Pitt and Georgia Tech enter Wednesday night’s meeting in Atlanta in desperate need of a winning turn.

Both teams lost at home to Syracuse last week. The Yellow Jackets then fell 91-81 at Miami on Saturday.

Pitt (7-9, 0-3 ACC) has lost six of its last eight games.

“Disappointed in our attention to detail,” Panthers coach Jeff Capel said. “There’s a lot of stuff we have to do to be the team our guys say we want to be. … We can’t be a team that’s good at times.”

Georgia Tech (10-7, 1-3) is carrying a two-game skid.

“There’s pockets during the game where we tend not to execute,” coach Damon Stoudamire said. “We’ve got to eliminate that if we’re going to try to be a good team.”

Kowacie Reeves Jr. leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 16.1 points per game, while there has been solid depth with freshman Akai Fleming fifth on the team at 9.5. Reeves has scored 23 points in two of the past four games.

The status of Georgia Tech center Mouhamed Sylla is in question because of a lower-body injury, though he has practiced this week. He played less than 2 1/2 minutes in the Miami game after missing the two previous games. Stoudamire said he allowed Sylla to return too soon.

There are other areas of concern.

“Right now it’s about getting better,” Stoudamire said. “It’s about keeping guys engaged.”

Pitt’s backcourt has been symbolic of the team’s troubles.

Damarco Minor (10.8 ppg) was held to five points in the 83-72 loss to Syracuse, while freshman backcourt mate Omari Witherspoon lost four turnovers.

“We have not had a game when all of our guards have played well together,” Capel said. “Not one. … We don’t have a lot of depth. We don’t have a lot of experience.”

“What it comes down to is we’ve got to get stops,” Pitt guard Brandin Cummings said. “We’ve got a lot of things to clean up and hopefully we can clean up things in practice before the next game.”

For the season, Pitt has committed 180 turnovers and benefitted from 178 opponent giveaways.

“Our offense has to help our defense,” Capel said.

–Field Level Media

Coming off its first home win in Big East play, Xavier aims to make it two in a row and reinvigorate its fan base when the Musketeers host Butler Wednesday night in Cincinnati.

Xavier (10-7, 2-4) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 97-84 win over Providence on Saturday, while Butler (10-6, 1-4) is entering on a three-game slide of its own.

Until Saturday, the Musketeers had yet to win a conference home game after losses to UConn and Creighton, with their best home win of the season coming against Cincinnati on Dec. 5.

“I think obviously we’re most proud of is giving our fans a good moment in this building,” Xavier coach Richard Pitino said of the win inside Cintas Center. “The (Cincinnati) game obviously was a great moment for them. We know that we’re starting from scratch. We’re going to build a championship team. I really, really believe it, in time, but it does take time.”

Xavier’s Malik Messina-Moore has averaged 22.5 points, three assists and three steals in games vs. Marquette and Providence. He passed 1,000 points for his collegiate career during his 23-point effort against Providence.

Filip Borovicanin has recorded seven double-doubles, which ranks second in the Big East and 21st in the nation.

Butler is coming off an 84-70 loss to St. John’s on Jan. 6, despite shooing 50% from the field and holding a seven-point lead in the second half. The Bulldogs committed 21 turnovers in the loss, after they had committed 10 or fewer turnovers in six of the previous eight games.

“We shot 50% but 21 turnovers, and those are the things, and it’s human nature,” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “Bad stuff happens. As I told the guys, we’re going to be better players. We’ll be a better team next time we take the court. And that’s where it’s got to be.”

After facing Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team, Butler will play a Xavier team coached by Pitino’s son, Richard. Every time Butler comes to Xavier, it’s a homecoming for Matta, who served as Xavier head coach for three seasons from 2001-04.

Finley Bizjack scored a game-high 21 points against St. John’s, his best output since scoring 26 in the Dec. 13 win over Providence. Bizjack is second in the Big East in scoring at 16.3 points per game.

–Field Level Media

The high-powered Georgia offense will need to avoid another slow start when it takes on defensive-minded Ole Miss on Tuesday in Athens.

No. 21 Georgia (14-2, 2-1 SEC) bounced back from its loss to Florida with a 75-70 road victory over South Carolina on Saturday. Ole Miss (9-7, 1-2) erased an early deficit to defeat Missouri 76-69 on Saturday for its first conference victory.

Georgia averages 96.4 points, best in the nation, while Ole Miss allows only 69.6 points, tied for third-best in the SEC. But the Bulldogs needed a big second half to beat the Gamecocks and know a similar scenario could occur against the Rebels.

“Every year, (Ole Miss is) stingy, handsy, physical, switchable, versatile,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “They’re stronger, they’re older. They’ve got guys who have played a lot of college games and they get after you.”

The Bulldogs showed their own defensive teeth in the second half against South Carolina, limiting the Gamecocks to 30 points and enabling Georgia to overcome a 12-point deficit. South Carolina shot just 35.5% from the field and only 27.3% on 3-pointers in the second half.

“We need to be better on the defensive glass, defend without fouling, our decisions in our different pressures, full-court presses, half-court traps,” White said. “There’s still a way to go to reach our ceiling with our defensive decisions.”

Georgia’s versatile offense is led by Jeremiah Wilkinson (16.9 points) and Blue Cain (14.8), with Marcus “Smurf” Millender coming off the bench to average 11.7 points and a team-leading 3.8 assists. Kanon Catchings (9.3 points) had a season-high 20 points against South Carolina and Somto Cyril (10.0 points) scored a career-high 18 against the Gamecocks.

Ole Miss coach Chris Beard knows exactly what to expect from the Bulldogs.

“They’re totally committed to pace of play,” Beard said. “They’re one of the fastest teams in college basketball. It means early shot-clock shots and they put a lot of pressure on you on the break. It’s real. It’s been the same identity from game one to the last game they played. I think they’re worthy of their ranking, so for us it’s an opportunity for sure.”

Ole Miss got a stellar effort in its much-needed win from AJ Storr, who came off the bench to score a season-high 26 in the victory. Storr, who has started 14 of 16 games, is No. 2 on the team with a 12.3 scoring average.

“I was trying to come in and be as aggressive as I could,” Storr aid. “Really just have a (strong) mentality and be aggressive.”

Storr also avoided committing a turnover, as the Rebels gave it away only seven times, the fourth time this season they’ve had seven or fewer turnovers.

“Trying to be a team that takes care of the ball,” Beard said. “They had about twice as many turnovers as we did. We kept it under eight, which is the goal.”

The Rebels’ top scorer is Malik Dia, who averages 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Dia has scored in double figures for eight straight games, including 21 against Missouri.

Ole Miss won last year’s game 63-51 in Oxford. The teams have split the last 10 meetings.

–Field Level Media

Temple assistant basketball coach Bill Courtney died at the age of 55, the school announced Tuesday morning.

A cause of death was not revealed.

Courtney brought more than 30 years of college coaching experience to the Owls when he joined the program in June. He spent 2019-25 with Miami, including a stint as interim head coach for the final 19 games of the 2024-25 season following the retirement of Jim Larranaga.

“Bill was my best friend for 30 years. He was instrumental in every success I enjoyed at Bowling Green, George Mason and the University of Miami,” Larranaga told The Miami Herald.

“It is very difficult for me to even talk about this. We were very, very close, spoke almost every day and had very long conversations.”

Courtney recorded a 3-16 mark at Miami before joining head coach Adam Fisher at Temple.

“I am shocked and heartbroken by the tragic news and passing of my close friend Bill Courtney,” Fisher said in a statement. “Bill made such a big impact on our program in such a short time. He was one of the most respected coaches in the country — thoughtful, prepared, and deeply committed to the game and to winning the right way. Bill made every program he touched better, and his loss is felt profoundly by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill’s family during this extremely difficult time.”

Courtney posted a 60-113 record during six seasons as head coach at Cornell (2010-16).

He is survived by his wife, Gina, and two sons, Billy and Derek.

–Field Level Media

Going by records and recent results, it’s not hard to conjure a scenario in which No. 13 Illinois doesn’t come fully ready to play against host Northwestern on Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill.

After all, the Illini are 13-3 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten, and have won five games in a row while the Wildcats are 8-8 and 0-5 and have lost three straight overall and seven consecutive games against power conference foes this season.

Illinois has lost at Northwestern each of the last three seasons, and Wildcats coach Chris Collins said he believes his team “very easily could be 4-1” in Big Ten play.

Perhaps that’s a quote Illinois coach Brad Underwood just might share with his players to keep them from being overconfident.

“You come on the road and you battle the way we did these last two games, I give our guys a lot of credit for that,” Collins told WGN-AM after Sunday’s 77-75 overtime loss at Rutgers. “And now it’s going to be a challenge. You know, when you come up a little short, do you keep doing it? Do you keep battling? Do we keep fighting? Or do you let go of the rope?

“We’ve got to continue to fight. We’ve played five (league) games, and we come up brutally short in four of the five, right? I mean, we very easily could be 4-1. But we’re not. … We’ve got to keep fighting to get better.”

Is Collins’ 4-1 estimate realistic? After getting blown out from the jump in their Big Ten opener Dec. 3 at Wisconsin, the Wildcats lost their last four conference games by a combined 22 points — to Ohio State, Minnesota, then-No. 9 Michigan State, and then Rutgers.

But Northwestern senior forward Nick Martinelli, who leads the nation in scoring at 24.1 points per game, has yet to lose to the Illini at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Illinois doesn’t have a defender who matches Martinelli’s 6-foot-7 muscular frame. Last season in Evanston, they tried to guard him with bigger players, and he scored 27 points in his team’s 70-66 overtime win. On Wednesday, Underwood likely will ask 6-2 senior Kylan Boswell to handle the job.

Boswell was primarily responsible for Iowa point guard Bennett Stirtz on Sunday, and Stirtz suffered through a 5-for-17 shooting day from the field.

While Stirtz finished with 12 points, Boswell piled up 17 points and three steals.

“It’s amazing when he’s that dialed-in how his offense comes along and his rebounding,” Underwood said of Boswell. “Kylan’s unique. He’s got a great, great base. He’s got great strength and he’s got ultra-quick hands. … He finds a way to annoy. He’s strong. He picks your pocket. He fights over screens.”

Boswell ranks second on Illinois with an average of 14.7 points per game, but the Illini might be the most balanced offense in the country. Keaton Wagler (15.7), Andrej Stojakovic (14.5) and David Mirkovic (12.4) also average in double figures.

Mirkovic averages a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game.

–Field Level Media

In case anyone needs a reminder, Purdue guard Braden Smith is happy to offer one.

“I still can score,” Smith said, “even though I pass a lot.”

Smith’s next choose-your-own-adventure assignment — pass or shoot? — will come when No. 5 Purdue (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten) tips off against Iowa (12-4, 2-3) on Wednesday evening in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers will go for their eighth win in a row. They are coming off a 93-85 home victory against Penn State on Saturday in a game that preserved their undefeated Big Ten record.

Smith will look to stay hot after scoring 26 points vs. the Nittany Lions. He has led Purdue in each of his past two games, averaging 24.5 points in that span.

For the season, Smith is averaging 14.1 points and a team-high 9.8 assists per game. He also is averaging 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals.

Smith credited his teammates for his success.

“I have a team around me that supports me and has the confidence in me to go out and make plays and score the basketball or pass them the ball,” he said.

The Boilermakers will need to be sharp against an Iowa squad desperate for a win.

The Hawkeyes have dropped back-to-back conference games against Minnesota and Illinois. They lost by three points in Minneapolis on Jan. 6 before returning home to Iowa City, Iowa, and falling 75-69 to then-No. 16 Fighting Illini on Sunday.

The back-to-back losses mark the first adversity in the tenure of first-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum.

“When we first took this over, it’s like, man, ‘How can they get to a certain point that quickly?'” McCollum said. “People probably still think I’m crazy, but I see it. It’s coming.

“We’re getting there. You see the crowd coming. You see us winning games. Obviously, we dropped two that we probably shouldn’t have. But it’s building, and we’re going to keep fighting for that.”

Bennett Stirtz leads Iowa with an average of 17.6 points per game on 48.2% shooting from the field and 39.4% from 3-point range. He is averaging 5.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals to go with his scoring totals.

Tavion Banks ranks second on Iowa with 9.7 ppg on 55.1% shooting from the field. Alvaro Folgueiras rounds out the top three with 9.0 ppg on 53.2% shooting.

McCollum said Iowa needs a balanced scoring attack as defenses target Stirtz.

“We don’t have a lot of leverage on the backside of our ball screens right now, so they’re able to load like crazy,” McCollum said. “So it’s really tricky for (Stirtz) to get a quality shot.”

As for Purdue, three players aside from Smith are averaging in double digits in scoring.

Fletcher Loyer is at 14.0 points per game, and Trey Kaufman-Renn is averaging a double-double with 13.3 points and 10.0 rebounds a game.

Oscar Cluff is not far behind for the Boilermakers with 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

“My theory is no one wants to bash their body for 40 minutes,” Cluff said. “So (by) going in the game strong and just doing that from the beginning, obviously over time, your body gets sore. People don’t want to guard you anymore. That’s the theory.”

–Field Level Media