Jackets hope to end losing streak at JPJ on ‘Tony Bennett Day’

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Maybe Tony Bennett will be a good luck charm for Virginia’s basketball team tonight when the Cavaliers host Georgia Tech (5:30 p.m. The CW Network).

Bennett, who suddenly retired as UVA’s coach, just weeks before the season opened, will be honored in a special halftime ceremony tonight, with a banner bearing his name hoisted to the rafters of John Paul Jones Arena. The modest former Cavaliers coach has shunned the spotlight during his career and fans shouldn’t expect anything different tonight.

Georgia Tech may breathe a little easier that Bennett won’t be prowling the JPJ sidelines. Bennett won 19 out of 21 games against the Yellow Jackets, who haven’t won a game at JPJ since 2008, 10 consecutive losses.

However, Tech coach Damon Stoudamire is more concerned with keeping his Jackets’ momentum going rather than the halftime tribute.

“I’m just worried about the game,” Stoudamire said Friday. “Tony was a heck of a coach. Honor and deserve, but we’re going in there to try to win a basketball game. That’s really all we’re focused on, trying to figure out how to get it done down there.”

Georgia Tech is 11-2 overall and 5-7 in the ACC, tied for ninth place in the league standings. The Jackets are coming off back-to-back Quad 1 wins over Louisville (77-70) and Clemson (89-86 in triple overtime). Including a previous win over Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets have won three of their last four, the loss coming at Notre Dame by 3 points.

Virginia is a 2-point favorite in tonight’s game according to oddsmakers after opening as a 1.5-point favorite.

The Cavaliers, 11-2, 4-8 ACC, tied for 14th-place with Syracuse, is a half-game behind Notre Dame in the standings and a full game behind Florida State, Cal, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

UVA has won three of its last five games, the most recent, a huge, 73-57 upset over Pitt on the road Monday night. Coach Ron Sanchez joked after the game that maybe his team should practice less after the Wahoos dominated a 13-point Pitt team on one day of practice.

The win was Virginia’s most complete game of the season, at least since an early-season triumph over Villanova. The Cavaliers manhandled the Panthers to the point that Pitt coach Jeff Capel said it was the worst performance by any team he has ever coached.

Not only did Virginia shoot the ball well, but it played solid defense, protected the basketball, rebounded and hustled for loose balls. The Cavaliers have been a real threat in shooting the 3-pointer in recent games (UVA ranks No. 33 in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 37.65).

Stoudamire knows that while Bennett is no longer guiding the Cavaliers, the same system exists.

“You know, slow pace, methodical play deep into the shot clock,” the Tech coach said. “Shooters … we gotta be ready to limit their opportunities. We’ve got to run them off the [3-point] line. We gotta do a great job of guarding the three. We have to do a great job of not extending possessions and we’ve got to limit them to one shot. That’s important because if you don’t limit them to one shot, you can be on defense for two minutes. That’s draining.”

Five of Tech’s players are averaging in double figures, led by Lance Terry (15.6), Duncan Powell (13.6), Naithan George (13.2), Javian McCollum (12.9) and Baye Ndogo (11.7). Stoudamire has shortened his bench of late from eight or more players to six or seven and the strategy seems to have paid off.