Georgia Tech returns home to face Virginia
ATLANTA -- It only has been two games, but it seems like an eternity to Brian Gregory that his Georgia Tech team has played a home game. So the Yellow Jackets are happy to be returning to McCamish Pavilion on Saturday, even if the opponent is No. 4 Virginia.
Georgia Tech (10-5, 0-2 ACC) appears ever-so-close to breaking through with that big win. The Yellow Jackets lost by eight at No. 7 North Carolina and lost by five at No. 24 Pittsburgh.
"I think we're close," Gregory said. "I'm not happy we've lost the last two games; you can never be happy with that. But the gaps aren't big, and they're fixable gaps."
Scoring points hasn't been a problem as the Yellow Jackets have scored at least 73 in their past five games. They scored 84 in the loss to Pittsburgh and average 78.1 points, 15 points more than a year ago.
"But you don't go into the Virginia game thinking you're going to score 80 points on them," Gregory said. "No. 1, there aren't as many possessions, and No. 2, they're one of the best defensive teams in the country."
Virginia (12-2, 1-1) has allowed more than 68 points only once this year.
A year ago, the Yellow Jackets hit rock bottom offensively when they were beaten 57-28 by the Cavaliers. It was the fewest points ever scored by the Yellow Jackets in an ACC game and was the fewest allowed by Virginia to an ACC foe in the shot clock era.
That hasn't been an issue for the most part this year. The addition of guard Adam Smith (14.7 points) and the improvement of forward Charles Mitchell (13.4 points), along with the consistency of Marcus Georges-Hunt (15.2 points), have made Georgia Tech a more formidable opponent.
Now the Yellow Jackets have to dig in and rediscover the defensive edge that has been missing at times.
"On the defensive end, we need to have a little more focus, a little more concentration," Gregory said. "That could catapult us toward becoming a much better team."
Virginia likely will be highly motivated Saturday. The Cavaliers lost Tuesday night at Virginia Tech, which snapped the Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak.
Virginia has plenty of Georgians returning home to play, including Greater Atlanta Christian products Malcolm Brogdon (16.6 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Isaiah Wilkins (4.6 points, 4.3 rebounds). Brogdon is an All-America candidate who has already six 20-point games.
The deep Cavaliers also showcase forward Anthony Gill, who is averaging 19 points the past six games, and guard London Perrantes, who averages 11.3 points and scored 22 against Virginia Tech.
"They're No. 4 in the country for a reason," Gregory said. "They know exactly what to do and how to do it, and they do it every single day. We have to play extremely well, extremely disciplined and extremely focused for 40 minutes."