Preview: Pitt Has No Time Left to Spare

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have four more games of their regular season and their perspective has changed.

After a 76-72 loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 22, they have little chance of convincing the NCAA Tournament selection committee they are worthy of a bid unless they get hot.

Pitt only has one more Quad 1 opportunity when they travel to No. 25 Louisville on March 1. They also face a Quad 2 opponent in NC State on March 5. They return home for their season finale on March 8 against Boston College.

Even if the Panthers can walk away 3-0 in these contests, a run in the ACC Tournament is almost required to sneak into March Madness.

Before the weekend road trip to Louisville, Pitt hosts Georgia Tech for a midweek matchup.

Preview: Pitt vs Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets are led by second-year head coach Damon Stoudamire, who has the task of guiding the program to their first winning season since 2020-21.

Stoudamire and his team travel to Pittsburgh with a 13-14 record overall and a 7-9 record against conference opponents.

Georgia Tech's season has had great wins and poor losses, including a three-point loss to ranked No. 20 North Carolina on Dec. 7.

After going on a three game win streak, the Yellow Jackets followed that up with four straight losses to ACC opponents around the same time the Panthers suffered their first losing streak.

Georgia Tech took down then ranked No. 21 Louisville 77-70 at home on Feb. 1 and won in triple overtime at rival Clemson, 89-86 on Feb. 4.

They come into this matchup off the back of a 69-54 loss to Boston College on the road on Feb. 22, giving the same ACC record as Pitt.

The latter win came thanks to sophomore guard Naithan George, who has led the Yellow Jackets in scoring in four of their last seven games. George is the second-leading scorer on the team with 12.9 points per game on the season, but has found his stride recently.

George's first 20-point game of the season came in a 71-68 loss at Notre Dame on Jan. 28. Since, he has scored 20 or more points four times and 15 points in the win against Louisville.

Those scoring outbursts are mostly thanks to hitting a high percentage of his three-point shots and his aggressiveness on the offensive end. Standing at six-foot-three, George can score in a variety of ways and also leads the Yellow Jackets with 6.3 assists per game.

Senior guard Lance Terry leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring with a career-high 14.6 points in his 33.8 minutes per game.

The College Park, Ga. native spent three seasons at Gardner Webb where he found a major increase in his role in 2021-22, starting all 31 games he played in and averaged 14.3 points per game.

He then transferred to Georgia Tech and started much of last season for the Yellow Jacket, averaging just over 10 points per game.

Standing at six-foot-three, Terry is a 36.9% three-point shooter on just under five attempts per game for his career. Terry hasn't shot well in the Yellow Jackets' last four games, but if the early season is any indicator, he is more than capable of scoring 20 points.

The ability to have a scoring outburst is a common theme for the Yellow Jackets' starting five. Sophomore forward Baye Ndongo averages 12.8 points per game and leads Georgia Tech with 8.5 rebounds per game.

The Dakar, Senegal native is a model of consistency for the Yellow Jackets. Ndongo averaged 12.4 points and 8.2 rebounds while starting all 29 games he played in as a freshman and this season, he has started all 27 games he's played in and his production has just barely increased across the board.

Ndongo has grabbed double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games while scoring double-digits in nine of his last 10 games. Notably, Ndongo has recorded 16, 13, and 15 boards in his last three outings and has made a rare three-pointer in the last two.

Senior guard Javian McCollom rounds out the Yellow Jackets' starting backcourt but his status against the Panthers is unknown.

Averaging 12.2 points, McCollom exited the triple overtime win against Clemson with a concussion and has missed the past four games. Just like his running mates, McCollom is capable of scoring upwards of 20 points in a game, but his efficiency often waivers.

The Panthers are the heavy favorites heading into the match up against the Yellow Jackets, but they have the ability to allow underappreciated players to have their best game.

Players who have struggled to make shots in recent games can get hot when the Panthers are on the other side of the court. Considering the Panthers have been heavily favored to win a few times this year and came out flat, this contest is anyone's game.

How to Watch: Pitt vs Georgia Tech

Pitt vs. Georgia Tech will tip off at 7:00 pm on Feb. 25 at the Petersen Events Center. The game will be live on the ACC Network.

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