Pittsburgh @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2020 ) Georgia Tech 64, Pittsburgh 73

Georgia Tech has decided to drop its appeal to the NCAA and therefore will not be eligible for postseason play, and enters Wednesday’s home matchup against Pittsburgh with two games remaining in its season. The Yellow Jackets are playing some of their best basketball of late, winning four of their past five games after Saturday’s 63-57 home victory over Miami, and their nine ACC victories are the program’s most since 2003-04.

Georgia Tech can clinch a .500 record in conference play for the first time since 2006-07 with one victory in its final two games, and with only two seniors on the roster (forward/center James Banks and guard Shembari Phillips), the Yellow Jackets are hoping to continue building momentum entering the offseason. “We will do everything in our power over the final two games of the season to send James and Shembari out on a high note,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said in a statement released Monday. The Panthers will play in the ACC Tournament but are struggling as their losing streak reached six games following Saturday’s 77-73 road loss at North Carolina State. Coach Jeff Capel nonetheless was encouraged with Pitt’s effort despite the Panthers losing a seven-point lead midway through the second half, telling reporters postgame, “We looked like the team we played as for much of the season, and that was encouraging.”

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: FSN/AT&T SportsNet

ABOUT PITT (15-15, 6-13 ACC): Sophomore guard Au’Diese Toney scored 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field against N.C. State, and is averaging 13.7 points across his past six games with five double-digit performances. Freshman forward Justin Champagnie leads the Panthers in scoring (12.3 points) and rebounding (7.4) after scoring 10 points Saturday. Senior forward Eric Hamilton finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds against N.C. State, his first double-figure scoring game since Dec. 16.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (15-14, 9-9): Banks scored 13 points with 14 rebounds (one off his career high) against Miami for his sixth double-double of the season and his first since Feb. 1. Junior guard Jose Alvarado scored a team-high 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting Saturday, adding seven steals and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Michael Devoe averages a team-best 16 points per game, scoring 14 points against Miami for his eighth consecutive game in double figures.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pitt shot 55.6 percent from the free-throw line against N.C. State, well below its season average of 71.2 percent.

2. The Yellow Jackets have won six home games in a row after starting the season 3-6 at McCamish Pavilion.

3. Pittsburgh defeated Georgia Tech 73-64 on Feb. 8 as Champagnie scored 30 points on 12-for-17 shooting while Devoe led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points.

PREDICTION: Georgia Tech 74, Pitt 67