Josh Pastner and the Yellow Jackets hit the road for the second time this season on Wednesday, heading to Evanston, Illinois to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. The game is part of the annual ACC/B1G challenge and will tip at 9:15 pm on ESPNU.

The Yellow Jackets are competing in the challenge for the 18th time and have a record of 7-10. You might be thinking that Northwestern is a familiar foe. You would be correct. This will be the fifth time that Georgia Tech and Northwestern face off in the challenge. The two met in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017 and again this year. In the four previous match ups the Jackets are 3-1, including two wins at Welsh-Ryan Arena and each of the last three games. The average margin of victory is 8.8 points in those four games, the largest being 20 (Northwestern) and the slimmest being 1 (Tech last season).

Currently, according to KenPom, Northwestern is a 68-61 favorite. Georgia Tech is currently 77th in the Pomeroy rankings, while Northwestern is 46th.

While Georgia Tech is mostly led by freshman and sophomores, Northwestern has a lot of veteran leadership. Seniors Vic Law and Derek Pardon have a combined 187 collegiate contests under their belt at the Big 10 level. Two very talented transfers, Ryan Taylor (Evansville) and A.J. Turner (Boston College), bookend the Wildcat staples with 158 more games played. All four players average double figures on the season. The leader of the group is Law, who after a somewhat underwhelming career, has seemingly come into his own as a senior. He currently leads Northwestern in points (18.5), assists (3.0) and blocks (1.5).

Northwestern's strength this season is their defense. While some of the numbers are currently skewed by their offensive tempo, they are currently surrendering 61 ppg (27th in the nation) and allowing 31% from behind the arc. Of course, their strength of schedule is also currently 254th in the country.

Northwestern is led by Chris Collins, who is currently in his sixth season in Evanston. He has compiled a record of 93-78 overall and a 36-54 in the Big 10. The Wildcats are still seemingly cruising after a 2016-17 season that saw them go 24-12 with an invitation to the prom for the first time in program history. That season was highlighted by a last second shot by Derek Pardon versus Michigan. They ended up losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Gonzaga. They parlayed that success into a preseason top 25 ranking last year but ultimately under-performed. They were out of the rankings by week 3 and have yet to return.

If this game was in Atlanta I would be tempted to take the Jackets. Though Georgia Tech performed well in Knoxville, I still can't get behind such a young team on the road. I expect the good guys to cover but the Wildcats to win. They have the star power in Law and a quality big man in Pardon that could ultimately negate James Banks, who is still rounding into form. Taylor and Turner have the length and experience to handle players like Brandon Alston, Curtis Haywood and Mike Devoe.

Then again, Northwestern doesn't have a point guard. Georgia Tech has one with an attitude. One that really hates to lose. One that just recently willed his team to victory in a game in which they struggled a great deal. Can you really bet against Jose Alvarado when he plays with a chip on his shoulder? Will Haywood and Devoe combine to go 1-7 from deep two games in a row? Smart money says, emphatically, no.

I have no idea who is going to win, but I think it is going to be extremely tight wire to wire.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets look to continue to protect their home court Friday, hosting the Prairie View A&M Panthers. The game tips at 4:00pm EST and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Pastner's Yellow Jackets are 3-0 at home this year and 18-4 in out of conference home games during his tenure. Currently, Georgia Tech ranks #71 in the KenPom rankings while Prairie View A&M sits at #277. Prairie View A&M averages 69 points per game on offense and surrenders 74.8 on the the season. Kenpom predicts a final score of 78-62 in favor of the good guys for this one.

The Panthers come into the game with a 1-5 record. They are led by fourth year coach Byron Smith. During his tenure the Panthers have a record of 36-49 and have never finished with a winning record. It should be noted that he has only coached two full seasons. They are a member of the Southwest Athletic Conference. A traditional one bid league, the SWAC has been represented in the NCAA tournament by Texas Southern in 4 of the last 5 NCAA tournaments.

Smith's crew comes into McCamish with a back court trio of guards that can score the ball. Seniors Gary Blackston and Taishaun Johnson along with junior Gerard Andrus combine to average 37.8 points per game so far this season. Though they are led by their backcourt, the Panthers are not a threat from deep. They currently rank 334th in the nation, shooting 25.5% from three. They are however 50th in nation in three point percentage allowed at 27.7%.

The Panthers are led by junior Devonte Patterson in the paint. An undersized post, Patterson averages 12.8 points and 7 rebounds per game. He is not much of a rim protector, collecting just 2 blocks in four games.

The Jackets and Panthers have three common opponents so far this season. While Tech is 3-0 against Lamar, UTRGV and East Carolina, Prairie View lost to all three squads. Those games are all part of the Panther's current five game losing streak. The first game of that streak was a loss at Baylor, a game in which Prairie View actually hung around, eventually falling 91-80. To date, the Bears are the only power 5 school that the Panthers have faced. It should be noted that the Panthers did play UNC-Greensboro tough in Greensboro, only falling by 8 points.

This is a game that the Yellow Jackets should handle quite easily. It's not a game that I would expect to see Evan Cole, as his presence is most likely unnecessary. My prediction for today is that James Banks has a big day. The transfer big man saw his minutes played jump from 16 to 19 last game and given the energy and rim protection he brings, I think that trend continues. He is currently averaging 16.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per 40 minutes played through his first three games.

In light of Prairie View A&M's poor shooting, I would expect Pastner's crew to sag a bit and pack the paint, daring the Panthers to shoot. Missed long shots typically lead to long rebounds which could lead to easy baskets in transition for the Jackets. The line for this game has moved from GT(-14.5) to (-16.5) and back down to (-16). Pastner and the Jackets should cover easily at home.