The Result: Second-ranked UVa got going early, held Georgia Tech to just 37.5 percent shooting in the game, and made more than half of its own shots in an 81-51 beatdown of the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday night. With the victory, which was Virginia's seventh-straight over GT in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers moved to 25-2 overall and 13-2 in ACC play. The win not only locked up a double-bye in the ACC Tournament but it gives Virginia 13 or more league victories for the fifth time in six seasons.
The Turning Point: With the teams going back and forth early, Braxton Key hit a 3-pointer with 14:40 left in the first half. That shot started a 16-2 run for the Cavaliers and gave them a 10-point lead coming out of the under-12 media timeout. The Yellow Jackets hit a pair of free throws but an ensuing 9-0 spurt effectively ended it before the final media timeout of the half.
The Stat That Tells the Story: After dominating Louisville inside on Saturday, UVa kept scoring in the paint against the Jackets. In fact, the Wahoos nearly scored as many points inside (42) as Georgia Tech scored total in the game (51).
Wahoo of the Game: It's Ty Jerome, who scored 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting. De'Andre Hunter was also very good, scoring 18 on 6-for-10 shooting and showing at times just why he's a surefire lottery pick. But Jerome grabbed five boards, dished out four assists, and only turned it over once in 26 minutes. In fact, he looked as "right" as he's looked since suffering the back injury in or around the NC State game. His ability to work in the middle of GT's 1-3-1 matchup zone and especially to get opposing guards on his hip on his way to the basket was exceptional.
Why did the Cavaliers win it?
Coming into the Georgia Tech game, UVa hadn’t scored 40 points or more in a half since doing it in both at Notre Dame on January 26th (14 halves since). Against the nation’s 26th-best defense in terms of adjusted efficiency, the Wahoos did it twice against the Jackets last night. In short, that's why they won. When paired with its customary D, that offense—led by Jerome and Hunter and aided not only by 11 points from Kyle Guy but 31 points combined from Key, Mamadi Diakite, Kihei Clark, and Jay Huff—was just too good especially going to and around the rim. After dominating in the paint for the past two games, if this is UVa's new reality or even remotely close to it then it would appear to be a very good one.
What does this mean for UVa going forward?
The continued execution inside is a very good sign for this team as March arrives. The Cavaliers have, as everyone is painfully aware, struggled in postseason play in large part because their shooting has been iffy. If the offense during this postseason run is going to include not only deadly 3-point shooters but also a continued inside presence then it makes Virginia a different sort of team at least in terms of what Tony Bennett can expect from his group night in and night out. When the outside shots don't fall, Virginia could well have another way to buoy itself. Given that GT's offense came in struggling, it's no wonder that UVa held the Jackets to poor shooting from the field and from deep. And given the way Diakite (three blocks to extend his streak to 20 games with at least one) and others have played defensively, this was going to be a Virginia win. But to put up those offensive numbers against one of the league's better defenses—UVa shot 52.9 percent from deep against a defense that was allowing just 29.2 percent coming in, seventh-lowest nationally—is potentially a great development as the stretch run begins in earnest.
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