Virginia Tech fell behind Georgia Tech early, never recovered, and were easily handled 76-57 to drop to 14-9 overall and 6-8 in the ACC. It was the Hokies’ fourth consecutive loss, and the only one in which they were not competitive over 40 minutes of basketball. The Yellow Jackets improved to 11-12 overall and 5-7 in league play.
Neither team played great defense early, but it was eventually Georgia Tech who settled into the game defensively. They came into the contest No. 34 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency against the 6th most difficult schedule in the country in terms of opposing offenses, and the Hokies had a very difficult time getting good looks in the first 20 minutes. When they did get a good look, they generally missed.
Georgia Tech led 14-9 with 13:39 remaining in the first half, and that’s when the wheels came off for the Hokies. The Yellow Jackets went on a 10-0 run to make the score 24-9 with 7:10 left in the half, and eventually led by 20 points, 38-18, when a three-pointer by Jose Alvarado went in just before halftime. Virginia Tech scored just nine points over the final 13+ minutes of the half.
Georgia Tech played a tough zone defense that bothered the Hokies quite a bit.
“I thought we attacked it much better in the second half,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said after the game. “I wish we would’ve attacked it that way in the first half. But that zone was bothersome.”
Redshirt freshman guard Tyrece Radford led the way for the Hokies with 12 points. He was 5-of-9 from the field. Fellow redshirt freshman Landers Nolley had 10 points, but he was only 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range. Over his last seven games, dating back to the January 14 win at Wake Forest, Nolley is just 39-of-114 (34.2%) from the field and only 13-of-56 (23.2%) from three-point range.
As a team, Virginia Tech was just 21-of-55 (38.2%) from the field and 4-of-23 (17.4%) from three-point range for the game. A normally cold shooting Georgia Tech team was 29-of-55 (52.7%) overall from the field and 8-of-18 (44.4%) from the outside. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 30 points in the second half in a game that was not as competitive as the final score indicated.
The Hokies will try to break their four-game losing streak this Saturday when they host Boston College in Cassell Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for noon, and the game will be televised by RSN. Check your local listings.
Box Score
Game Notes From Virginia Tech
Records and Notables
- Virginia Tech goes to 14-9 overall and 5-7 in ACC play.
- The Hokies have now dropped four straight games for the first time this season and are 3-4 on the road overall.
- Mike Young is now 1-3 against both Georgia Tech and Josh Pastner.
- This marks the Yellow Jackets' first win over Virginia Tech Tech since 2014, snapping a six-game losing streak
- Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 20-7.
- UP NEXT: The Hokies will return to Blacksburg for a three-game home slate beginning with Boston College on Saturday at noon at Cassell Coliseum.
Team Notes
- Virginia Tech started a lineup of Wabissa Bede, Tyrece Radford, Landers Nolley, P.J. Horne, and Nahiem Alleyne, marking the 17th game this season that Tech has gone with these five out of the gate.
- The Yellow Jackets shot over 50 percent from the field, as well as hitting eight 3-pointers.
- Georgia Tech outrebounded the Hokies 37-30 and recorded more points in the paint with a margin of 34-22.
- Virginia Tech’s bench did outscore the Yellow Jackets bench 22-16. This marks the 14th game this season the Hokies’ bench has scored 20 or more points.
- KEY FIRST HALF RUN: Georgia Tech went on a 15-2 run over a nine-minute stretch beginning early in the first half. This run would prove to be too much for the Hokies as the Yellow Jackets entered the break leading 38-18.
- KEY SECOND HALF RUN: With just over 15 minutes to go in the game, Georgia Tech went on a 10-3 run giving the Yellow Jackets a 57-28 advantage. Georgia Tech led the rest of the way and would go on to win 76-57.
Individual Notes
- Radford scored a team-high 12 points and led Tech in scoring for the third time this season. This is Radford’s ninth game scoring in double figures and third straight game doing so.
- Nolley’s 10 points marks his 21st game scoring in double figures and 11th consecutive outing reaching double digits in points.
- Wabissa Bede tied his career high in blocks with two at Georgia Tech.
- Branden Johnson scored the first points of his Tech career with four on the night and had a career-high five rebounds.