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What To To Watch For Vs. Virginia Tech

The Battle of the Techs has been one-sided as of late, with the Hokies having won the last 6 matchups. Can the Yellow Jackets break this streak and resume winning ways?

Fresh off of facing back-to-back ACC opponents where it was a rematch from earlier in the season, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-12, 4-7 ACC) have a brand new conference foe waiting for them when they they retake the court. Next up for the Jackets, they have the Virginia Tech Hokies (14-7, 5-6 ACC) waiting for them at McCamish Pavilion. Tip is set for 7:00pm EST on Tuesday, February 4th and can be viewed on the ACC Network.

Here are a couple of the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Tech's 27th all-time matchup with the Hokies:

Roller Coaster First Year

Following the departure of head coach Buzz Williams to Texas A&M after 3 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Hokies found themselves having to find their 5th head coach in this millennium. A year after taking the Wofford Terriers to the Round of 32, coach Mike Young decided he would take his talents to Blacksburg and become the 30th head coach in Hokies history.

The first year under Young has had plenty of peaks and valleys. There have been moments where they look like a top tier ACC, and have conversely at times look like they are barely contending for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Hokies began the season on a six game winning streak, including defeating then #3 Michigan State. However after their 71-66 win over the Spartans, they dropped 3 games in a row - all to top 25 KenPom teams (Dayton, BYU, Duke).

Much like the Ramblin' Wreck, the Hokies will be heading into Tuesday's game in desperate need of a win. Virginia Tech is currently riding a three game losing streak, and have lost 4 of their last 5 games. With Georgia Tech still residing at under .500, motivation is there for both teams to come out on top.

Diaper Dandy

Much like when the Yellow Jackets hosted the Blue Devils & Vernon Carey, Jr. back on January 8th, once again they will have their hands full with one of the younger players on the court.

Virginia Tech freshman guard/forward Landers Nolley II has established himself as one of the most dominant scorers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His 17.5 points per game leads the team and is 4th in the ACC, his 36.1% from beyond the arc is 3rd in the league, and his 79.5% from the charity stripe ranks 9th in the ACC.

As the Hokies have just the 10th ranked scoring offense (70.5 PPG) in the ACC and Nolley II is the only Hokie to average double digit points, slowing him down could be one of the bigger keys to success in this game.

Improve. Adapt. Overcome.

While suffering a pair of losses to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish certainly stings and puts a damper on making a run at the NCAA Tournament, facing them ahead of the Virginia Tech Hokies could have been beneficial for Tuesday's game.

Much like the Irish, the Hokies are also a team with excellent ball handling skills, great shooting, and one that does not foul. Led by the efforts of junior point guard Wabissa Bede (4th ranked A/T ratio in D1), the Hokies commit the 3rd fewest turnovers in the nation (9.8) and are 3rd in the ACC for assists (15.4). Virginia Tech also commits the 16th fewest fouls in the nation, with no one on the roster averaging more than 2 per game.

They also love the perimeter as much as Notre Dame does, if not more. Their 223 made three pointers and 610 attempts both lead the ACC, with their percentage of 36.6% second only to Louisville. The Hokies have two starters and two bench players with at least 30 made threes, so the perimeter will be a factor for all 40 minutes.

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