Georgia Tech (7-3, 3-1 ACC) at No. 13 Virginia (9-2, 5-0 ACC)

8 p.m., ACC Network

After yet another COVID-related cancellation, Virginia returns to the court for the first time in a week when the Hoos host Georgia Tech at JPJ tomorrow night.

UVa’s blowout win at Clemson left the Cavaliers as the last remaining team unbeaten in league play. After its game against NC State on Wednesday was postponed, UVa will now square off against a Yellow Jackets’ team that is just coming off of a long COVID pause of their own.

Georgia Tech went 17 days without a game, pausing from January 3rd until returning to action on Wednesday night. A comfortable win over Clemson gave GT three straight conference wins heading into Saturday’s contest.

Georgia Tech’s lone ACC loss came at FSU, and since then the Jackets have earned wins over UNC, Wake Forest, and Clemson, with the last two coming by 16 and 18 point margins, respectively. They started the season off on the wrong foot, opening with losses to Georgia State and Mercer, but since then have been on a roll. GT knocked off struggling Kentucky in non-conference play and also took down Nebraska in the ACC/B1G Challenge before focus turned to league play.

Virginia has dominated Georgia Tech in recent years, with six straight victories and nine wins in the last 10 meetings. And at home, UVa has held an even more lopsided edge in the series: The Jackets have won just one time since JPJ opened in 2006-07 and haven’t won in Charlottesville in nearly 13 years.

Georgia Tech has what could be described as a balanced statistical profile, solid if unspectacular on both ends of the floor. On offense, the Jackets rank 45th nationally in efficiency and are a Top-100 team in most categories. Their 55.1 percent effective field-goal percentage ranks 28th nationally and they shoot the ball pretty well from inside and outside. They makes 36.9 percent of their 3-point tries and 54.8 percent of their two’s.

GT doesn’t turn the ball over much, ranking 44th nationally in turnover rate, and does a great job sharing the basketball, with 59 percent of its points coming on assists. The Yellow Jackets play at a relatively slow pace, and if they have one specific weakness it’s an inability to create second-chance points through offensive rebounds. Like many teams, they are guard-heavy in terms of offensive focus and productivity, so UVa should have an advantage around the rim.

On defense, Georgia Tech ranks 88th nationally in efficiency. And while they shoot the ball well, the Jackets also allow opponents to do the same. Tech’s opponents have a 52.3 percent effective field-goal average, making 37.5 percent of their 3-point tries, which is one of the worst averages allowed nationally. Georgia Tech’s defense thrives on creating turnovers and turning them into points. Tech ranks 37th nationally in turnovers forced per possession, and many of those takeaways are the more dangerous live-ball variety. The Jackets are 11th nationally in steal rate, so making smart passes will be pivotal for the Cavaliers in Saturday’s meeting.

While the Yellow Jackets get a lot of their scoring from guards, their top scorer is a 6-foot-9 forward. Moses Wright has shown steady improvement since arriving in Atlanta and has emerged as one of the conference’s top scorers this year. He averages 17.4 points per contest, and comes into Saturday’s game off of an impressive 21-point performance against Clemson. Wright’s outside shooting has been the biggest improvement in his game this season going from a 24.1 percent 3-point shooter last year to 46.2 percent this year. He doesn’t take a ton of 3s but he has proven himself capable of knocking them down this season. Like Clemson (Aamir Simms), Virginia will need to focus on defending Tech’s scoring forward to neutralize the Jackets on Saturday.

In the backcourt, Georgia Tech has a group of talented, experienced players. Point guard Jose Alvarado seems like he’s been playing for Tech for a decade, and this year he has been one of the ACC’s top guards. He is scoring 17.1 points per game and leads the team in assists with 3.9 per contest. He is joined in the backcourt by veteran guard Michael Devoe, who is the team’s top 3-point shooter. Devoe is averaging 15 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while knocking down 42.6 percent of his 3-point tries.

A pair of guards Tech added through the transfer portal in recent years are also worth watching. Former USC guard Jordan Usher averaged 8.2 points per game last year in league play and is up to 10.8 points per game for the season. Usher had an outstanding effort against Clemson as well, scoring 21 points and going 5-of-8 from deep. Finally, former VMI guard Bubba Parham is a solid complementary piece in the backcourt, averaging 8.8 points per game, playing more than 30 minutes per contest.