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Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets Host Pitt in Season Home Finale

By Blake Silvers

Feb 26, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner yells to his players in the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner yells to his players in the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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After dropping two straight games in ACC play, the Yellow Jackets look to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive as they host Pittsburgh in their season home finale at McCamish Pavilion Tuesday night.

Georgia Tech (16-13, 7-9) desperately needs a win to keep their tournament hopes alive as Pittsburgh (15-14, 4-12) rolls into Atlanta for the final regular-season game at McCamish.

The Yellow Jackets have lost two straight games, falling short in a comeback to North Carolina State at home last week, and dropping a close one on the road to Notre Dame over the weekend.

Last Time Out:

Looking to get another top-25 win under their belt, Georgia Tech fell just a little short in their 64-60 road loss at South Bend on Sunday.

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The Yellow Jackets, as they have done so often this season, made a strong push late in the game, but couldn’t find a way to come out on top of the No. 21 Fighting Irish.

Tadric Jackson led his team off the bench with 20 points in just 28 minutes, going 9-for-17 on field goals, and hitting a pair of three pointers.

As a team, Tech hit 44.8 percent of its field goals, but Jackson’s two three pointers were all the Jackets could manage from beyond the arc. A strong defensive effort kept the Jackets close, but not enough offense resulted in Tech’s second straight loss.

Know the Opponent:

Pittsburgh has also lost their last two games, and has dropped three of their last five coming into Tuesday night’s game in Atlanta.

Under first-year head coach Kevin Stallings, Pitt has an overtime win over Virginia under its belt, but has only won four ACC games, even with a solid defense.

Pitt is averaging 75.4 points-per-game, while allowing 75.9, which has been good enough to keep them just above the .500 mark.

Players to Watch:

Georgia Tech: C Ben Lammers

Going into Tuesday night’s game versus Pitt, Ben Lammers has 100 blocks on the season, which is two more than the Panthers have as an entire team. If Lammers can defense the basket, while getting an advantage on offense inside, the Jackets will have a shot to get points against a stingy Pitt team.

Pittsburgh: F Michael Young

Senior forward Michael Young leads all Panthers with 20.2 points-per-game on the season, along with seven rebounds. He had 14 points and 10 rebounds in Pitt’s loss to Virginia Tech, but fell below his season average. If Young can hit or exceed his season averages at Georgia Tech, the Jackets could be playing catch up.

Prediction:

As a pair of first-year head coaches wrap near the end of their first regular seasons in the ACC, Georgia Tech will take advantage of the home crowd to notch a much needed conference win. Tech has more to play for, and has Ben Lammers defending the basket. Advantage Yellow Jackets.