Charlottesville, Va. – Freshman Baye Ndongo scored a game-high 21 points to keep Georgia Tech in the game Saturday night, but Virginia made 12 three-point field goals and shot 52 percent to capture a 72-57 victory on its Senior Night at John Paul Jones Arena.
Tech (14-17, 7-13 ACC) finished the regular season with four wins in its last six games to grab the 13th seed in next week’s ACC Tournament. The Yellow Jackets will face 12th-seeded Notre Dame at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The Cavaliers (22-9, 13-7 ACC) locked up the No. 3 seed and a double-bye in the tournament.
The Jackets played the Cavaliers even for the first 11 minutes of the game, but Virginia outscored Tech 23-9 over the final nine minutes of the first half, making their last six shots of the period to take control of the game heading into the break. The Cavaliers made seven three-point field goals and connected on 54 percent from the floor.
Ndongo, making a late-season push for ACC all-freshman honors, made 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 from the foul like. He came up one rebound shy of his seventh double-double this season, and was the only Yellow Jacket to reach double figures in the game. Freshman Naithan George and senior Kyle Sturdivant each scored eight points and combined for nine assists.
But the Cavaliers held Tech’s leading scorer Miles Kelly scoreless, and limited the Jackets to just 40.4 percent shooting from the floor and 4-of-21 from three-point range.
Virginia was efficient offensively with 18 assists on 29 made field goals and committed just five turnovers. Senior Reece Beekman tied for the game high scoring honor with 21 points and nine assists, while sharpshooter Isaac McKneely scored 16, and Taine Murray added 12.
Baye Ndongo scored a game-high 21 points with nine rebounds. (photo by Keith Lucas)
Post-Game Notes
TEAM NOTES
- Tech won four of its last six games in the regular season and finished in a tie for 12th place in the ACC standings with Notre Dame. Notre Dame received the No. 12 seed in the ACC Tournament on head-to-head record by virtue of its two over the Yellow Jackets on Jan. 9 and Feb. 14. The Jackets and Fighting Irish will face each other in the opening round of the ACC Tournament at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
- Tech is 8-13 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams this season, including Quad 1 wins against Duke, Clemson, North Carolina and Wake Forest (two of those on the road). Tech was 3-14 last season against Quad 1/2 foes.
- Tech enters the ACC Tournament with the same overall record as it did in 2022-23, but made a one-win improvement in its ACC record.
- Six of Tech’s seven ACC wins (exception: Miami) have come against teams in the top half of the ACC standings, all had winning records overall and in conference play.
- Fourteen of Tech’s 20 ACC games have been decided by single digits. Twenty-one of Tech’s 31 games this season have been decided by fewer than 10 points, second-most in the nation, and the Yellow Jackets are 12-9 in these games. Fourteen games have been decided by five points or fewer.
- Tech had averaged 9.1 three-point field goals and connected on 38.1 percent of its three-point tries in road games this season before going 4-for-21 at Virginia. The Jackets finished the regular season at 36.8 percent on the road; Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (47.3 percent) and Miles Kelly (42.3 percent) led the way.
- Tech has out-rebounded each of its last six opponents, and by an average of 11.8 per game – 34-25 over Virginia and Wake Forest), 55-33 against Florida State, 41-34 advantage over Miami, 34-31 against Clemson, 34-31, and 49-28 over Syracuse.
- Tech has made 76.7 percent of its free throws (178-of-232) in its last 10 games, and is 64-of-77 (83.1 percent) over its last four games.
PLAYER NOTES
- Baye Ndongo was Tech’s only double-figure scorer in the game with 21 points, tying for game-high honors and one shy of his career high of 22 at Hawai’i on Dec. 22. It matched his season high against an ACC team (he had 21 vs. Duke on Dec. 2).
- Ndongo has six double-doubles this season and has come up one rebound shy in four more, including Saturday at Virginia, where he took a game-high nine boards.
- Ndongo is one of two freshmen in the nation (JT Toppin of New Mexico is the other) to average at least 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and hit 56.2 percent from the floor.
- Point guards Naithan George and Kyle Sturdivant each scored eight points and combined for nine assists against three turnovers. Sturdivant had no turnovers, his eighth game of zero this year.
- Tech’s leading scorer Miles Kelly was held without a point for the third time this season. He has 1,049 career points and needs seven to take over 43rd place from Ben Lammers (1.055).
Naithan George scored eight points with five assists for the Jackets. (photo by Keith Lucas)
