Doubleheader Preview: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech, NC State

Both the men and women's basketball programs are set to host Georgia Tech and NC State, respectively.

(Photo of Carlik Jones: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports, Dana Evans: Scott Utterback/Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Due to the Louisville men's and women's basketball programs playing a doubleheader at the KFC Yum! Center on Monday, Feb. 1, Louisville Report is providing a preview of both contests, starting with the men's side of things.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-5, 4-3 ACC) at No. 25 Louisville Cardinals (10-4, 5-3 ACC)

- Tipoff: Monday, February 1st at 2:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: WKRD 790/WHAS 840
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -4.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 22-14
- Last Meeting: Georgia Tech won 64-58 on Feb. 12, 2020 (McCamish  Pavilion - Atlanta, Ga.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• F Quinn Slazinski (6-8, 215, So.)
• F Dre Davis (6-5, 220, Fr.)
• C Jae'Lyn Withers (6-8, 215, R-Fr.)
• G Carlik Jones (6-2, 185, Gr.)
• G David Johnson (6-5, 210, So.)

Georgia Tech

• F Jordan Usher (6-7, 213, Sr.)
• F Moses Wright (6-9, 233, Sr.)
• G Michael Devoe (6-5, 197, Jr.)
• G Bubba Parham (5-10, 160, Sr.)
• G Jose Alvarado (6-0, 179, Sr.)

Main Storylines

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's matchup with Georgia Tech: Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Yellow Jackets, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape & Prediction: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville will open the month of February with its first of three games in six days as the Cardinals face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Monday in the KFC Yum! Center. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 9 before Georgia Tech paused.
• Louisville fell 54-50 at Clemson on Jan. 27 as the Cardinals shot a season-low 31.6 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from the free throw line. Carlik Jones scored 11 points as the lone Cardinal in double figures and Jae’Lyn Withers matched his career high with 12 rebounds. Withers is seventh in the ACC in rebounding, averaging 7.6 per game.
• Louisville has a 60-17 record in its conference home games over the last nine years (.773). UofL has the fourth-most conference home wins in its seven years in the ACC with a 44-14 ACC home record (9-1 last season). 
• Carlik Jones, named to The Sporting News MidSeason All-America team on Jan. 28, ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring (17.8 ppg) and third in assists (4.6 apg). Jones has 96 career double-figure scoring efforts, including the last 36 consecutive games (all 13 at UofL). He has 30 career games with 20 or more points (four of the last seven). He needs 16 points for 1,800 in his career. Jones has collected 15 steals in the last six games.
• Louisville is 8-1 when outrebounding its opponent. UofL’s +6.0 rebounding advantage in conference games is second in the ACC and its +5.3 margin on the season is fourth in the ACC.
• David Johnson is the only player in the ACC among the top 25 in both rebounding (5.9, 22nd in ACC) and assists (3.6, ninth in the ACC), adding 12.4 points per game. He has made 16-of-36 three-pointers in his last eight games (.444) and has made a team-leading 23-of-57 threes on the season (.404). He made just five threes as a freshman.
• Jae’Lyn Withers has made 65.2 percent of his shots over his last six games (30-of-46). He has produced double-digit rebouding efforts in three of his last six games.
• Louisville is among the top defensive teams in the ACC, ranking fourth in the ACC in scoring defense (64.6 ppg), third in three-point field goal defense (.310) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.408). UofL has limited seven opponents to below 40 percent accuracy from the field.
• Louisville has won the rebounding battle in nine games this year, including six ACC games (42-38 advantage at Clemson in its last game). Louisville is 8-1 in games when out-rebounding its opponent. UofL’s +6.0 rebounding advantage in conference games is second in the ACC and its +5.3 margin on the season is fourth in the ACC. Louisville produced double digit rebounding margins in its first two ACC games vs. Pitt and Boston College. The Cardinals tied a much taller Florida State team 35-35, and Miami is the only ACC team to beat UofL on the boards. Louisville has faced three of the nation’s five tallest teams in the KenPom analytics this season, winning two of those three matchups (beat 3 Seton Hall and 5 Kentucky, lost to 2 Florida State).
• Louisville is among the top defensive teams in the ACC, ranking fourth in the ACC in scoring defense (64.6 ppg), third in three-point field goal defense (.310) and third in field goal percentage defense (.408). UofL held Duke to its season-low scoring total and limited Clemson to its third-lowest in its last game. The Cardinals held Boston College (.333) and Wake Forest (.368) to a season-low field goal percentage. UofL has limited its opponent to below 40 percent accuracy from the field on seven occasions this season (four under 35 percent).
• UofL has made 79.3 percent of its free throws in the final five minutes of its games (69-of-87). The Cardinals are seventh in the ACC in free throw percentage for the season (.728, 98th in the nation). Louisville has shot 75 percent or better from the free throw line on 10 occasions this season, including 75 percent (18-of-24) against Duke two games ago.
• After a three-game stretch in which the Cardinals made 21-of-49 three-pointers (.428), Louisville has followed with making 18-of-76 threes in its last four games (.237). The Cardinals rank 52nd nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom analytics. Louisville’s 45.8 field goal percentage is fifth in the ACC (93rd in the nation).
• With games at Syracuse and Virginia coming up, by the end of the week Louisville’s will have played seven of its 11 ACC contests this season on the road due to two home postponements to date.
• Louisville is No. 28 in the RPI, No. 34 in the Sagarin Ratings, No. 41 by KenPom, No. 46 in the NCAA NET and No. 51 in ESPN’s College BPI through Jan. 30.

Georgia Tech

• Back on the road for the third time in four games, Georgia Tech looks to build on an important win over No. 16 Florida State with a 2 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference contest Monday against No. 25/23 Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center.
• The Yellow Jackets sit in seventh place in the ACC standings and a NCAA NET ranking of No. 55 following Saturday’s 76-65 homecourt win over the Seminoles, which kept the Jackets unbeaten at home in ACC games. The win followed a pair of close losses at No. 13 Virginia (64-62) and Duke (75-68) in which they led late, and Tech is looking for its first ACC win on the road. Prior to that, the Jackets had won three straight conference games, including No. 20 Clemson, Wake Forest and North Carolina by an average of 13 points. Tech remains one of the ACC’s highest scoring teams - third at 77.69 points per game overall.
• The gauntlet - Georgia Tech is in the midst of a fivegame stretch that includes four top 25 teams - No. 20/22 Clemson, No. 13/12 Virginia, Duke (previously ranked), No. 16/16 Florida State and No. 25/23 Louisville.
• Georgia Tech are No. 55 in the NCAA NET rankings, its highest position during conference play in five seasons under Josh Pastner. The Jackets are No. 51 in KenPom’s ratings, also their highest position. 
• Georgia Tech, one of the ACC’s top offenses all season, ranks No. 6 in the ACC in scoring average (70.29 ppg), and also ranks No. 4 in scoring defense (66.29). Florida State is the only other team to rank sixth or higher in both. According to KenPom.com, Tech has the ACC’s fifth-most efficient offense and the third-most efficient defense in conference play.
• Georgia Tech (77.69) remains third in the ACC in scoring average in all games. According to KenPom.com, Tech has the league’s fifth-most efficient offense (104.5), and ranks third in effective field goal percentage (56.3 pct.) and fifth in turnover percentage (17.0).
• Four Tech starters are averaging in double figure points for the season, led by Jose Alvarado at 18.3 points per game, and also in ACC games, led by Alvarado’s 18.1.
• Moses Wright surpassed 900 career points and 500 career rebounds with his 23-point, 8-rebound game againt Florida State. He is within reach this season of becoming the 21st played in Tech history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career.
• Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe are averaging 18.14 and 15.14 points per game in ACC games, ranking No. 3 and 11, respectively, and have accounted for 47.4 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ points. They have scored or assisted on 72.6 percent of Tech’s field goals in conference play. Combined, they have shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from three-point range. The Jackets are 5-1 this season when both players score in double digits, including three ACC wins.
• Alvarado, Devoe and Bubba Parham have combined to hit 53-of-112 collectively (47.3 percent) in Tech’s last eight games (7-of-14 vs. North Carolina, 6-of-12 vs. Delaware State, 8-of-19 vs. Florida A&M, 7-of-13 vs. Clemson, 6-of-9 at Virginia, 5-of-12 at Duke, 6-of-14 vs. FSU).
• Perhaps the least talked-about member of Tech’s starting lineup, Jordan Usher grabbed some attention by scoring 21 points vs. Clemson and 19 at Virginia (15-23 FG, 7-12 3pt FG, 10 rebounds, four assists). He has averaged 14 points over Tech’s last four games is averaging 11.9 points (50 pct. FG) in ACC games.
• Tech moved 6-9 senior Moses Wright, who has played the “4” position most of his career, into the “5” spot and started 5-10 senior Bubba Parham beginning with the Dec. 6 win over Kentucky. The re-alignment has worked as the Jackets have shot 48.4 percent from the floor, hit 8.9 three-point field goals per game (39.4 percent), have a plus-64 margin on turnovers, and assisted on 62.6 percent of its field goals in that stretch.
• Since going to its smaller lineup, Tech has had just 22 shots blocked in its last 11 games, seven of those by Virginia. The Yellow Jackets had 13 shots blocked in their two season-opening losses. At the time of Tech’s meetings with them, Kentucky ranked No. 4, Nebraska No. 28, FSU No. 1 (both meetings) and North Carolina No. 8 in average

No. 2 North Carolina State Wolfpack (11-1, 6-1 ACC) at No. 1 Louisville Cardinals (16-0, 9-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Monday, February 1st at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: WKRD 790/WHAS 840
- Betting Favorite: To Be Determined
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 8-3
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 66-59 on Feb. 13, 2020 (Reynolds Coliseum - Raleigh, N.C.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Dana Evans (5-6, Sr.)
• G Hailey Van Lith (5-7, Fr.)
• G Elizabeth Balogun (6-1, Jr.)
• F Olivia Cochran (6-3, Fr.)
• F Elizabeth Dixon (6-5, Jr.)

NC State

• G Raina Parker (5-4, Gr.)
• G Kai Crutchfield (5-8, Sr.)
• W Jakia Brown-Turner (6-0, So.)
• F Kayla Jones (6-1, Sr.)
• C Camille Hobby (6-1, So.)

Comparison

	Louisville	NC State
Points Per Game	82.5	81.8
Scoring Margin	+21.8	+18.7
Field Goal Percentage	.482	.486
3PT FG Attempts	130-356	92-244
3PT FG Percentage	.365	.377
3PT FG Per Game	8.1	7.7
FT Attempts/Made	194-245	159-223
FT Percentage	.792	.713
FT Made Per Game	12.1	13.3
Rebounds Per Game	40.9	44.3
Rebounding Margin	+7.0	+9.5
Assists Per Game	16.4	16.4
Turnovers Per Game	12,4	13.9
Turnover Margin	+3.4	-0.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.3	1.2
Steals Per Game	7.8	7.3
Blocks Per Game	5.3	4.3

Game Notes

Louisville

• UofL is 16-0 to start the season, which marks the second best start in program history. The Cardinals started a program-record 20-0 in 2017-18. With NC State and UConn’s losses on Thursday night, Louisville is the only undefeated team in the AP Top 25. California Baptist (14-0), Bucknell (6-0) and UC Davis (4-0) are also undefeated.
• UofL held at No. 1 in the AP and USA Today polls for the second straight week. It marks the first time that UofL has ever been ranked No. 1 in each poll. The Cardinals are 4-0 as the No. 1 team with a scoring margin of +7.3. In their first 12 games before reaching No. 1, their scoring margin was +26.6. Louisville is one of seven teams to be ranked No. 1 in the AP poll the last decade, joined by Baylor, UConn, Notre Dame, Oregon, South Carolina and Stanford.
• Last week, Dana Evans was named ACC Player of the Week and USBWA National Player of the Week after playing all 80 minutes and averaging 23.0 points in wins over Syracuse and Wake Forest. In the last four games, she has played 153 of 160 minutes and is averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists. She has made 33 consecutive free throws and hasn’t missed since Dec. 6 vs. UT Martin. She has 11 20-point games, which are four more than VT’s Aisha Sheppards’s seven, which rank second. She has 23 career 20-point games and UofL is 23-0 in those games. The All-American has scored in double figures in every game this season. She leads the ACC with 19.5 points per game and ranks fifth with 4.4 assists per game. She leads the ACC with a 93.5 free throw percentage and ranks sixth with 37 3-point makes.
• Liz Dixon has scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the second time this season. She had a Louisville career-high 21 points and led the team with nine rebounds against Miami and followed that with 13 points and four rebounds against UNC. Her previous career high at UofL was 15 points at Boise State on 11/24/19. She twice had a career-high 22 points during her freshman season at Georgia Tech. She had 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes vs. FSU for her first double-double of the season. It was her second double-double in a Louisville uniform. She had 10 points and 13 rebounds against WKU on Nov. 5, 2019, her first game as a Cardinal. She shot 0-4 in the season opener at SEMO, but is 56-90 (.622) from the floor since. After shooting 49.6 percent (56-113) last season, she is shooting 59.6 percent (56-94) this year.
• UofL leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the country with a 79.2 free throw shooting percentage. In ACC play, they are shooting an impressive 86.3 percent (88-102). The top six leading scorers are all shooting above 76.5 percent from the stripe and combined they are shooting 83.8 percent (165-197).
• Eleven of 16 wins came in the month of January, which is the most ever in the first month. The previous mark was nine in 2015-16 (9-0) and 2019-20 (9-0). UofL played 11 games in January, which will be the most in head coach Jeff Walz’s tenure in the first month of the year. The previous high for the month under Walz was nine in 2015-16, 2016-17 (7-2), 2018-19 (8-1) and 2019- 20. UofL played a program-high 12 games in January in 1979-80 (5-7) and 1981-82 (7-5).
• Louisville is 112-11 (.911) over the last four seasons.
• UofL is 54-5 in ACC regular season games over the last four seasons. They are 28-3 in home games and 26-2 in road games. The Cardinals are 60-7 in ACC regular season and tournament games combined.
• UofL is 9-0 to start ACC play. They started a program-best 10-0 in ACC play in 2015-16 and 2019-20. In 2013-14, they started a program-best 11-0 in AAC play.
• Dating back to last season, UofL has won 14 straight at the KFC Yum! Center. They won a program-best 17 straight home games from 2016-17 and 2017-18.
• UofL led all 40 minutes in the 79-76 win over Miami and the 79-68 win over UNC, which marked the third and fourth time where they haven’t trailed (vs. EKU, vs. DePaul).
• UofL has a scoring margin of +21.8, which leads the ACC and ranks eighth in the NCAA. Louisville won by a season-high 51 points (W, 97-46) against Bellarmine. Their smallest margin of victory is two points at Wake Forest (W, 65-63).
• UofL is averaging 82.5 points per game, which leads the ACC, ranks 12th in country and is on pace to be best ever in program history. Previous high is 79.0 in 1990-91.
• UofL’s bench is averaging 24.3 points per game, which accounts for 29.5 percent of its production. The bench outscored their opponent in the first 10 games, but the bench has been outscored in four of last six and three of the last four. The bench scored a season-high 52 points against Bellarmine and a season-low six points at Duke.
• UofL’s 5.3 blocks per game rank second in the ACC and 21st in the NCAA. Elizabeth Balogun is averaging 1.7 blocks per game, which ranks seventh in the ACC.
• UofL’s 12.4 turnovers per game are the fewest in ACC and rank 18th in the NCAA. The Cardinals +3.4 turnover margin leads the ACC.
• The Cards are shooting 48.2 percent on the year, which ranks second in the ACC and ninth in country, and is on pace to tie the best field goal percentage in program history, they also shot 48.2 percent in 2017-18.

NC State

• Ranked season-high and program best-tying No. 2 nationally in the Associated Press Top 25 for the second week in a row 
• Ranked second in the league behind No. 1 Louisville 
• No. 2 nationally and first in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (32.7) 
• No. 7 nationally and first in the conference in field-goal percentage (.486)
• Also paces the league in field-goal percentage defense (19th, .347)
• No. 15 nationally in scoring margin (+18.7) and scoring offense (81.8)
• Also top-25 nationally in three-point field-goal percentage (18th, .377), rebounds per game (20th, 44.3) and rebound margin (24th, +9.5)
• Four members of the squad with scoring averages in double digits - Elissa Cunane (16.2), Jakia Brown-Turner (14.6), Kayla Jones (13.2) and Jada Boyd (10.8)
• Cunane and Brown-Turner both rank in the top 15 in the ACC with their scoring numbers.
• Shot better than 50 percent as a team in a total of six games this year
• Top six scorers all averaging at least 44 percent shooting
• Cunane (3rd - .582) and Brown-Turner (9th - .464) both ranked in the top 10 in the league in field-goal percentage
• Raina Perez (2.59) and Jakia Brown-Turner (2.31) own the ACC’s top two assist-to-turnover ratios, with Perez also ranking third in assists per game (4.8)
• Held five of its opponents to under 30 percent shooting and nine of 12 opponents to under 40 percent
• Averaging 38.5 points in the paint and also a threat from distance with an average of 7.7 made three pointers per contest
• Put together three-point shooting percentages of 40 percent or better in six outings
• All-American center Elissa Cunane (the team’s leading scorer, rebounder, shooter and shot blocker) has missed the last two games as she remained in COVID protocol/return to play protocol
• Through seven conference contests:
• Three Wolfpack players are putting up scoring averages of more than 10 points - Elissa Cunane (18.6), Jakia Brown-Turner (16.4) and Kayla Jones (14.0). NC State is the only ACC program that has three players averaging more than 14 points per game in league play.
• NC State is shooting 48.3 percent from the field against ACC foes while holding its conference opponents to 37.2 percent shooting. Both of those numbers pace the league.
• Two players (with at least 50 attempts) are shooting 50+ percent in league action - Elissa Cunane (.635) and Kayla Jones (.500).
• The Pack is averaging 78.9 points per game, which ranks atop the ACC, and is outscoring its conference opponents by an average of 9.9 points, which ranks second behind Louisville.
• NC State has come back from a fourth-quater deficit in three games this season - at No. 1 South Carolina (Dec. 3), at Boston College (Dec. 13) and versus Virginia Tech (Jan. 24). In those outings, the Wolfpack trailed at the five minute mark but bounced back and outscored its opponents by a combined 53-14 to secure those victories.
• In the midst of its eighth season under the leadership of head coach Wes Moore, the Wolfpack has earned 53 true road wins (averaging 7.1 per completed season) since the start of the 2013-14 season. In the prior eight seasons from 2005-06 to 2012-13, the Wolfpack earned 32 true road wins (4.0 per season).

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