Georgia Tech @ Northwestern

What will be the GAME RESULT?

Georgia Tech: Wins or Single Digit Loss

@ Northwestern: Wins By Double Digits

Current odds:

Georgia Tech: (+320)

Northwestern: (-380)

• The line for this game is Northwestern by 8 points.

• Northwestern has combined good shooting with tenacious defense to win five of its first six games and looks for more of the same when it hosts Georgia Tech on Wednesday in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Wildcats forced 21 turnovers that led to 26 points and shot 50.9 percent from the field – including 10-for-21 from 3-point range – in downing Utah 79-57 on Sunday in the Wooden Legacy tournament’s fifth-place game. “Our defense has got to be our calling card,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins told reporters after Vic Law scored 19 points and the Wildcats outscored Utah 51-33 after halftime. “I think we can be a team with deflections that can cause some turnovers, and we did that at a very high level.”

• The Yellow Jackets needed a second-half rally to down Prairie View A&M 65-54 on Friday, getting 15 points from Jose Alvarado – all in the second half. Georgia Tech, which had played well in its first four games before a sluggish performance against Prairie View A&M, used an 11-0 run to erase an eight-point deficit with 14:16 to go. “We are going to rely on our 3-point shooting and our defense,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told the media afterward. “When we are good at those two, we are going to win games, and if one of the two is off, it’s going to be hard.”

• Brandon Alston leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring at 13 points per game, scoring 13 of his 14 points Friday after halftime to help Georgia Tech rally. Alvarado, who missed the final month of last season with a fractured elbow, is scoring 11.6 points per contest while leading Georgia Tech in assists (21) and steals (11). The Yellow Jackets are forcing 16.8 turnovers per game and average nine steals per contest.

• Law has scored in double figures in every game so far this season and leads the Wildcats in scoring at 18.5 points per game. Northwestern has held four of six opponents to fewer than 60 points per game while forcing 16.7 turnovers per contest. Dererk Pardon is 25-of-38 from the field this season, including 9-for-9 shooting in the past two games.

•  The Yellow Jackets have held four of five opponents to lower than 40 percent shooting from the field.

• The Wildcats have shot 50 percent or greater from the field in three of their first six games.

• Georgia Tech has defeated Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge the past two seasons.