Georgia Tech Basketball vs Pitt: Preview, How To Watch, and Prediction
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Georgia Tech had their second ACC win in their hands right up until they didn't.
The Yellow Jackets led Notre Dame (who was winless in the ACC) by seven points with 2:31 left and let the Fighting Irish take the game to overtime and win by one point.
Georgia Tech (8-8, 1-5 ACC) has now dropped two games in a row since upsetting Miami and it is not going to get easier for them. The Pitt Panthers (11-6, 4-2) are coming to Atlanta and the Panthers are hoping to avoid losing to Tech and falling further in the ACC standings. In ESPN's latest update on Bracketology, Pitt is the last team in the tournament and they are going to be trying to prevent a loss on the road that could push them out of that spot.
Can Georgia Tech upset Pitt?
Pitt is a team that Georgia Tech has had a good amount of success against recently. Tech has defeated Pitt five straight times at home and has won seven of eight games all-time. Georgia Tech has won the last three games in the series and five of the last six to take a 12-5 in the overall series, 7-5 since Pittsburgh joined the ACC. The Yellow Jackets won the only meeting between the two teams in 2021-22, a 68-62 decision at the Petersen Events Center (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Tech’s 73-57 win in its final home game of the 2019-20 campaign was the widest margin of victory for either team since Pitt joined the ACC. Eight of the 10 meetings as ACC foes have been decided by eight points or less. Tech has won six of eight games between the two teams since Josh Pastner became the head coach. Tech is 5-1 against the Panthers’ current head coach, Jeff Capel, having scored an 86-65 victory over VCU during the 2003-04 season when Capel was the Rams’ head coach (Per Georgia Tech PR).
One thing to keep an eye on for Georgia Tech is available players. During his press conference on Friday, Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner was unsure if either Ja'von Franklin or Deivon Smith were going to play, saying that both players were sick. If neither player is able to go, it would really hurt Georgia Tech's chances of pulling an upset.
Miles Kelly will need to pick up the scoring against Pitt
If both players are out, it is going to be up to the other guys on the team to pick up the scoring. Kyle Sturdivant is coming off his best game of the season and he came off the bench to play 13:35 in the second half and all five minutes of overtime at Notre Dame, scoring a career-high 18 points against the Irish. He scored all seven of Tech’s points in the overtime period, notching his first double-digit game since his previous season best of 14 on Dec 21 against Clemson. It was his fifth double-digit game this season (Per Georgia Tech PR).
If not Sturdivant, then one of the other guards, Miles Kelly or Lance Terry is going to have to have a good game on the offensive end. Kelly is averaging a team-high 16.5 points and has hit 43.8 percent of his threes and all 16 of his free throw attempts over six ACC games. Kelly has emerged as one of the ACC’s top three-point marksmen and highest volume three-point shooters, ranking fourth in percentage (40.4) and sixth in both three-pointers made (2.5 per game) and attempted (99). Terry is averaging 10.5 points in ACC games (Tech’s only other player other than Kelly averaging in double figures for ACC games) while hitting 10-of-25 from the three-point range (40 percent) (Per Georgia Tech PR).
How To Watch Georgia Tech vs Pitt
Who: Georgia Tech vs Pitt
When: 3:00 p.m., Saturday
Where: McCamish Pavillion, Atlanta (GA)
TV: ACC Network
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 136/194, SXM app 956 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
Prediction:
Georgia Tech is going to have a hard challenge against Pitt on Saturday
Even if they were fully healthy, this would be a challenging game to win for Georgia Tech, even at home. If both Franklin and Smith miss the game, it is only going to make it that much harder.
Pitt is a pretty solid offensive team and they are going to challenge what has been a pretty solid defense for Georgia Tech this season.
The potential of Franklin and Smith not playing, as well as the overall struggles and inconsistency of the offense and shooting, does not make me confident that they can win this game against a pretty good team. If both players play, anything is possible, but I am predicting another loss for Pastner and Georgia Tech.
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