Notre Dame @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 12, 2019 ) Notre Dame 78, Georgia Tech 71

Notre Dame forward John Mooney is enjoying a stellar senior season, but his team is struggling entering Wednesday’s road contest at Georgia Tech. Mooney leads the nation in rebounds per game at 13.9 and has recorded a double-double in 13 of his 15 games, but the Fighting Irish have dropped two in a row overall and four of their first five ACC matchups, the latest a 67-64 home defeat on Saturday against No. 10 Louisville despite Mooney’s 15 points and 19 rebounds.

“We’re a very poised group to be able to claw and fight back,” Mooney told reporters postgame, after Notre Dame rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit before faltering in the final minutes. “We’ve got to stop putting ourselves in that position in the first half.” Things are going better for the Yellow Jackets, who are at .500 in conference play and already have won three times on the road in ACC play following Saturday’s impressive 71-52 victory at Boston College. Junior forward Moses Wright registered his sixth double-double of the season with team highs in points with 18 and rebounds with 10, as Georgia Tech shot 50.9 percent from the field. “We’re shooting the ball better now, but we’ve never been a team that’s going to live and die with 3’s,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told the media afterward.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (10-6, 1-4 ACC): Mooney has recorded a double-double in 10 consecutive games and leads the Fighting Irish in scoring average at 15.7. Sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb averages 12.1 points and 5.5 assists, and has helped Notre Dame lead the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.83. Senior guard T.J. Gibbs ranks second in field-goal percentage in ACC games at 58 percent, second in 3-point shooting at 56 percent and second in free throws at 90.5 percent.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (8-8, 3-3): Wright is averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds across his past six games, recording four double-doubles in that span while shooting 51.2 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Michael Devoe leads Georgia Tech in scoring at 16.1 points, and junior point guard Jose Alvarado has averaged 12.1 points and 5.0 assists in seven games since returning from a right ankle sprain. Georgia Tech is limiting opponents to 39.6 percent shooting from the field.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Georgia Tech senior F/C James Banks III leads the ACC in blocked shots per game (3.13), finishing with four blocks Saturday.

2. The Fighting Irish lead the country in fewest fouls committed per game (11.7) and rank second nationally in turnovers per game (9.9).

3. The Yellow Jackets are 10-1 all-time at home against Notre Dame.

PREDICTION: Georgia Tech 68, Notre Dame 64