Duke @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 26, 2019 ) Georgia Tech 53, Duke 66

Second-ranked Duke has found its stride since a stunning upset loss at home to Stephen F. Austin, winning seven games in a row entering Wednesday’s visit to Georgia Tech – and impressing coach Mike Krzyzewski along the way. The Blue Devils throttled Miami 95-62 on Saturday to remain unbeaten in ACC play, shooting a season-high 59.7 percent from the field, as freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. finished with 24 points on 11-for-14 shooting and nine rebounds.

“We played very, very well,” Krzyzewski told reporters after the Blue Devils scored 50 points in the first half, finished with 23 points off turnovers, and outscored Miami’s bench 25-14. “Not very well – two verys. When we went to the bench, we didn’t drop. In fact, we ascended.” The Yellow Jackets also were impressive Saturday in a stunning 96-83 victory at North Carolina, opening the game with a 19-2 burst as they shot 59.4 percent from the field and four players scored in double figures. Junior guard Jose Alvarado, working his way back from a right ankle injury that scuttled most of the first half of his season, scored a season-high 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field, adding eight assists and six steals in his best game of the season by far. “He’s been back for five games,” Pastner said of Alvarado, the team leader in scoring and assists a season ago, “and we’ve been a better team with him back.”

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT DUKE (13-1, 3-0 ACC): Carey is third in the ACC in scoring at 18.4 points and rebounding at 9.0, and leads the conference in field-goal percentage (62.8 percent). Freshman guard Cassius Stanley posted his second 20-point game of the season with 20 points – 16 in the first half – against Miami, and on the season is averaging 11 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field. Freshman guard Matthew Hurt, the reigning ACC freshman of the week, averaged 19 points in two games and leads the Blue Devils in scoring (15.3) and 3-point shooting (53.3 percent) in ACC games.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (7-7, 2-2 ACC): The Yellow Jackets have been boosted not only by the return of Alvarado (10.3 points in six games), but also by the debut of USC transfer guard Jordan Usher, who is averaging 10 points and 3.8 rebounds in five games. Sophomore guard Michael Devoe leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points and 3-point shooting at 44.3 percent, but scored just four points Saturday. Junior forward Moses Wright shot 9-for-13 from the field against North Carolina to finish with 22 points and seven rebounds, and in his past five games is averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds on 61 percent shooting from the field.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Georgia Tech scored its most points in an ACC game Saturday since a 114-112 double-overtime loss to Wake Forest in the 2007 ACC tournament.

2. Duke freshman F Wendell Moore Jr., who averages 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds, is out indefinitely after surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand suffered Saturday.

3. The Blue Devils are outscoring opponents by an average of 21.7 points, tops in the nation through Monday.

PREDICTION: Duke 77, Georgia Tech 65