Georgia Tech star Moses Wright, the ACC player of the year, will miss the first round game of the Yellow Jackets against Loyola Chicago in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, they reported Wednesday in the ESPN source.
Wright will also come out if Tech beats Loyola Chicago and moves forward to face Illinois-Drexel winner, sources said.
A 6-foot-nine senior senior man, Wright was playing as well as anyone in the country during the final weeks of the regular season. He scored 26 points and 10 rebounds against Virginia Tech, followed by 31 points and 16 rebounds against Syracuse, then gained 29 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a win over Duke.
Wright averaged 17.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.
Coach Josh Pastner will likely have to play a smaller lineup during longer stretches Friday against Cameron Krutwig and Loyola Chicago, as Georgia Tech rarely took Wright off the field of play for more than a few minutes per game. Expect six-year-old Rodney Howard to have an expanded role; he played double-digit minutes just five times this season, but saw 18 minutes in an ACC tournament win against Miami.
The Yellow Jackets, winners of the ACC tournament, have won eight straight games entering the NCAA tournament.
Stadium first reported news of Wright’s availability.