Naithan George (2) and Kyle Sturdivant (1, below) rank 1-2 in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio in conference games. (photo by Danny Karnik)
While its rival in Charlottesville has built an identity based on stifling defense, Virginia Tech has earned a reputation for clinical offense under fifth-year head coach Mike Young.
The Hokies run a prodigious amount of halfcourt sets, all loaded with misdirections, slips, throwbacks, screen-the-screener actions, and other clever counters. They’ve also traditionally been one of the better screening teams in the ACC, which adds an extra degree of difficulty to defending them. Shooting guard Hunter Cattoor (13.9 ppg) is exceedingly crafty changing speeds around screens, while junior point guard Sean Pedulla (16.1 ppg) leverages pick-and-rolls well. Neither need time or space to get off their shot.
Unlike Pitt, which scored the majority of its points off isolations, most of Virginia Tech’s shots come off rotations and ball reversals. Yet Cattoor, who broke the Virginia Tech school record for career three-pointers earlier this year, has had a curiously tough time finding his rhythm against the Jackets:
Hunter Cattoor – Career 3pt. averages
- vs. Georgia Tech: 23.1%*
- vs. Rest of opponents: 42.6%
*-6 of 26 (4 games)
Virginia Tech has struggled with turnovers at times, but Georgia Tech will need to play with high hands, make hard close outs, and have good “next pass awareness,” which sometimes eluded them against Pittsburgh. They’ll also need to limit the Hokies in transition – Virginia Tech ranks in the 99th percentile in transition offensive efficiency according to Synergy. Underneath, can Tech win 50-50 balls and force one-shot possessions against a Virginia Tech team that doesn’t chart highly in offensive rebounding percentage? They’ll need to wall up and prevent deep seals from center Lynn Kidd (13.0 ppg), who leads the ACC in field goal percentage.
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A sweet-shooting, 6-1 point guard from Oklahoma?
Georgia Tech fans have heard that one before.
But the comparisons between Pedulla, a native of Edmond, and the most famous Oklahoman to roam the ACC, Enid’s Mark Price, run deeper than that. Check out Pedulla and Price’s junior-year averages together:
|
Junior season |
Scoring |
Assists |
| Mark Price |
1984-85 |
16.7 ppg |
4.3 apg |
| Sean Pedulla |
2023-24 |
16.1 ppg |
4.4 apg |
Price was part of the first Georgia Tech team to play at Cassell Coliseum, a first-round loss in the 1984 NIT.
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Georgia Tech would be wise to practice bacon avoidance Saturday.
If an opponent misses two free throws at Cassell Coliseum, everyone in attendance gets a voucher for free bacon, an experience that’s been to known to send Virginia Tech fans into an ear-splitting, pork-induced delirium.
The Hokies may have had their mouths watering after seeing Tech make just 63 percent of its free throws through its first five ACC games, but the Yellow Jackets have tightened up considerably since then. In its last three games, Tech has converted 76.5 percent from the line (39 of 51). They can’t afford empty trips against the Hokies: at 79.9 percent, Virginia Tech ranks second nationally in free throw percentage.
