Tech would match its longest win streak of the season with a win Saturday. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Georgia Tech hasn’t escaped Tony Bennett just yet.
Virginia’s legendary head coach, who retired in October following 364 wins and six ACC regular season titles, was an annual tormentor of the Jackets over his 15 seasons in Charlottesville. He’ll be honored on Saturday as part of a halftime ceremony, and his presence should only supercharge a Virginia team that’s coming off its best win of the season, a 73-57 drubbing at Pittsburgh in which it shot a season-high 56 percent.
The Cavaliers still run a mover-blocker offense under interim head coach Ron Sanchez, a patient system that features constant cuts, flares and pindown screens to free up shooters. Shooting guard Isaac McKneely (13.1 ppg, 41% 3pt FG) is a fluid manipulator of screens who can catch a heater like few players in the ACC. Guard Andrew Rohde has dished out 24 assists and 1 turnover in his last four games. Senior guard Taine Murray has made 9 of his last 12 threes. Dai Dai Ames poured in a career-high 27 points against Pitt and gives Virginia some much-needed twitch off the dribble.
After a five-game ACC losing streak, the Cavaliers are back to playing with conviction and ball movement – and they’ve done it without their second leading scorer in 6-8, 240-pound Elijah Saunders, who has missed the last three games with a foot injury.
Virginia has posted its three highest offensive efficiency ratings of the season over the last three games. Georgia Tech held Clemson, which ranked 22nd in the nation in offensive efficiency, to a season-low 36.4% from the field. Can the Jackets stay attached from Virginia’s cutters? Can they play well in gaps to recover on the Cavaliers’ three-point shooters? Can they stay disciplined late in possessions and not allow offensive rebounds? Pay attention to those areas on Saturday.
In the last four games, Georgia Tech will have faced the ACC’s top four three-point shooters.
They’ve held them to 28% from deep (7-of-25).
| ACC LEADERS – 3pt.% |
|
|
| Player |
3pt.% |
vs. Georgia Tech |
| Chase Hunter (CLEM) |
43.80% |
4-12 |
| Isaac McKneely (UVA) |
41.50% |
? |
| Reyne Smith (LOU) |
39.50% |
1-6 |
| Braeden Shrewsberry (ND) |
36.70% |
2-7 |
McKneely has only gone 4-for-15 over his last two games, but he’s cooked the Jackets for 59% three-point shooting during his career (13-of-22). At 37.6%, the Cavaliers rank 33rd nationally in three-point percentage.
As a sophomore in high school, Baye Ndongo’s head coach at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y., was former Virginia center Assane Sene, like Ndongo a native of the Senegal.
Stoudamire said his sophomore is “getting his pop back,” and his rebounding numbers have started to reflect that:
Baye Ndongo – Rebounds per game (ACC)
- First 6 games: 3 rpg
- Last 6 games: 7 rpg
Ndongo put together two solid performances against Virginia last year, averaging 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds on 73.7% field goal shooting. He’ll duel against 6-11 sophomore Blake Buchanan, who posted a double-double against Pitt, and 6-10, 250-pound redshirt freshman Anthony Robinson, who added a season-high 9 points and 6 rebounds against the Panthers.
A native of Peachtree City, Ga., Robinson is the son of former Georgia Tech defensive tackle Tony Robinson (1997-00). Tony played in Tech’s largest come-from-behind win in school history, when the Jackets rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat… Virginia.
