Louisville Takes Down Virginia Tech in Mikel Brown Jr.'s Return

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A few extra days off and getting closer to full strength proved to be just what the Louisville men's basketball program needed.

Welcoming Virginia Tech to the KFC Yum! Center for their first contest in a week, the Cardinals earned a convincing win over the Hokies at home, securing an 85-71 victory on Saturday.

The No. 23 Cardinals (14-5, 4-3 ACC) win back-to-back games following a stretch where they had lost three times in a four-game span. The win over the Hokies (15-6, 4-4 ACC) also gets them back above .500 in ACC play for the first time since they won their conference opener at Cal.

The victory also marked the much-anticipated return of Mikel Brown Jr. The star true freshman point guard for UofL had missed the last eight games due to a back injury. Louisville is still awaiting the return of Khani Rooths, who has missed the last three games due to illness.

Brown led the Cardinals with a team-high 20 points and six assists, and was one of four Louisville players to crack double figures. Ryan Conwell added 15 points and six boards, J'Vonne Hadley finished with 14 points, while Sananda Fru had a 13-point/10-rebound double-double.

The offense, while it had some trouble getting started, looked more like what we have come to expect with Brown running the floor. Louisville shot 47.0 percent from the field and 13-of-33 on three-point tries, although they only had two more assists (17) than turnovers (15).

What really stood out the Cardinals was their defensive presence inside the arc. While the Hokies were an absurd 16-of-30 from deep, they were held to 9-of-32 on two-point tries. UofL also out-rebounded them 44-to-31, and limited them to 14 points in the paint and 4-of-13 on layups.

Louisville's offensive efforts were a little bit stagnant to begin the game. It took some adjustment from the Cardinals with Brown back in the lineup, as they shot just 9-of-27 over the first 16-plus minutes of the games, and turned it over seven times during that span.

Fortunately, UofL started the game by putting together arguably their best defensive half of the entire season, providing stout resistance around the rim. Virginia Tech shot it just 8-of-33 in the period despite going 5-of-13 from deep, and the Hokies also coughed it up nine times.

In the final segment of the half, Louisville was finally able to get going offensively and generate some separation between them and VT. They hit five of their final eight shots of the half, which allowed them to go on a 14-3 run and go into halftime leading 37-22.

That momentum on the offensive end of the floor for Louisville carried over into the second half, which was able to counter some blistering three-point shooting from Virginia Tech.

The Cardinals shot 17-of-31 in the period, offsetting a 17-of-29 mark by the Hokies - including an insane 11-of-17 performance on threes. While VT were able to generate the offense necessary to keep pace, UofL kept them out of striking distance, leading by as much as 20 and only letting their advantage dwindle to as little as eight.

Next up, Louisville will brave the snow and head back on the road for a rematch at Duke on a short turnaround. Tip-off against the Blue Devils is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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