ATLANTA — To have a chance against No. 13 Virginia on Saturday, Georgia Tech needed to play at its peak. Yellow Jackets coach Josh Pastner had aimed to have his team primed for its first post-Christmas game, grinding players through a week of intense practice sessions to address weaknesses and tweak schemes.
The Jackets, however, were unusually sloppy with the ball, did not defend with consistency and were devoured by the visiting Cavaliers at McCamish Pavilion. Virginia was not at its best either, but used a 23-0 run that bridged the first and second halves to score a 74-56 win over the Jackets. Tech (7-6, 0-3 ACC) lost for the 10th consecutive time to Virginia and coach Tony Bennett, who tied the legendary Terry Holland for most career wins (326, against 119 losses) at the helm of the Cavaliers program.
It probably was the low point of the season for Tech, which was picked to finish last in the ACC after finishing 14th last season. Tech turned the ball over 23 times, many of the giveaways not because of Virginia’s pressure but more from failures to handle the ball cleanly. At least with regard to possession of the ball, Tech looked little like the team that came into the game averaging 10.1 turnovers per game, 11th in Division I. The 23 turnovers matched the team high in a regulation game in Pastner’s tenure, now in its seventh season.
