Louisville basketball holds off Georgia Tech rally, advances at ACC Tournament (2024)

Brett Dawson|Louisville Courier Journal

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Before his Louisville basketball team left for for the ACC Tournament this week, interim coach Mike Pegues looked back at some madness last March.

He recalled the way Oregon State in the Pac-12 and Georgetown in the Big East ransacked their respective conference tournaments, surging to tourney titles and stealing automatic NCAA tournament bids.

“I just told our guys that at some point, those guys — Georgetown and Oregon State both going into their conference tournament — they had to look at each other and say, ‘You know what? We can get this thing,’” Pegues said Monday. “Like, ‘If we play our game, if we play together, if we compete and get after it the way that we know we can, we can get it.’”

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For the first half of the first night at the Barclays Center, at least — and enough of the second— the Cardinals played like they believed.

And a challenging second half didn't shake the Cards' belief.

No. 11 seed Louisville raced ahead of 14th-seeded Georgia Tech and then withstood a furious Yellow Jackets rally — thanks in part to a pair of huge 3-pointers from guard Jarrod West — to win 84-74.

The Cardinals advanced to the second round, where they’ll face No. 6 seed Virginia at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Cardinals (13-18) fell behind 9-3 to start Tuesday’s game against the Yellow Jackets (12-20), and it seemed like the game might be another offensive struggle for a Louisville team that has faced an uphill climb scoring for most of the season.

But the Cards responded with a 24-6 run to pull in front 27-15 with 7:38 to play in the first half. Louisville led by 27 points with 12:07 to play.

It took some time, but theYellow Jackets made a push. Georgia Tech got as close as five points, but 3-pointers from West — one with 2:16 to play and another 17 seconds later — helped the Cardinals hold on.

West scored 20 points to lead Louisville. Noah Locke had 16, Malik Williams 14, Sydney Curry 12 and El Ellis 10, a rare night for the Cards with four double-digit scorers.

As a result, Louisville took its first step here. The next ones will be harder.

But Louisville played for much of the game like the kind of team Pegues wants it to be this week. Until the Georgia Tech rally, Louisville'sdefense was active and attacking, itsoffense potent andpurposeful.

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And the Cards were engaged. When Jarrod West had a first-half steal and breakaway layup, forward Samuell Williamson stomped and screamed in front of the seats on the Cards bench. When Malik Williams hammered a one-handed dunk in the second half, the Louisville sideline erupted.

It was Louisville’s best body language in weeks. And it looked a little like belief, the kind that Oregon State and Georgetown must have had to make March magic last year.

“I’m sure that (belief) started before they got on the bus,” Pegues said. “I’m positive that it only escalated after they got their first win.”

Three takeaways from the Louisville win:

A turnabout in foul play

Drawing fouls has been an issue for Louisville for most of the season, even after a renewed emphasis by Pegues on getting the ball in the paint to center Sydney Curry.

It found rare success on the foul front against Georgia Tech, particularly early.

Louisville shot 10 free throws before halftime. It failed to reach double-digit free throw attempts in eight regular-season games.

But the Cards struggled to maintain that assertiveness in the second half. It got to the free-throw line eight times in the second half, but half of them came in the final 1:07 as Georgia Tech fouled to extend the game.

Louisville finds scoring stroke

For half of Tuesday’s game, Louisville seemed all but unstoppable

In the second half of its regular-season finale — a loss to Virginia — and the first half against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Louisville combined to score 89 points.

The Cards got 45 of those points in the first half against Georgia Tech, one of the sharpest offensive halves of the season.

Even as the Louisville offense slowed in the second half, the Cards managed 39 points. The issue in the final 20 minutes was the U of L defense, which allowed 46 Georgia Tech points after halftime.

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Virginia up next

Lousville will see a familiar faces in Wednesday’s second round. But not the friendliest ones.

Virginia beat Louisville in the teams’ regular-season finale last Saturday and swept two meetings with the Cards this season. And the Cavaliers have been a longtime issue for Louisville.

The Cardinals have lost four straight against the Hoos and 13 of the past 14. This will be the teams’ second meeting at the ACC Tournament. Virginia beat Louisville 75-58 in the 2018 tournament, also in Brooklyn.

Louisville basketball holds off Georgia Tech rally, advances at ACC Tournament (2024)
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