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Louisville HC Kenny Payne Previews Georgia Tech (2/24/23)

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Cardinals are staying on the road for a rematch with the Yellow Jackets.
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Louisville Cardinals (4-24, 2-15 ACC) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-17, 3-14 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, February 25 at 2:00 p.m. EST
- Location: McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga.
- How To Watch: Regional Sports Networks
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Georgia Tech: -8.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 26-14
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 68-58 on Feb. 1, 2023 (KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

  • G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Sr.)
  • G/F Mike James (6-5, 215, R-Fr.)
  • F J.J. Traynor (6-8, 190, Jr.)
  • F Jae'Lyn Withers (6-9, 220, R-Jr.)
  • F Sydney Curry (6-8, 270, Sr.)

Georgia Tech

  • G Kyle Sturdivant (6-3, 196, Sr.)
  • G Lance Terry (6-2, 200, Sr.)
  • G Miles Kelly (6-6, 175, So.)
  • G Dallan "Deebo" Coleman (6-6, 218, So.)
  • F Ja'von Franklin (6-7, 214, Sr.)

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

  • Last game: Louisville was unable to get over the hump in the second half at Duke, falling 79-62 this past Monday.
  • KEY FIRST HALF RUN: An early 11-4 run by the Cardinals put them ahead of Duke 18-9 within the first seven minutes of play. El Ellis recorded 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in the first five minutes of play. The Blue Devils answered immediately with a key 13-0 run that elapsed 3:15 and shifted the momentum in their favor.
  • KEY SECOND HALF RUN: The Blue Devils went up 59-42 with an 8-1 run that lasted just under two and a half minutes. The Cardinals answered back with a 7-1 run from the Cardinals, starting with a dunk from Roosevelt Wheeler and ending with five straight points from JJ Traynor to put the Cards within 10 with 9:37 left in the half. The Cards stayed within 10 points before Duke went on a seven-point run over 2:20 to end the game with a score of 79-62.
  • UofL shot 23 of 52 (.442) from the field, 7 of 17 (.412) from 3-point range, and 9 of 10 (.900) from the free-throw line. The Cardinals shot 90% from the free-throw line. Over the last four games, UofL has shot 52 of 59 (.881) from the charity stripe. Louisville shot 41.2% from behind the arc. This marks the eighth game and third time in four games this season the Cards have shot 40% or better from three-point range.
  • El Ellis tallied 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the floor, 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and 2 of 2 from the free throw line. This scoring outburst marks the fourth straight game with more than 20 points and the guard is currently averaging 25.8 points per game over the last four games. Ellis has only missed two free throws since the game against Florida State on Feb. 4, shooting 27 of 29 (93.1%) from the line. The North Carolina native also pulled down two rebounds and added in a team-high seven assists and two steals in 36 minutes of play.
  • J.J. Traynor matched his career high in points, earning 16 points for the second straight game. He shot 6 of 10 (60%) from field goal range and 4 of 5 (80%) from the three-point line. The forward has shot 7 of 10 (70%) from behind the arc over the last three games. Traynor added in three rebounds and one steal through 27 minutes of play.
  • Brandon Huntley-Hatfield recorded nine points, shooting 3 of 5 from field goal range and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. The forward played 27 minutes in his third game back to the lineup and recorded a team-high five rebounds. Over the last two games, Huntley-Hatfield is averaging 24.5 minutes and shot 7 of 12 from field goal range and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He also pulled down nine rebounds.
  • Senior guard El Ellis was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds last week across Louisville’s 83-73 win over Clemson and its narrow 61-58 loss to No. 7 Virginia. Ellis played 78 of 80 possible minutes in both games and shot 55% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 85% from the free-throw line.
  • El Ellis is averaging 25.8 points per game over the last four games while shooting 55% from the field, 48% from 3 and 91% from the free-throw line. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 16 of the last 19 games. In his last 14 games since 2023 began, he has 72 assists against just 45 turnovers. As of Wednesday, Ellis is 1 of 14 players nationally with at least 500 points and 130 assists.
  • Over the last three games, junior forward JJ Traynor is averaging 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while making 7 of 10 shots from 3-point range. Traynor has made three times as many 3s this season (21) as he did in his first two seasons combined (7). He’s scored a career-high 16 points in back-to-back games against Clemson and Duke.
  • In the last six games, Louisville has made 77 of 88 free throws (87.5%). The Cardinals have shot 90% or better from the free-throw line in each of the last two games and 80% or better for the last six games, both of which are program firsts since at least 1974.
  • Louisville started Monday’s game at Duke with an 18-9 lead, marking the eighth loss for the Cardinals this season in which they’ve led by at least eight points at one time, including six times in ACC play

Georgia Tech

  • Georgia Tech (11-17, 3-14 ACC) is looking to even its season series against the Cardinals, who won the first meeting, 68-58, on Feb. 1 in Louisville. Tech has won its last three home games, taking down Notre Dame (70-68), Virginia Tech (77-70) and Division II Florida Tech (79-56).
  • Georgia Tech finishes out the regular season next week with a pair of road games at eighth-place Syracuse and 10thplace Boston College. If the ACC Tournament started today, the Yellow Jackets would face either Florida State or Virginia Tech in the opening round.
  • Since the teams’ first meeting on Feb. 1, Georgia Tech is 3-3, Louisville is 1-5.
  • Tech’s February upswing has been led by its two transfers, center Ja’von Franklin and guard Lance Terry, who have averaged 14.0 and 11.7 points, respectively, over the last six games.
  • Tech’s leading scorer Miles Kelly has averaged 17.0 points and 4.7 rebounds over the Yellow Jackets’ last three games, hitting 46.2 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from three-point range.
  • Since Terry returned from his hamstring injury (last five games), Tech has averaged 71.3 points per game, connected on 44.9 percent of its shots from the floor and 38.0 percent of its three-point attempts. In the four games he missed, Tech averaged 53.8 points, hit 34.5 percent of its field goals and 25.2 percent of its threes.
  • Tech has utilized the same starting lineup (Lance Terry, Kyle Sturdivant, Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly, Ja’von Franklin) for its last six games, the longest stretch of games this season that head coach Josh Pastner has sent out the same five.
  • Tech has used 11 different starting lineups this season, and no Yellow Jacket has started every game. Nine Jackets have started at least two games, and eight of them have started a minimum of 13 times.
  • Tech continues to lead the ACC in three-point defense and is 26th nationally, allowing 30.4 percent from distance.
  • Tech ranks No. 2 in the ACC in bench scoring, its reserves contributing 19.2 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season, and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 16 of 28 games.
  • With Deivon Smith missing his third straight game with an ankle injury, Tech used only six players for significant minutes at Pitt (Freds Pauls Bagatskis played seven seconds late in the game). It was the first time this season the Jackets have used fewer than eight players, and the two reserves that played totaled 30:18.
  • Still, Tech’s bench outscored Pitt’s 10-2. Pitt’s three reserves played a total of 35 minutes.
  • Deebo Coleman and Ja’von Franklin each played the full 40 minutes at Pitt, giving Tech six 40-minute games this season. Lance Terry has done so three times, Coleman twice and Franklin once.
  • Four or more Yellow Jackets have reached double digits in the scoring column in 14 games this season, and Tech has won 10 of those games.
  • Tech had scored 70 points or more in four straight games (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Florida Tech) before coming up short (68) against Pittsburgh. The Yellow Jackets are 9-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points (3-2 in the ACC), 2-15 when failing to reach 70.
  • Tech has outshot five of its last six opponents from the floor, holding them collectively to 41.5 percent overall, 29.2 percent from three-point range. The Yellow Jackets are 10-2 this season when they have a higher field goal percentage.
  • Tech has exceeded 100 points per 100 possessions (KenPom offensive efficiency rating) in each of its last five games, the Yellow Jackets’ longest such streak this season.
  • Four Tech players (Ja’von Franklin 14.0, Miles Kelly 13.5, Lance Terry 11.7 ppg, Deebo Coleman 10.7) are averaging double digits in points over the Yellow Jackets’ last six games, and a fifth (Kyle Sturdivant) is averaging 9.5.
  • Tech’s 47.3-percent clip from the floor against Pittsburgh was its highest percentage on field goals against an ACC team this season. The Jackets have shot better than that in only five games – Clayton State, North Alabama, Georgia, Alabama State and Florida Tech.
  • Tech’s six ACC games in the month of February have been decided by an average of six points.
  • Tech matched its program record for fewest turnovers (4, none in the first half) against Pitt, equaling the lowest number set previously against LSU (3/17/1990) and Wake Forest (2/13/1988). The Jackets had turned the ball over as few as five times in three other games this season.
  • Tech’s current turnover rate of 11.2 per game matches its best on record since 1992-93, equaling the rate established by the Jackets in 2015-16 and 2020-21.

(Photo of Tristan Maxwell, Kamari Lands: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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