The Virginia Cavaliers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets meet Wednesday in ACC Tournament college basketball action from Spectrum Center. Here’s a Georgia Tech vs Virginia prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Georgia Tech vs Virginia pick.
Virginia Cavaliers Betting Preview
It’s been a pretty up-and-down season for the Cavaliers so far, and they’ve been unable to maintain a .500 record so far this year. Virginia kicked things off on an 8-5 run over their first 13 games. The losses in that time came versus Tennessee, St. John’s, Florida, SMU and Memphis. A losing streak came afterward versus Louisville, Cal, Stanford, SMU and Louisville again. The Cavaliers would go 5-2 in their next seven games with losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech amid wins over Boston College, Miami, Pitt, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Since then it’s been a 2-4 stretch with wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. The losses otherwise were versus Duke, North Carolina, Clemson and Syracuse. In total the Cavaliers have a 15-16 record across 31 games this year so far.
In their latest matchup versus Syracuse over the weekend, the Cavaliers came into the second half with a 43-26 deficit. Virginia got better from there on a 44-41 run but ended up losing by a fairly sizable 84-70 margin. Jacob Cofie led the team off the bench with 13 points, four rebounds and one steal in 23 minutes of action. Dai Dai Ames added 10 points with one assist and one steal in 33 minutes of work to lead the starters, and Elijah Saunders chipped in nine points with three rebounds in 17 minutes of work.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Betting Preview
Over on the Yellow Jackets’ side, they’ve followed a similar trajectory in the record column so far this year, with a slightly higher success rate. Georgia Tech hit a 5-7 run in their first dozen outings though, falling to North Florida, Georgia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Northwestern and Duke in that time. After wins over Alabama A&M, Notre Dame and Boston College the Yellow Jackets fell to Syracuse, SMU, Clemson and Florida State. Since then Georgia Tech has four losses versus Notre Dame, Virginia, Boston College and Wake Forest. Otherwise it’s been wins over Virginia Tech, Louisville, Clemson, Stanford, Cal, Pitt, NC State and Miami in that time. That gives the Yellow Jackets a 16-15 overall record in their 31 appearances so far this season.
Matched up against Wake Forest over the weekend, the Yellow Jackets were blitzed 34-15 in the first half alone. Georgia Tech didn’t get any closer on a 35-28 run from there and took the loss in the end 69-43. Baye Ndongo was the only starter in double-figures with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks for a double-double. Jaeden Mustaf added 12 points with one assist and one steal, while Ibrahim Souare added eight points with 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of work during the defeat.
Why the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will win
- Virginia has lost six of its last seven day games.
- Georgia Tech has won each of its last five Wednesday games.
- Virginia has lost the first half in six of its last seven day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Virginia Cavaliers will win
- Virginia has won each of its last 13 games against Georgia Tech.
- Georgia Tech has lost each of its last three games played at neutral venues.
- Georgia Tech has lost the first half in 11 of its last 12 games against the Atlantic Coast Conference at neutral venues.
Total Points Facts
- Twenty-three of Georgia Tech’s last 25 day games have produced a total of 131+ points.
- Each of Virginia’s last five day games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 143+ points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Virginia ranks 362nd among Division 1 teams for pace this season (61.0).
- Virginia ranks 359th among Division 1 teams for field goal attempts per game this season (51.5).
Georgia Tech vs Virginia Prediction
I’ll try Georgia Tech in this one, but obviously you could make a case either way. If both teams play to their capabilities, this will be a great (and close) matchup. The Yellow Jackets do need a bounce-back effort after falling to Wake Forest over the weekend, though. Georgia Tech put up a miserable 29.6 percent shooting from the field with 3-of-23 (13 percent) from 3-point range and 16 turnovers for 23 Deacons points in that one. If there’s good news, it’s that the Jackets held Wake to just 38.1 percent shooting on the other side and played pretty competitively on the boards (a 42-40 deficit).
These teams last met on February 8 in a 75-61 road loss for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech needs to show some life offensively in this rematch, so it’ll be important for them to get off to a good start on the scoreboard.