Victory Slips Away From Georgia Tech At Louisville
The game was closer than what oddsmakers projected it would be, but yet again the Yellow Jackets found themselves on the wrong end of the win/column when the final horn sounded. Despite taking a 6 point lead into halftime, the #6 Louisville Cardinals outscored Georgia Tech by 10 in the second half, handing the Yellow Jackets a 68-64 loss in the process. It drops them to 8-11 on the season and 3-6 in the ACC, and hands Tech their ninth straight loss to the Cardinals.
If you have watched any amount of Georgia Tech Basketball this season, you won't have to guess what was their Achilles' heel in this game. A season long detriment, turnovers continued to haunt the Yellow Jacket, as they committed 17 for the evening. They also gifted Louisville extra and extended possessions by allowing 14 offensive rebounds even though Cards won the rebounding battle by 1 (34-33). Although had it not been for Louisville's lackluster performance last the foul line (14-23), the game might have been over sooner than it truly was.
Much like in their game against Virginia, whenever they were not turning the ball over, their offense looked much improved in comparison to the beginning of the season. Tech shot 13-21 in the first half (61.9%) despite turning it over 10 times during that span. Point guard Jose Alvarado came out aggressive, connecting on GT's first three buckets including a pair of threes. The junior from Brooklyn also led the Institute in rebounding, hauling in 10 boards for a double-double.
As impressive as Alvarado was in the first half, shooting guard Michael Devoe was as impressive in the second. His 12 second half points were mostly responsible for a game high of 21, good for his 7th 20 point game of the season. However outside of Devoe, the Jackets shot just 5-17 in the latter 20 minutes and 9-27 with him.
Even with the odds stacked against them, where you can give Tech credit in this game is that they did not go quietly. After a 10-0 Louisville run with just 5 minutes left, the Yellow Jackets did not fold in a hostile environment. Instead, they fired off a double digit rally of their own, mounting an 11-0 run to pull within 1. But clutch free throws from the Cardinals and a missed three pointer from Devoe would seal the deal as time winded down to zero.
Next up, Georgia Tech heads back home to McCamish Pavilion for a season-opener rematch with the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Tipoff is set for Saturday, January 25th at 4:00pm.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @GeorgiaTechSI
Twitter - @GeorgiaTechSI and Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp
