Louisville Throttled in Rematch Against Virginia Tech
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Facing Virginia Tech in their penultimate game of the 2023-24 regular season, the Louisville men's basketball program continued to sputter towards the finish line, falling 80-64 in the rematch on Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals (8-22, 3-16 ACC) are now on a six-game losing streak with their loss to the Hokies (17-13, 9-10 ACC). They have lost by an average margin of 18.0 points during this span and match their longest losing streak of the season.
Louisville also fails to avenge a 75-68 loss at Virginia Tech back on Dec. 3, 2023, in what was the ACC opener for both teams. They're now on a four-game losing streak against VT after having previously been 17-game win streak that extended back to 1991.
Once again, Louisville struggled mightily with their effort and execution on the defensive end, especially out on the perimeter. They allowed Virginia Tech to rain three pointers, with the Hokies shooting 13-of-29 from beyond the arc and 48.2 percent from the field overall.
It negated one of Louisville's better shooting performances on the season, as they connected on 45.5 percent of their field goal attempts and went 9-of-23 on threes. However, overall it was not a great offensive showing, as the Cardinals nearly doubled up VT in turnovers - 14-to-8 - assisted on just 11 of their 24 made field goals and were 5-of-11 on free throws.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield finished with a game-high 19 points, while Mike James had 16 points and Ty-Laur Johnson came off the bench for 10 points.
Louisville dug themselves into a hole right out of the gates. They made just one of their first six shots of the night, while Virginia Tech made seven of their first ten, helping put the Cardinals down 17-4 just 5:12 into the game.
While UofL was able to make six of their next seven shots to trim the deficit to as little as six points, they still managed to shoot just 12-of-26 for the half while also turning the ball over 10 time. Combine that with the Hokies continuing to shoot nearly at-will, going 17-of-32 from the field and 8-of-16 on threes in the half, and VT took a 49-31 lead into halftime.
Like they have in so many of their game where found themselves trailing big at the half, Louisville did what they could on the offensive end to try and mount a comeback. They shot 13-of-29 in the second half, and even came within ten points of Virginia Tech with 11:33 left in the contest.
But while the Hokies' overall shooting did cool off a touch in the second half, going 10-of-24 in the period, they were still deadly from three-point range. Their 5-of-13 mark on the long ball helped keep Louisville - while within striking distance - never truly a threat to go on an extended run and mount a true comeback.
Next up, Louisville will host Boston College for their final game of the 2023-24 regular season. Tip-off against the Eagles is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 9 at 5:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Tre White: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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