 trailed 11-7 before a 3-pointer by Braxton Key sparked the eight-minute surge. Hunter had nine points, Kyle Guy six and Jerome five in the burst. Virginia's lead was 41-22 at halftime and 51-24 after a 10-2 run to start the second half as the Cavaliers won their fifth in a row in the series. Guy added 11 points and three others had eight.Jose Alvarado scored 12 and James Banks III had 11 for the Yellow Jackets (12-17, 4-12), who lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games. Georgia Tech also got a full dose of Virginia's all-around efficiency as the Cavaliers shot 55.6 percent (30 of 54), made nine 3-pointers and limited the Yellow Jackets to just five 3-pointers (in 17 attempts) and 37.5 percent shooting overall (21 of 56).BIG PICTUREGeorgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are very young with only two seniors on the roster, and neither Abdoulaye Gueye nor Brandon Ashton contributed much until Gueye made a few baby hooks in the second half. In Josh Pastner's third season as coach, the turnover has been significant, but the results have been slow to follow.Virginia: Coach Tony Bennett went with a new starting five of freshman guard Kihei Clark, Jerome, Guy, Hunter and Mamadi Diakite. It's the third game in a row Bennett has juggled combinations, with Jack Salt and Braxton Key also getting starts in that span. Salt had started every ACC game before Wednesday night.UP NEXTGeorgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are home for a game against Boston College on Sunday.Virginia: The Cavaliers remain at home and face Pittsburgh on Saturday.---Follow Hank Kurz Jr. on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hankkurzjr---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Feb 26, 2019With just two weeks in the regular season left to play, No. 2 Virginia enters Wednesday night's game in Charlottesville, Va., against Georgia Tech in a familiar position.The Cavaliers (24-2, 12-2 ACC) find themselves tied with two others atop the ACC standings, with a good shot of taking home another regular-season title -- their fourth in the last six seasons.Georgia Tech will be just the third unranked opponent Virginia has faced in the month of February after the Cavaliers posted a 3-1 record over ranked foes this month.The Yellow Jackets boast just one double-digit scorer this season in Jose Alvarado (12.6 points per game), as they shoot just 43.3 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc as a team."We're not in position to hit any doubles, or triples or home runs," Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said in his Monday teleconference. "We need to hit singles." After Virginia, the Yellow Jackets (12-16, 4-11) have just two more regular-season games left and find themselves losers in eight of their last nine games. Not only has Georgia Tech been losing games at a rapid pace, but their 11 league losses have come by an average of over 15 points."Maybe that's just part of being a young team," Pastner said of his squad. "You're continuing to have them understand about that energy factor." Georgia Tech has lost 11 of their last 13 games against the Cavaliers and are currently on a six-game losing streak in Charlottesville.While the Yellow Jackets' defense has been their strong point this season, their offense sputters to the tone of 65.2 points per game. They have not scored more than 54 points during their four-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.Virginia sophomore De'Andre Hunter is coming off of two straight games where he committed two early first-half fouls, forcing head coach Tony Bennett to sit him."I just want to be out there so when I get a chance, I can be aggressive," Hunter said.On Saturday against Louisville, Hunter scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half, pushing the Cavaliers past the Cardinals. Hunter is now tied for the team lead in scoring at 15.2 points per game and is shooting 54.3 percent from the field."He's playing really good basketball," Bennett said of Hunter. "I couldn't be happier for him. You see it in his eyes. We needed that." Hunter is one of three Cavaliers averaging in double figures, as junior guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome score 15.2 and 12.8 points per game respectively.Wednesday night's clash will be the final game of the month for both teams as the calendar flips to March. Virginia would currently receive the coveted double-bye and be the third seed in the ACC Tournament, while Georgia Tech sits in the 12th slot.Virginia owns an ACC best 70-7 home record since 2014 and looks to improve its record this season to 13-1 on its home court.--Field Level Media
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