Halftime Report
Northwestern is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 31-26 lead against Georgia Tech.
If Northwestern keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 8-3 in no time. On the other hand, Georgia Tech will have to make due with a 4-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ Northwestern Wildcats
Current Records: Georgia Tech 4-5, Northwestern 7-3
How To Watch
What to Know
The Northwestern Wildcats will take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a holiday battle at 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at at Fiserv Forum. The Wildcats pulled off an upset win in their last outing, and are hoping to pull that off once more against the 6.5-point favorite Yellow Jackets.
Last Friday, Northwestern needed a bit of extra time to put away Illinois. They managed a 70-66 win over the Fighting Illini.
Northwestern can attribute much of their success to Nick Martinelli, who went 11 for 20 en route to 27 points plus six rebounds and two blocks. Martinelli continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jalen Leach, who posted 16 points along with five assists.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech suffered their closest loss since February 14th last Saturday. They fell just short of N. Carolina by a score of 68-65. The Yellow Jackets have now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Baye Ndongo, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. He had some trouble finding his footing against Oklahoma two weeks ago, so this was a nice turnaround. Another player making a difference was Lance Terry, who earned 22 points.
Northwestern pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. As for Georgia Tech, they now have a losing record at 4-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Northwestern has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.8 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Georgia Tech struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 39.1. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
Northwestern was able to grind out a solid win over Georgia Tech in their previous matchup back in November of 2018, winning 67-61. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northwestern since the squad won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds
Georgia Tech is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Northwestern, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Yellow Jackets as a 5.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 138.5 points.
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Series History
Northwestern and Georgia Tech both have 1 win in their last 2 games.
- Nov 28, 2018 – Northwestern 67 vs. Georgia Tech 61
- Nov 28, 2017 – Georgia Tech 52 vs. Northwestern 51
