Georgia Tech @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2019 ) Syracuse 97, Georgia Tech 63

In a season where not much has gone right for Syracuse, a resounding win over Georgia Tech remains a bright spot. The Orange and Yellow Jackets are set for a rematch Saturday, this time on Syracuse's home court, in a contest between two middle-of-the-pack ACC foes.

Syracuse crushed Georgia Tech 97-63 in the first meeting as Elijah Hughes dropped in a career-high 33 points and the Orange limited Yellow Jackets leading scorer Michael Devoe to seven points on 2-of-12 shooting. "We all were just low on energy. I don't know what it was, but we're going to bounce back most definitely," Georgia Tech's Moses Wright said that day. "Like I said, no excuses for the way we played." The Yellow Jackets can make amends this time by defeating the Orange, who have dropped five of their last six games to fall into a sixth-place tie in the ACC standings with Georgia Tech and several other teams. Georgia Tech has won five of its last seven games, including a recent win over Louisville, which bounced back by crushing Syracuse the last time out.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: RSN

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (13-13, 7-8 ACC): Georgia Tech barely ranks inside the top 300 nationally in scoring but authored a nice performance against Wake Forest in its last game, shooting 52 percent as a team and outrebounding the Demon Deacons 37-27. Devoe contributed 24 points, five assists and five rebounds, while Jose Alvarado was 13-of-15 from the foul line en route to 22 points. Wright added 14 points and has scored in double figures in six straight games while adding 20 rebounds, six blocks and five steals over the last three games.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (14-12, 7-8): Hughes has battled a groin injury of late but still leads Syracuse in scoring (18.5 points) to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks. He shot 3-of-13 against Louisville on Wednesday in a 90-66 defeat and went 1-of-6 from 3-point range, dropping him to 7-of-39 from beyond the arc over a seven-game stretch. Freshman Quincy Guerrier has contributed double-digit points in four straight games and has two double-doubles in that span, including 14 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to Louisville.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The teams have split 12 all-time meetings.

2. Georgia Tech's James Banks III ranks second in the ACC in blocks per game (2.5).

3. In six of the last seven games, Devoe has shot at least 50 percent from the field.

PREDICTION: Georgia Tech 71, Syracuse 70