Georgia Tech star Moses Wright, the ACC player of the year, will miss the Yellow Jackets’ first-round game against Loyola Chicago in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, sources told ESPN on Wednesday night.
Wright also likely will be out if Tech beats Loyola Chicago and advances to face the winner of Illinois–Drexel, sources said.
A 6-foot-9 senior big man, Wright was playing as well as anyone in the country over the past few weeks of the regular season. He had 26 points and 10 rebounds against Virginia Tech, followed by 31 points and 16 rebounds against Syracuse, then he went for 29 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a win over Duke.
Wright has averaged 17.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.
Coach Josh Pastner likely will have to play a smaller lineup for longer stretches on Friday against Cameron Krutwig and Loyola Chicago, as Georgia Tech rarely took Wright off the floor for more than a few minutes per game. Expect 6-foot-10 sophomore Rodney Howard to see an expanded role; he played double-figure minutes just five times this season, but he did see 18 minutes in an ACC tournament win over Miami.
The Yellow Jackets, winners of the ACC tournament, have won eight straight games entering the NCAA tournament.
The news about Wright’s availability was first reported by Stadium.