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Virginia Tech (15-7, 5-3 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech (10-12, 1-8)

Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 7:00

TV: ESPNU

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• Click here for TSL's VT/GT roster card (PDF format)

Virginia Tech takes on a struggling Georgia Tech team on Wednesday night in Blacksburg, and the Hokies need to win it. They can not afford a home loss to a team ranked outside the Top 100 of the RPI. A win will also put Tech in a tie in the loss column for second place in the ACC, as either Duke or UNC will lose their third conference game of the year tonight.

Georgia Tech is 10-12 overall and 1-8 in the ACC. However, don't let their record fool you. They have talent. They have lost three ACC games in overtime. This past week, they lost to Florida State by four and Maryland by one. They have been in all of their games, but they haven't been able to close.

The following table should give you a good idea of why they haven't been able to close.

A column for turnovers has been added this week to illustrate Georgia Tech's tendency to give up the ball. That's the main reason they are just 1-8 in the ACC, and they'll have to do a better job with turnovers if they hope to pick up their first ever win in Cassell Coliseum. More on turnovers later.

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The Yellow Jackets have a similar starting lineup to Wake Forest, which could be the reason their only win of the year came over the Demon Deacons. GT has a lot of length in the frontcourt, and they use that to play excellent defense and crash the boards.

Gani Lawal is averaging a double double this season. In fact, his rebounding numbers are actually up in ACC play. In conference games, he is averaging 11.2 rebounds, nearly two more than the #2 player on the list, Clemson's Trevor Booker.

Joining Lawal in the frontcourt is Zach Peacock and Alade Aminu. Aminu is the brother of Al-Farouq Aminu of Wake Forest, and he has talent and skill on the inside. Peacock is a quality shooter for his size, and this trio of post players create quite a presence on the inside. They have the #2 rebounding margin in the ACC, at +4.6 per game. Virginia Tech has been struggling with rebounding lately, so boxing out the bigger Yellow Jackets was likely a focus in practice this week.

Lewis Clinch and Iman Shumpert both average over 30 minutes per game in the backcourt. Clinch is a veteran senior who provides leadership while on the court. He can score, but he's a streaky shooter. Clinch is shooting just 26.7% from three-point range this year. Despite his struggles from behind the arc, he has attempted 105 three-pointers on the season.

Shumpert is a highly-touted McDonald's All-America. He has started all 22 games of his Georgia Tech career. Shumpert hit the game-winning jump shot against Wake Forest with just one second remaining on the clock. He is just the latest in a long line of highly-touted recruits that Paul Hewitt has lured to Georgia Tech.

That's a big starting lineup for Georgia Tech, but that's not necessarily their primary lineup. Point guard Moe Miller comes off the bench to play 22.6 minutes per game in ACC play, giving the Yellow Jackets a three-guard lineup for much of the game. Miller missed much of the beginning of the season with an injury, but he has been healthy recently. He scored 29 points on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg last year.

Miller is just 7-of-43 (16.3%) from three-point range this year. However, he's 7-of-22 (31.8%) in ACC play. That means he was 0-of-21 from the outside in non-conference play, a very odd stat.

Georgia Tech's top three-point gunner is wing Lance Storrs, a former Virginia Tech recruit. Storrs is playing over 20 minutes per game and is shooting 41.3% from three-point range on the season.

After Miller and Storrs, Georgia Tech doesn't have much coming off the bench. Brad Sheehan is a 7-0 center, but he averages just 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Nick Foreman is a walk-on who has earned playing time because he plays good defense.

Georgia Tech is an outstanding team defensively. They don't give up a lot of points, and their field goal percentage defense is tops in the ACC, even ahead of Duke. They are an excellent rebounding team. Gani Lawal is tops in the ACC in offensive and defensive rebounding, with Alade Aminu coming in at #2 in defensive rebounding.

Their defense will be put to the test by Virginia Tech, who is one of the top offensive teams in the ACC. However, the Jackets do have a big advantage against the Hokies on the boards and they should look to capitalize.

Georgia Tech could play a very good game for the most part, but still lose. That's what they've been doing this season, thanks to turnovers.

The Yellow Jackets are a turnover machine in ACC play, averaging nearly 20 per game. In four road contests, they are averaging 21.5 turnovers per game. They have turned the ball over fewer than 18 times just twice in nine conference games. The Jackets are creating extra possessions because of their impressive rebounding, but they are giving it right back, and then some, with their turnover struggles.

Iman Shumpert handles the ball quite a bit, and he has been a turnover machine this year. Shumpert alone is averaging four turnovers per game. All three of Georgia Tech's post players have 50 or more turnovers on the season, so expect the Hokies to double team each and every time the Jackets get the ball down low. It will be the direct opposite of the NC State game, where the Hokies didn't double down on Ben McCauley because he's such a good passer.

As mentioned above, Georgia Tech is a very similar team to Wake Forest, in size and athleticism. They are good on the glass, they have a tall, rangy lineup with a lot of wingspan. Like the Deacons, GT's offensive weakness is outside shooting. In ACC play, they are shooting just 31.6% from the outside -- for the entire year, just 29.9%. The Hokies can afford to double down, but it's unlikely that the Yellow Jackets can make them pay from the outside.

In short, the team Virginia Tech is facing tonight is Wake Forest with more turnovers and without Jeff Teague. They are very dangerous, and if they can limit their turnovers, they have the post presence to do enough damage on the inside to beat the Hokies.