Miami @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Georgia Tech 65, Miami-Florida 80

Miami closes out its road slate Saturday as it caps off a three-game trip at Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes come off an 87-71 loss to Notre Dame that snapped their three-game winning streak and now they face a Yellow Jackets squad that continues to exceed expectations and has won its last five home games, four against ACC foes, after taking down visiting Clemson 68-59 Tuesday.

"We have eight ACC wins," said fourth-year Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner. "I told our guys that it has not been done a lot here at Georgia Tech. The last time we got to nine wins in conference was 2004. … To get to nine would be a great steppingstone for our program. We have the opportunity to try to keep winning and even get to 10 wins in the ACC. It has only been done a limited number of times here. These are the next steps of what we are trying to do.” The Yellow Jackets haven't finished above .500 in conference games since they went 9-7 in 2003-04, when the school advanced to the NCAA Championship Game, and they haven't returned to the Big Dance since 2005. But while the Yellow Jackets are moving forward, the Hurricanes have had an up-and-down season partly due to injuries but a bright spot has emerged with the play of guard Isaiah Wong, the ACC's Freshman of the Week the last two weeks. Wong set career highs with 27 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double in a triple-overtime win over Virginia Tech last Wednesday and he became the first Division I freshman in the last 10 seasons to post 25-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and 10-plus made free throws without a miss in a single game.

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

ABOUT MIAMI (14-13, 6-11 ACC): Wong joined fellow freshman Harlond Beverly and senior Dejan Vasiljevic in leading the Hurricanes with 12 points in the loss to Notre Dame, but it was the team's inability to win the 3-point battle that proved costly as the Hurricanes hit just 2-of-12 3-pointers in the first half and 5-of-22 for the game (22.7 percent) while the Irish nailed 14-of-31 (45.2 percent). Guard Chris Lykes remains the team's top scorer (15.2 per game) despite managing just eight points in the loss, but Wong and Beverly are coming on strong after their ninth double-digit scoring efforts of the season. Beverly, Keith Stone and Rodney Miller each pulled down six boards against Notre Dame, but the Hurricanes were held to just 36 rebounds after notching 42 and 55 in the previous two games.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (14-14, 8-9): Guards Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe continue to lead the way for the Yellow Jackets and they combined for nearly half (33) of the team's 68 points against Clemson. Alvarado played through an injury scare after falling on his arm in the first half, but he still finished with 19 points and he's averaging 15.8 points in ACC play, while Devoe totaled 14 points, just about his 14.4 average in conference action, and posted a game- and career-high eight assists. Georgia Tech's defense put the clamps on the Tigers, holding them to just 59 points and 2-of-20 connections from long distance after Clemson entered the contest averaging 77 points and hitting 34-of-68 3-pointers in winning its last three games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Miami owns a 14-9 series lead after registering an 80-65 home victory over Georgia Tech last February that was tied for the Hurricanes' largest conference win of the 2018-19 campaign.

2. Georgia Tech is 5-3 over its last eight conference games, a stretch that includes four straight home wins over NC State (64-58), Virginia Tech (76-57), Louisville (64-58) and Clemson (68-59).

3. Vasiljevic has moved into third place in Miami history with 262 career 3-pointers.

PREDICTION: Georgia Tech 74, Miami 70