Georgia Tech ‘desperate’ ahead of matchup with Pittsburgh

Two weeks into January, Georgia Tech already finds itself in desperation mode as it pertains to climbing out of the ACC’s basement — and certainly as it relates to having any shot of making the NCAA Tournament.

Tech (10-7, 1-3 ACC) enters Wednesday’s matchup against Pittsburgh, a 7 p.m. tipoff at McCamish Pavilion, one of six teams that has three league losses. Coach Damon Stoudamire’s squad is in danger of losing four of its first five conference matchups if it can’t figure out a way to beat the Panthers.

After a 91-81 loss at Miami on Saturday, the Jackets remain one of the worst teams in the ACC, according to the metrics. The NCAA’s NET ranking has Tech at 144 — only Boston College is lower at 176. The site kenpom.com ranks the Jackets 117th (again, only BC is lower).

Kenpom projects Tech to finish the season 14-17 and 5-13 in ACC play.

“A lot of the games are coming down to the same thing,” Stoudamire said Monday on 680 The Fan on his weekly radio show. “We’re gonna have to find a way to get some payback for some of these games that we’ve lost.”

The good news for the Jackets is they face a very beatable Pitt team Wednesday. The Panthers (7-9, 0-3 ACC) have lost three consecutive games and are 0-3 in road games.

Pitt has losses to Quinnipiac and Hofstra this season and started its ACC season with losses to Miami, Clemson and Syracuse, respectively.

“Pitt is a team that will come in desperate. They are playing really hard. They have good guards. They put a lot of pressure on you. They’re not necessarily a big team, but they do put a lot of pressure on you,” Stoudamire said Monday during the league’s weekly teleconference. “Honestly, we’re a desperate team right now, too. I’m looking forward to the game. Probably the more desperate team wins that game on Wednesday.”

Stoudamire, making $2.3 million in this the third year of a five-year contract, has dipped back under .500 as Tech’s coach at 41-42. He’s now 18-26 against the ACC and 5-14 in January games.

A win Wednesday would give Tech only its second victory against a team not considered a Quadrant 4 opponent by the NET rankings.

Mo Sylla update

Stoudamire said Monday that Mo Sylla, one of Tech’s freshman centers, worked out and practiced with the team this week, but there’s no timetable as to when he will be able to fully contribute.

Sylla (6-foot-10, 240 pounds) played only a little more than two minutes in Saturday’s loss at Miami as he tried to return from an ankle injury. The Senegal native has played in 15 games and is averaging 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per games.