Tale of the Tape: Virginia vs. Georgia Tech

With two weeks left in the regular season, No. 2 Virginia will play three of its final four games at John Paul Jones Arena. Georgia Tech visits JPJ Wednesday night at 7 (ESPN2), as the Cavaliers (24-2, 12-2 ACC) now control their own destiny in terms of clinching the top seed at the ACC Tournament.

UVA jumped ahead of Duke to No. 2 in both the AP and USA Today polls after the Blue Devils lost to North Carolina last week. With the Duke loss in Blacksburg Tuesday night, the Wahoos can secure the No. 1 seed by winning out, as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker should the Tar Heels wind up with the same conference record at season’s end.

The ‘Hoos welcome in Pittsburgh Saturday, then travel to Syracuse Monday night before hosting Louisville next weekend in the JPJ finale for senior Jack Salt.

In addition to the jump in the polls, Virginia moved back up to the top overall spot in the KenPom ratings (2nd AdjD, 4th AdjO) and 2nd in the NET rankings. The Yellow Jackets (12-16, 4-11) check in at 109th overall according to KenPom (26th AdjD, 264th AdjO) and 128th in the NET.

GT has lost eight of its last nine games and 11 of its last 14. The Jackets are 0-7 against ranked opponents this season.

Sophomore point guard Jose Alvarado is the unquestioned leader of the team, averaging a team-high 12.6 points a game, as well as leading the team in assists and steals. Junior forward James Banks III puts up 10 points and grabs 7.6 rebounds a game, while also blocking 2.6 shots per night.