Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Win Over UVA was Enormous

People really don’t understand how big it was for Brian Gregory and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to grab a 68-64 home win over the No.4 Virginia Cavliers on Saturday.

It was the Yellow Jackets first win over a Top 10 opponent since the 2005 ACC tournament for one thing. Also the win showed that maybe Brian Gregory has a grip on things with his basketball program after all.

Last season the Yellow Jackets were completely smoked by the Cavaliers 57-28 in Charlottesville during their seven game losing streak.

That embarrassment had to stick in the craw of Brian Gregory’s team, and must have been used as motivation for the Yellow Jackets effort on Saturday.

But even more important, this game showed that this season’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have other ways of getting offense this season besides getting rebounds off the offensive glass and scoring, namely, knocking down treys.

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This season the Yellow Jackets are capable of knocking down the long ball which is something that they were horrid at last year even on their home floor.

Last season’s Yellow Jackets knocked down a meager 26.7% from downtown last season and that number was there downfall in a lot of instances.

This season the Yellow Jackets are hitting 38.5% of three-point attempts and shooting 45.8% as a team. In the win over UVA, Tech nailed 53.3% of their treys.

Jackets’ guard Adam Smith is proving to be the most important improvement to the Georgia Tech roster since coming from Virginia Tech via transfer.

Smith’s 14.8 points per contest and 47.1% shooting from beyond-the-arc has been a huge upgrade to a backcourt that could not hit from deep at all last season.

Forward Quinton Stephens has always shown confidence in his shooting stroke, though at times the results of his shots did not go as planned.

This season the junior has been stellar from three-point range making 47.2% of his treys.

Jan 9, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets forward Quinton Stephens (12) shoots the ball against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

Brian Gregory’s Yellow Jackets were able to win because of Smith and Stephens bringing their shooting stroke in a game where the stars on the team were not playing up to par.

Smith was 4 of 9 from three-point range in the game with Stephens hitting 4 of 4 from downtown in the contest.

Brian Gregory having some accuracy from deep on his roster is going to pay huge dividends going forward.

So is having the depth that he has at his disposal. Charles Mitchell and Marcus Georges-Hunt did not have pretty numbers though they impacted the game in other ways.

But due to the fact that Brian Gregory is able to have a solid rotation of players who can contribute, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were still able to own the rebounding advantage 39-26 though Charles Mitchell was in foul trouble and finished with six points and six boards.

Nick Jacobs contributed 16 points and six rebounds with James White chipping in six points and nine rebounds.

That is something that would not have happened with last season’s team at all.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are sitting at 11-5 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Grabbing a resume building win like this over a Top Five team is a stepping stone toward not only building momentum, but also toward a postseason bid.

Brian Gregory needs a postseason bid so he can have the last laugh after fans were calling for his ouster.

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The Jackets will have plenty more opportunities to pick off top ranked teams during conference play, and each win will enhance their argument for an NCAA Tournament bid.

As long as the Yellow Jackets can grab a few more wins over ranked teams, while taking care of teams they should be able to beat like Notre Dame on the road Wednesday night, or Virginia Tech who also defeated the Virginia Cavaliers recently, the Jackets will be able to control their destiny.

Just being able to say that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have postseason prospects as long as they take care of business is enormous.

But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and we know for sure Brian Gregory does not want to either.

He will be happy with simply seeing his team not have a let down and get big road win in South Bend. That would be satisfying enough for now.

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Taking things one game at a time, and not getting too high or too emotionally are going to be key to Georgia Tech finishing this season on the right note.

But as for now, the Jacket’s win over Virginia could be seen as a springboard to bigger and better things.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Beating No.4 Virginia Was Enormous for Brian Gregory and the Jackets

By James Fitzgerald | Jan 12, 2016

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