Virginia working on 'process,' face Georgia Tech next

Field Level Media|published: Fri 19th January, 18:37 2024

Jan 17, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Reece Beekman (2) passes the ball against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. credits: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Virginia will try once again to solve its road woes when it takes on Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta.

The Cavaliers (12-5, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) have played four true road games this season, and they've gone 0-4, losing by an average of 20 points.

Virginia coach Tony Bennett believes his young roster will benefit from those trials in the long run. Six of Virginia's top eight scorers are sophomores or younger.

"Our program has been at a high level with experience, and right now, OK, we're not off to a great conference start," Bennett said on the ACC media call Monday. "It's a mature league and it's a good league and there's still a lot of games left. But you're at a little different spot of building it up again. I think there is a process to it."

Once the Cavaliers are back on campus, they appear to be a different team. Virginia took down rival Virginia Tech 65-57 on Wednesday in Charlottesville, improving to 10-0 at home.

Virginia held the Hokies to 18 first-half points and staved them off late. Reece Beekman and Jordan Minor each scored 16 points. For Minor, a Merrimack transfer, that marked a season high.

The Cavaliers will bring their second-ranked scoring defense in the nation (57.6 points per game) up against Georgia Tech, which just ended a five-game losing streak.

The Yellow Jackets (9-8, 2-4) rallied to stun Clemson 93-90 in double overtime on Tuesday. They trailed by nine with 1:43 left in regulation but got one 3-pointer from Kowacie Reeves Jr. and two more from Naithan George — with 12 and 2 seconds remaining — to tie it.

Miles Kelly scored five points in the second overtime and George added two jumpers to put Georgia Tech up for good.

George, a freshman, had a career-high 20 points with four 3-pointers and six assists. He leads the team with 4.7 assists per game.

"The crazy thing about it is I don't think he's even tapped a lot of things he can do," coach Damon Stoudamire said of George. "He should be a senior in high school. He's still getting his body together. ... He plays big when those lights are bright."

Kelly leads Georgia Tech with 15.5 points per game and Baye Ndongo averages 12.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and one steal per game.

Beekman paces Virginia with 12.9 points, 5.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

—Field Level Media