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Virginia Men's Basketball To Open ACC Slate Against Georgia Tech Sunday
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Dec. 2, 2005
Charlottesville, Va. –
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The Game
Virginia enters today’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener with a 3-1 record. The Cavaliers are coming off a 72-57 win over Northwestern (Nov. 30) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at University Hall.
Georgia Tech stands at 2-2 on the season. In their last outing, the Yellow Jackets fell to 14th-ranked Michigan State 88-86 (Nov. 30) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in East Lansing, Mich.
Cavaliers Improve to 4-2 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
With a 72-57 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday (Nov. 30), Virginia improved to 4-2 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Cavaliers also helped the ACC win the series for the seventh consecutive year as ACC schools won six of 11 contests. The ACC’s cumulative record in the Challenge is 40-24.
The Series vs. Georgia Tech
Each team has had a stretch of dominating the series, which Georgia Tech now leads 35-27. The Cavaliers held the lead until the Yellow Jackets passed Virginia by winning 25 of the last 33 meetings, including 14 of the last 17.
Georgia Tech (ranked ninth at the time) won the only meeting of the 2004-05 season 92-69 (Jan. 8) in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech won the initial meeting of the 2003-04 season 75-57 (Jan. 15) in Atlanta, but the Cavaliers earned a split in the series with an 82-80 win (Feb. 14) in Charlottesville. The victory snapped UVa’s four-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets. In 2002-03, Georgia Tech swept the season series, registering an 80-60 win (Feb. 1) in Atlanta and a 90-73 victory (Mar. 5) in Charlottesville.
In the 2001-02 season, Virginia snapped a four-game losing streak to Georgia Tech with a 69-65 victory (Jan. 22) over the Jackets in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets earned a split in the season series with an 82-80 victory (Feb. 23) in Charlottesville. It is the first time in the history of the series (which dates back to 1947-48) that both teams won on the other team’s home floor in the same season.
The Jackets hold a 23-8 advantage in games played in Atlanta in the series and have won 14 of the last 16 in the Peachtree city. UVa snapped a seven-game losing streak to Georgia Tech in Atlanta with its 69-65 victory (Jan. 22) in the 2001-02 season. Prior to the 2001-02 win, Virginia’s 83-60 win (Feb. 22) in 1995 was its most recent victory over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. The 23-point margin of victory is Virginia’s largest in the series since a 91-59 win in 1984 in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers have won three of five overtime contests in the series, but their 74-68 overtime loss to Georgia Tech in the 1998-99 season snapped a three-game extra session winning streak. The Jackets won the first overtime game in the series 72-71 in triple overtime in the 1983-84 season.
The Cavaliers opened the series with Georgia Tech by winning 10 of the first 13 games, including eight straight from 1981-1983.
Virginia in ACC Openers
Virginia is 19-33 all-time in Atlantic Coast Conference season openers. The Cavaliers are 16-19 all-time vs. unranked ACC teams in conference openers. UVa is 13-16 in home ACC openers and 6-17 on the road. The Cavaliers have lost their last 10 ACC openers. Virginia’s last win in an ACC opener was an 81-75 victory (Jan. 4) at Florida State in the 1994-95 season.
Today’s game is just the second time UVa has opened the ACC season against Georgia Tech. The only previous time Virginia met the Yellow Jackets to open the ACC season was in 1979-80 with UVa winning 55-37 at home on Dec. 1.
Virginia is 5-4 vs. Wake Forest, 3-2 vs. Florida State, 1-0 vs. Georgia Tech and South Carolina, 8-13 vs. Duke, 1-7 vs. Maryland, 0-2 vs. North Carolina, 0-4 vs. NC State, and 0-1 vs. Clemson all-time in ACC openers.