Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Cardinals return home to take on the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-13, 3-9 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (7-16, 2-10 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -1.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 26-15
- Last Meeting: Georgia Tech won 83-67 on Feb. 25, 2023 (McCamish Pavilion - Atlanta, Ga.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Ty-Laur Johnson (6-0, 160, Fr.)
• G Tre White (6-7, 205, So.)
• G/F Mike James (6-5, 200, R-So.)
• F Kaleb Glenn (6-6, 205, Fr.)
• F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Jr.)

Georgia Tech

• G Naithan George (6-3, 180, Fr.)
• G Miles Kelly (6-6, 180, Jr.)
• G Kowacie Reeves Jr. (6-7, 202, Jr.)
• F Baye Ndongo (6-9, 214, Fr.)
• F Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 230, 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

• After getting out-rebounded in eight straight games by a total of 53 boards, Louisville has won the rebounding battle in three of the last four games and has out-rebounded its opponents by a combined 40 over those four outings.
• UofL’s Kenny Payne and Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire are two of 30 Division I head coaches in the country who were NBA Draft picks. Payne was selected 19th by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1989, while Stoudamire was the seventh overall pick to the Toronto Raptors in 1995.
• Freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday after posting career highs with 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds against Florida State on Feb. 3. He’s the first Cardinal to have at least 20 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in a game in program history, and he’s the only player in the country to achieve his stats against a Division I opponent this year – as well as just the fourth player in the last eight seasons to do so against a Power 5 foe. His 27 points were also the most by an ACC freshman this season.
• Over the last 14 games, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 59.9% from the field (82 of 137). After registering two double-doubles in the first 68 games of his career, he has six in his last 14 games. He also made a career-high three 3-pointers at Syracuse on Wednesday, tying his season total coming in.
• UofL is one of two teams in the nation, along with New Mexico, with five different players who have scored at least 26 points in a game this season – Huntley-Hatfield (29), Tre White (29), Skyy Clark (29), Johnson (27) and Mike James (26).
• Last time out: On the heels of snapping a six game losing streak against FSU, Louisville suffered a heartbreaking 94-92 at Syracuse this past Wednesday.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: The half was defined by six ties and eight lead changes in a back-and-forth game. Louisville led by as much as seven, with a 9-0 run between 19:06 and 17:07. Syracuse led by as much as six, closing the half on an 8-4 run. The Orange led at halftime 49-45.
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: The barnburner didn’t stop in the second half, with seven more ties and 10 more lead changes. Louisville used a 8-2 run to take a 79-73 lead with 5:55 on the clock, but the Orange rattled off 14-2 run between 5:28 and 2:25 to take a six-point lead. The Cardinals repeatedly retaliated, tying it up with five seconds left, but Syracuse received a goal tending call with 3.8 seconds left that sealed the victory.
• UofL shot 35 of 65 (53.8%) from the field, 11 of 25 (44%) from 3-point range and 11 of 15 (73.3%) from the free-throw line.
• With Tre White and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield notching double-doubles, it was the first time Louisville has had two players with a double-double since February 1, 2021. David Johnson (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Samuell Williams (20 points, 18 rebounds) accomplished the feat against Georgia Tech.
• Louisville out-rebounded Syracuse 40-21, including a 14-2 mark on the offensive glass.
• Skyy Clark led Louisville in scoring with 23 points, shooting 8 of 14 from the floor and nailing four triples. He dished out five assists and logged three steals as well.
• Brandon Huntley-Hatfield notched his sixth double-double of the year with 19 points and 13 boards. He shot 7 of 13 from the floor while netting a career-high three 3-pointers.
• Ty-Laur Johnson did it all with six assists against just three turnovers, adding nine points and three rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
• Tre White recorded 17 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He made 8 of 12 from the floor.
• Mike James had his 17th double-digit scoring game of the year with 12 points. He added three rebounds in his 31 minutes.

Georgia Tech

• Tech has dropped both of its games this month, 82-76 at NC State and 80-51 at home to Wake forest, since knocking off No. 3 North Carolina to close out the month of January. The Yellow Jackets, who have also defeated Duke and Clemson in conference play, have lost five of their last six games and 10 of their last 12.
• Georgia Tech’s three ACC wins have come against the ACC’s three highest-ranked teams in the NCAA’s NET rankings - North Carolina (10), Duke (20) and Clemson (29).
• Nine of Georgia Tech’s 12 ACC games have been decided by single digits. Sixteen of Tech’s 23 games overall this season have been decided by fewer than 10 points, which is tied for second-most in Division I (Tech is 8-8 in those games). Nine of those by five points or fewer.
• Tech is 2-6 in true road games this season, and five of its eight remaining games are on the road.
• Tech has never won at the KFC Yum! Center in five trips. The Jackets were 3-8 at Freedom Hall.
• Despite scoring just 51 points against Wake Forest, Tech has been one of the better offensive teams in the ACC this season, averaging 72.3 points to rank eighth on conference games. The Jackets rank sixth in three-point percentage (.355) and second in three-pointers per game (9.08).
• Tech is 6-10 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams this season, with Quad 1 wins over Duke, Clemson and North Carolina and Quad 2 wins over Mississippi State, Penn State and Massachusetts. The Jackets have four Quad 1 and zero Quad 2 opponents remaining on its schedule (Louisville is a Quad 3 opportunity). Tech was 3-14 last season against Quad 1/2 foes.
• Four Tech players are averaging double figures both in all games, and in ACC play - Miles Kelly (13.8 all/13.1 ACC), Baye Ndongo (12.4/13.4), Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (11.0/10.5) and Naithan George (10.2/10.5). In conference games, those four players have combined to hit 45.5 percent of their shots from the floor (215-of-473) and 37.8 percent from three-point range (75-of-198).
• Tech has started two freshmen - Baye Ndongo and point guard Naithan George - in its last 19 games. The Jackets have not had two freshmen in its regular starting lineup since the 2018-19 season (Michael Devoe, Khalid Moore), and have not had a freshman regularly start at point guard since Jose Alvarado in 2017-18.
• Either Ndongo or George has led Tech in scoring in nine of Tech’s last 13 games, and in seven of 11 ACC games. They have accounted for more than a third (34.3 percent) of Tech’s points in ACC games.
• Freshman forward Baye Ndongo has won the ACC’s Rookie of the Week honor three times this season (Dec. 2, Dec. 18, Dec. 26), most for a Yellow Jacket since current NBA star Josh Okogie did so during the 2016-17 season.
• Tech’s point guard tandem of Naithan George and Kyle Sturdivant has averaged 7.3 assists per game combined, 9.1 in ACC games. Their assist/turnover ratio is 2.47-to-1 combined overall, 3.21-to-1 in conference games. Both players rank among the nation’s top 61 players in assist rate (assists divided by the field goals made by the player’s teammates while he is on the court) according to KenPom.com.
• Naithan George is the first Tech freshman since Iman Shumpert in 2008-09 to collect 100 in a season, surpassing the century mark last game to get to 103 for this season. He is the first freshman since Javaris Crittenton in 2006-07 to average more than five assists per game.
• Seven Tech players have scored at least 20 points in a game this season - Naithan George, Kyle Sturdivant, Deebo Coleman, Tafara Gapare, Kowacie Reeves, Jr., Baye Ndongo and Miles Kelly. It is only the second time that as many as seven different Yellow Jackets have scored 20-plus in a game during a season (2007-08).

(Photo of J.J. Traynor: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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