Georgia Tech @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 21, 2018 ) Georgia Tech 54, Virginia 65

Virginia shoots for its fifth straight win as it hosts struggling Georgia Tech on Wednesday evening. The Cavaliers are coming off back-to-back road wins over ranked teams and are now tied with Duke as the No. 2 team in the nation.

Virginia started slowly on Saturday at Louisville and trailed by 10 at the half but De’Andre Hunter scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half as the Cavaliers rallied for the 64-52 win. "I was making my shots, so I was feeling good. I just wanted to keep shooting and teammates kept feeding me the ball," the sophomore guard told the media after the game. Georgia Tech snapped a seven-game losing streak with a win over Pittsburgh two games ago but was unable to build a winning streak as the Yellow Jackets lost at Miami 80-65 on Saturday. "Our energy in the first half was not as good as the second half," Yellow Jackets coach Josh Pastner told reporters afterward. "We lost the game in the first half."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (12-16, 4-11 ACC): Pastner was referring to the fact that the Yellow Jackets made just nine shots in the first half while allowing 39 points as the Hurricanes built a 16-point advantage. Georgia Tech was better in the second half and wound up shooting 43.1 percent from the floor but never got within less than nine points. Sophomore guard Jose Alvarado scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting and now has 49 points over his last two games.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (24-2, 12-2): Hunter was the only starter to score in double figures as Kyle Guy (15.2 points per game) made just 2-of-8 shots from the field and Ty Jerome (12.8 points per game) shot 2-of-12, including 0-for-6 from the 3-point line. A pair of bench players stepped up their offensive production to support Hunter as Mamadi Diakite scored 14 on 7-of-10 shooting and Jay Huff added 12 points in 17 minutes. The Cavaliers turned up the defense in the second half against Louisville, holding the Cardinals to 20 percent shooting from the floor and 11.8 percent from long range.

TIP-INS

1. Virginia has a 41-40 edge in the all-time series and has won the last four matchups.

2. Alvarado has played 40 minutes in each of the last two games.

3. The Yellow Jackets average an ACC-low 65.2 points, while the Cavaliers allow an NCAA-low 54.5 points against.

PREDICTION: Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 51