The Virginia Cavaliers trounced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wire-to-wire Wednesday night in Atlanta, Ga., racing out to a 59-27 halftime lead before eventually winning 94-68. The win was Virginia’s seventh in a row and moved the Cavaliers to 23-3 overall, while Georgia Tech lost its eighth straight to fall to 11-16 on the year.
After several slow starts in recent weeks, the ‘Hoos came out of the gate strong against the Yellow Jackets, leading 29-7 at the midway point of the first half. Ryan Odom’s squad held its opponent to single digits until there were fewer than six minutes left in the first half. The 59-point half was highlighted by 14 assists on 22 made buckets, a 10-of-18 mark on threes, and a 27-14 rebounding discrepancy.
Taking a 32-point lead into the second half, the Cavaliers were able to cruise in the second half to an eventual 26-point win. Thijs De Ridder led all scorers with 22 points on an efficient 9-of-13 from the floor. Malik Thomas added 17 points with five three-pointers, while Dallin Hall scored 12 points and dished out 10 assists for a double-double.
Following this dominant win for the ‘Hoos, we’re taking a look at where Virginia currently sits in the ACC standings, as well as where they fit into the NCAA Tournament bracket picture.
Virginia’s place in the ACC
The Cavaliers now hold the longest active winning streak in the ACC and sit at 11-2 in conference play, just one loss behind No. 3 Duke (13-1) in first place and one ahead of Miami (10-3) in third. Virginia still has five remaining games in the regular season, four of which are at home against Miami (Feb. 21), NC State (Feb. 24), Wake Forest (March 3), and Virginia Tech (March 7). The lone remaining road game for the Cavaliers is at No. 3 Duke (Feb. 28).
On account of being just one loss behind Duke and at least one loss ahead of the rest of the conference, plus the opportunity to face the ACC-leading Blue Devils, Virginia controls its destiny when it comes to earning the ACC Tournament’s No. 1 seed. (Head-to-head is the primary seeding tiebreaker.)
If the Cavaliers were to go 4-1 in their final five games with a loss to Duke, the Cavaliers would secure no worse than the No. 2 seed. If they were to lose to Miami but beat Duke, that would pull the Hurricanes into contention for a top-2 seed.
Virginia’s NCAA Tournament resumé
Virginia is currently No. 14 in the latest AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. ESPN’s Strength of Record metric also has the Cavaliers at No. 14.
The ’Hoos came into the night ranked No. 18 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 17 in the NCAA’s WAB (wins above the bubble) Ranking at 5.00. Both rankings would suggest a 5-seed in March Madness for the Cavaliers.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Virginia as a 5-seed entering Wednesday’s games, with ESPN’s highest projected seed reaching a 4-seed for the Cavaliers. CBS Sports had the Cavaliers as a 4-seed.
When it comes to the major metric ratings, the Cavaliers largely look like a 5-seed currently, including at No. 20 in KenPom, No. 18 via BartTorvik, and No. 18 in EvanMiya.
If you look at the bracket projections aggregated on BracketMatrix.com, Virginia has an average seed of 4.15 across 124 brackets, good for the last of the 4-seeds.
With five regular season games and at least one ACC Tournament game remaining, this is all subject to change. The Cavaliers are 5-2 in Quad 1 games, 7-1 in Quad 2, and a combined 10-0 in Quads 3 and 4.
A win over Duke would be Virginia’s best win of the season and provide a major boost to its resumé. A home win over Miami would be considered a Quad 2 win currently, as the Hurricanes sit at No. 37 in the NET Rankings. Miami would need to move up into the top-30 to reach Quad 1 status for Virginia.
A home win over NC State would be a Quad 1 win at the moment, as the Wolfpack sit at No. 25 in the NET. Both Wake Forest (No. 64) and Virginia Tech (No. 56) are Quad 2 games for the Cavaliers.
In short, home losses to the Demon Deacons or Hokies would prove costly to Virginia’s resumé and its hopes of receiving a top-4 seed, while home wins over Miami and especially NC State have the potential bolster the strength of that resumé. A road win at Duke would shoot Virginia up the rankings and metrics, likely securing a top-4 NCAA seed.
