Almost a calendar year since falling in the second round of the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, the No. 15 Cavaliers are enjoying a turnaround season ahead of their trip to face the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday night.
Virginia (22-3, 10-2 ACC) is searching for its seventh consecutive win, while also looking for its 12th straight regular-season victory over Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers’ trip to Atlanta will stamp a three-game stretch away from home, following victories at Florida State and over Ohio State in Nashville.
After Wednesday, head coach Ryan Odom’s team will finish the season with four of five games at home. The Cavaliers are 7-1 in true road games – a prominent reason the program is nearing a return to the NCAA Tournament.
“There’s no question about it, to play in hostile environments in your conference on the road is always helpful, especially if you have success,” Odom said. “We’ve been able to find a multitude of ways to win. This group is just pretty resilient. They stick together. They’re very connected. I’m very confident that these guys will be connected long after Virginia.”
Of Virginia’s six straight wins, four have come by single digits – a trend that could bode well for the Cavaliers come postseason time.
“We have a lot of experienced guys coming from different places,” senior guard Dallin Hall said. “But to just be in those situations together and be able to gut it out, I think it’s super valuable for us. Obviously that’s not a space we always want to be. We’ve got some things we want to clean up, but it’s good experience for us going forward.”
Thijs De Ridder leads Virginia with 15.7 points per game, despite averaging just eight points across the last three contests. Malik Thomas adds 12.2 and Sam Lewis chips in 10.7.
It’s fair to argue that Georgia Tech (11-15, 2-11) is at a low point of head coach Damon Stoudamire’s three-year tenure. The Yellow Jackets have dropped seven straight games – their longest stretch since a nine-game losing streak in 2023 – and are in real danger of missing the ACC Tournament. The bottom three teams in the ACC will not participate in the conference tournament in Charlotte next month.
Georgia Tech’s .154 ACC winning percentage is on pace to be its worst since going 2-14 (.125) in conference play in the 2008-09 season. If Stoudamire’s team wants to continue playing past the final regular-season game, it has to be a collective effort.
“It’s not an individual thing. It’s a we thing,” Stoudamire said. “I’m the head coach of it. I’ve owned it. I understand where we’re at and I understand that we have to continue and try to get better. … I’ve seen good days and I’ve seen dark days. This is a dark day. Days like this can make you stronger in the future.”
Kowacie Reeves Jr.’s 15.2 points per game and Baye Ndongo’s 12.5 lead a Yellow Jackets team searching for its first home win over Virginia since Jan. 9, 2016.
