Virginia loses consecutive games for the first time since 2013
Virginia's first two-game losing streak since Dec. 2013 came at the hands of a pair of unlikely opponents.
The first loss came Monday night against a rebuilding Virginia Tech team projected to finish second-to-last in the ACC before the season began. The second loss came against a long-struggling Georgia Tech team that managed only 28 points in its previous game against the Cavaliers.
Quinton Stephens, Adam Smith and Nick Jacobs each scored 16 points apiece on Saturday afternoon to lead the Yellowjackets to a 68-64 upset of the fourth-ranked Cavaliers. Virginia stormed back from a 15-point first-half deficit to tie the game at 49 on a Marial Shayok 3-pointer, but the momentum proved short-lived as Georgia Tech reasserted control with an 11-0 run of its own.
The key to the game-changing surge was Georgia Tech's ability to spread the floor, move the ball around and sink outside shots. Stephens sank a pair of 3-pointers during the run and Smith capped it with a third as the Yellowjackets shot 8-for-15 from behind the arc on the day.
Virginia (12-3, 1-2) had been expected to contend for a third consecutive ACC regular season title entering the week, but back-to-back losses against lesser opponents could be crippling. The Cavaliers still have seven games left against Top 25 opponents including two apiece against Louisville and Miami and single games with Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.
It's been well publicized that Virginia's defense isn't quite as smothering this season as previous ones, but the Cavaliers offense was what let them down against Georgia Tech. They shot 40.4 percent from the field and 4-for-18 from behind the arc. Malcolm Brogdon led them with 19 points, but he needed 20 shots to get those.
Give Georgia Tech some credit for Virginia's struggles because the Yellowjackets (11-5, 1-2) are vastly improved in Brian Gregory's fifth season. They beat VCU, Tennessee and Arkansas in non-league play and they pushed North Carolina and Pittsburgh in their opening two ACC games.
The good news for Virginia is that its next opponent doesn't have Tech in its name. The bad news is that the opponent is No. 12 Miami.
Either the Cavaliers will have to get well against a quality opponent, or they'll suffer their first three-game losing streak since Feb. 2011.
- - - - - - -
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
