Georgia Tech continues disastrous ACC start with loss to Virginia

Things are really not going well for Brian Gregory and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

In fairness, Thursday night wasn’t supposed to go well for the team from Atlanta, as Tech traveled to Charlottesville to take on the undefeated Virginia Cavaliers. Predictably, the Jackets simply couldn’t generate the offense necessary to compete, and they fell to 0-6 in ACC play with a 57-28 defeat.

The first half was extremely telling of the problems that plague the Ramblin’ Wreck. Georgia Tech managed to score only 10 points over more than 16 minutes (not a misprint) to begin the game, and the team finished with only 16 points (on 28% shooting) in the 20-minute half. The starting backcourt of Travis Jorgenson and Corey Heyward did not attempt (!) a field goal between the two of them, and while Marcus Georges-Hunt was aggressive, he converted just three of nine attempts in the early going.

Quite obviously, the 16-point output in the first half put Gregory’s team behind the eight-ball, and with a 12-point halftime deficit against a nationally elite team, the writing was on the wall. Still, things managed to get worse.

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Georgia Tech scored just 12 points after halftime, and for the game, the Jackets shot 24.5% from the floor and 0-for-12 from beyond the 3-point line. That sort of production is comically bad, regardless of the quality of Virginia’s defense, and the final 29-point margin was indicative of the difference between the two teams.

More than anything, the perimeter play for the Jackets was unacceptable and has been for quite some time. Georgia Tech’s frontcourt largely held their own, playing to a virtual standstill on the glass, but there isn’t a single player in the guard rotation capable of creating consistent offense and that continues to be the most persistent problem for this group.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will, again, have an opportunity to claim their first ACC victory of the season on Sunday against Boston College, but for now, Thursday night’s stinker will leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.