Georgia Tech appeared on the road to nowhere as it finished January at 9-12, with none of its three ACC victories coming over likely NCAA Tournament teams.
But once the calendar flipped, so did the Yellow Jackets, who pulled off upsets of then-No. 21 Louisville and Clemson.
Next up for Georgia Tech (11-12, 5-7) is a road date at Virginia (11-12, 4-8) on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., where the Cavaliers will raise a banner at halftime to honor former coach Tony Bennett, who stepped down in the preseason.
Last week, Georgia Tech snapped the 10-game winning streak of Louisville, 77-70. Three days later, the Yellow Jackets outlasted Clemson in triple overtime, 89-86, ending the Tigers’ six-game run.
The surge has come despite foot/ankle injuries to three rotation players, including Kowacie Reeves, who had started 38 straight games for Georgia Tech before he went down in November.
The injuries have robbed the Yellow Jackets of their depth as they used just six players to beat Louisville. Against Clemson, four players were on the floor for at least 49 minutes.
“Injuries aside, we’ve got five or six players, seven players that I feel like can play with anybody,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said.
Naithan George totaled 43 points and 16 assists in the two victories. Baye Ndongo delivered 30 points and 24 rebounds while Lance Terry supplied 35 points.
Also entering Saturday on an uptick is Virginia, which notched its best ACC victory this year, 73-57 at Pitt, as Dai Dai Ames scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting.
“He got really good looks,” Virginia interim coach Ron Sanchez said. “He finished at the rim well but he also shared the ball.”
The Cavaliers have shown progression lately. After a five-game skid in January, Virginia has won three of its last five fueled by outside shooting.
The Cavaliers have made 50 of 112 shots (44.6 percent) from deep in the last five games, behind Isaac McKneely (20 of 46), Taine Murray (8 of 11) and Andrew Rohde (8 of 15).
Playing point guard for the first time in his career, Rohde also has emerged as a ball-handling force, dealing 24 assists while committing just one turnover during the Cavaliers’ run.
Virginia, which has won 12 straight times against Georgia Tech and beaten the Yellow Jackets 10 consecutive times in Charlottesville, leads the series 49-40.
–Field Level Media
