Louisville Outlasts virginia Tech 73-71

Chris Hirons

January 7, 2021

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Carlik Jones drove into the paint and floated the ball towards his team’s hoop with a little over two minutes remaining. The Louisville guard’s shot, which would’ve extended the Cardinals’ lead to seven, likely icing the game and crushing Virginia Tech’s hopes for a comeback, rimmed out.

A few possessions later, Tech stormed back, bringing the game to within a point after Keve Aluma nailed two free throws with five-and-a-half seconds remaining. After fouling David Johnson on an inbound pass and watching the other half of Louisville’s backcourt make his first free throw and then missing his second, the Hokies had one play left to steal a win at the KFC Yum! Center.

One shot left to win a game that Virginia Tech started out on an 11-0 run, prompting Louisville head coach Chris Mack to burn a time out two minutes into the game. One play to win a game that the Cardinals, at one point, outscored the Hokies 47-22. One opportunity to beat a team that the Hokies hadn’t beaten in 30 years.

Aluma grabbed the board after Johnson’s missed free throw and tossed the ball to Hunter Cattoor, who was left scrambling, trying to find an open shot as the Hokies trailed by two in the closing seconds. In desperation, Cattoor rose up between the circles — for a second it looked like his shot would have a chance — and the shot bounced high off the rim as the buzzer sounded, leaving the Cardinals victorious, 73-71.

Virginia Tech (8-2, 2-1 ACC) hadn’t taken the court in eight days after its game against Virginia was cancelled because of a positive test within UVa’s program. Before last week’s 80-78 win against Miami, Tech’s last game was eight days prior to that. Two games in 16 days doesn’t bode well for consistency’s sake, however, Virginia Tech knocked off some rust early and scored 11 points before the socially distanced crowd could find its seats.

After the 11-point laser show that saw Justyn Mutts nail back-to-back treys, Louisville (8-1, 3-0 ACC) scored 36 of the first half’s next 56 points as the Hokies’ offense progressively shot itself in the foot with bad turnovers and bad shot selection.

“We had a bad start again,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said. “Our starts have been pretty good over the course of the season. We didn’t respond very well and mishandled a couple of things and they popped us in the nose.”

On Tech’s opening possession, Aluma didn’t hesitate and nailed a wide open jumper. The next three possessions were finished off by three deep balls — one from Wabissa Bede and Mutts’s two aforementioned three pointers.

Then, the Hokies’ offense was silent for much of the rest of the first half. After the three treys to open the game, the Hokies missed their next 15 shots, outside of Jalen Cone, from deep. Cone, though, was a menace from beyond the arc and was one of the only reasons the Hokies had a fighting chance when the final horn sounded. He scored a career high 23 points on the back of a 6-12 shooting effort from deep.

“As soon as I stepped on the floor, [Louisville’s head] coach had his guys locking and chasing and right on my hip,” Cone said. “I knew I could just get my shots off quick and really elevate on my shot, and do what I did.”

After rolling through Louisville’s defense in the opening minutes, the Hokies struggled the rest of the half, only converting seven of 21 three-pointers following the team’s barrage in the opening minutes.

Virginia Tech’s youth and inexperience led to the team faltering for the rest of the first half. Louisville suddenly found itself in the drivers seating heading into halftime with a five point lead thanks to six Hokie turnovers and a 10-point margin in second chance points.

Once again, turnovers and bad shots hurt the Hokies to open the second half as the Cardinals increased their lead over VT to a then-game high 12 points. Missed shots, turnovers and bad fouls allowed the Hokies to hang around and claw their way back into the game late in the second half. Even with Louisville’s six rebound advantage, the Hokies found a way to nail shots and get to the free throw line, converting 11-of-12 of their charity line shots in the second half.

Eventually, Virginia Tech trimmed the lead to eight points; then to six; to four, as Lousiville watched its lead dwindle down then to a mere two points, giving a chance for Cattoor to win the game on a near-half court prayer at the buzzer.

Had one of Virginia Tech’s three pointers received a lucky bounce and fallen to the bottom of the basket, not only would experts be talking about how Virginia Tech is a legit contender for the ACC title, but they’d also need to start to have conversations about how far Young’s squad could go in the NCAA Tournament.

It’s time to hold the horses on the deep-run tournament talk, but one thing remains clear: Young’s squad is ready to compete with the best in the ACC.