Having earned its highest seed in four years, Georgia Tech opens its 45th Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament facing Virginia at noon Wednesday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Tech (16-15, 10-10 ACC) finished the regular season winning five of its last seven games to secure an eighth-place finish, getting decisive home wins over NC State (87-62) and Miami (89-74) following a road win over Pittsburgh (73-67) along the way. The Yellow Jackets have won seven of 10 games since the start of February, including wins over two of the top three teams in the ACC standings, Louisville (77-70) and Clemson (89-86 in 3 overtimes), early in the month.
Virginia (15-16, 8-12 ACC) finished the season in a five-way tie for ninth place in the ACC standings but earned the No. 9 seed based on its record against the other four teams and a key win over Wake Forest, the No. 4 seed. The Cavaliers lost four of their last six games to finish the regular season. Before that, they won three in a row, including a 75-61 win over the Yellow Jackets on Feb. 8 in Charlottesville, the teams’ only regular-season meeting.
The winner of the Tech-UVA game will advance to face Duke, the top seed, at noon Thursday.
NEED TO KNOW
Virginia Cavaliers (15-16, 8-12 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (16-15, 10-10 ACC)
Charlotte, North Carolina; Wednesday, 12 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Yellow Jackets -1; over/under is 130.5
BOTTOM LINE: Georgia Tech plays in the ACC Tournament against Virginia.
The Yellow Jackets have gone 10-10 against ACC teams, with a 6-5 record in non-conference play. Georgia Tech is 7-11 against opponents over .500.
The Cavaliers are 8-12 against ACC teams. Virginia ranks third in the ACC allowing 66.8 points while holding opponents to 44.2% shooting.
Georgia Tech is shooting 44.2% from the field this season, the same percentage Virginia allows to opponents. Virginia averages 64.9 points per game, 7.7 fewer points than the 72.6 Georgia Tech allows.
The teams square off for the second time this season. Virginia won the last matchup 75-61 on Feb. 8. Isaac McKneely scored 20 to help lead Virginia to the win, and Naithan George scored 20 points for Georgia Tech.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lance Terry is scoring 15.0 points per game and averaging 3.0 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. George is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
McKneely is averaging 14 points for the Cavaliers. Dai Dai Ames is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Yellow Jackets: 7-3, averaging 72.3 points, 35.1 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 5.2 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.2 points per game.
Cavaliers: 5-5, averaging 69.4 points, 25.3 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 5.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
