virginia held the advantage either.
Georgia Tech committed nine turnovers in the first half, which led to 15 points for Virginia. The Yellow Jackets were also 1-8 from three while Virginia was 7-14. Three-point shooting was a reason Georgia Tech upset Wake Forest on Tuesday, but it was non-existent in the first half.
Georgia Tech Forward Baye Ndongo vs Virginia
The second half was not much different for the Yellow Jackets. Virginia controlled the rest of the game and won 72-57. Georgia Tech's three-game winning streak was snapped and they went into their first-round ACC Tournament matchup against Notre Dame coming off of a loss.
For the game, Georgia Tech shot 40% from the field, but just 19% (4-21) from three. Miles Kelly was held scoreless for the third time this season. The Yellow Jackets only committed three turnovers in the second half, but could not generate enough offense or get stops for it to matter. Ndongo finished with 21 points on 8-12 shooting and nine rebounds. No other Georgia Tech player was in double digits.
After the game, Stoudamire said that Kelly had been playing with a bad back and that he decided to sit him in the second half due to it.
Virginia shot 52% from the field and 46% (12-21) from three. When your opponent hits eight more threes than you do, it is going to be tough to win no matter what.
Georgia Tech will face Notre Dame on Tuesday at 2:00 in the opening game of the 2024 ACC Tournament. The Yellow Jackets were 0-2 vs the Fighting Irish this year but lost both games by a combined 10 points.
