Miami @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 15, 2017 ) Georgia Tech 61, Miami-Florida 70

Both Miami (Fla.) and Georgia Tech feature two of the better defenses in the nation entering Wednesday’s contest in Atlanta, but the Hurricanes have fared better offensively against better competition. The No. 17 Hurricanes are holding opponents to 58.5 points per contest, the third-stingiest defense in the nation compared to Georgia Tech at 64.9 points (34th), but Miami is in the middle of the pack offensively (74.8) while the Yellow Jackets are 320th in scoring at 66.5.

Miami rode a familiar script in its ACC opener Saturday, holding Pittsburgh to 30.8 percent shooting in the first half and forcing 19 turnovers overall in a 67-53 road victory. “I love to play on the road because it’s a better crowd and the crowd’s against us,” Miami forward Anthony Lawrence II told reporters after scoring a team-high 12 points against the Panthers. The road is where Miami finds itself again Wednesday against a Georgia Tech team that struggled through a variety of upset losses to lesser competition in non-conference play, then led at the half Saturday before falling 68-59 at Notre Dame. “We need Ben Lammers to play better,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told the media after his standout center shot just 5-of-18 from the field and scored 11 points.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Miami), FSN South (Atlanta)

ABOUT MIAMI (12-1, 1-0 ACC): Sophomore Dewan Huell leads the Hurricanes in scoring at 13.5 points per game, and his 66.1 percent shooting from the field leads the ACC. Lawrence scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half and freshman Chris Lykes added 10 points off the bench as Miami won its fourth true road game this season (not counting neutral sites), tied for most among Power 5 schools. The Hurricanes are fifth nationally in defending opponents shooting (36.8 percent) and 3-point shooting (27.7 percent).

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (6-7, 0-1): Sophomore Josh Okogie led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points against the Fighting Irish and is averaging 18 points in his five games this season. Lammers did pull down 12 rebounds Saturday and leads Georgia Tech at 8.8 boards per contest while scoring 12.8 points per game. After hitting 37.4 percent of their 3-point attempts through a seven-game stretch, the Yellow Jackets are at 26.4 percent from long range in their past four contests.

TIP-INS

1. The Yellow Jackets shot just 7-of-18 from the free-throw line Saturday, three days after hitting 20-of-21 attempts in a victory against Coppin State.

2. Wednesday marks the sixth consecutive game the Hurricanes have played away from home; Miami has won four of the first five contests.

3. Miami senior G Ja’Quan Newton is five points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.

PREDICTION: Miami 72, Georgia Tech 62