Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Cardinals hit the road for a showdown with the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.

Jan 21, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) dribbles past SMU Mustangs guard Chuck Harris (3) during the first half at Moody Coliseum. / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Louisville Cardinals (16-5, 9-1 ACC) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-12, 3-7 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3:45 p.m. EST
- Location: McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga.
- How To Watch: The CW Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -9.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 27-15
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 79-67 on Feb. 10, 2024 (Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G Reyne Smith (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
• G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
• C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Georgia Tech

• G Javian McCollum (6-2, 175, Sr.)
• G Lance Terry (6-3, 200, Sr.)
• G Naithan George (6-3, 185, So.)
• F Ibrahim Souare (6-9, 225, R-Fr.)
• F Baye Ndongo (6-9, 240, So.)

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

Additional Coverage

• Watch: Louisville HC Pat Kelsey Previews Georgia Tech
• End of January NCAA Tournament Projections for Louisville

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville is ranked in a national poll, coming in at No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll on Jan. 27.
• Louisville’s 10-game winning streak is the longest winning streak since the Cardinals won 10 in a row between Jan. 7 and Feb. 8, 2020.
• Four of Louisville’s five losses have all come to teams now ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 2 Duke (18-2), No. 8 Tennessee (17-4), No. 12 Kentucky (15-5), and No. 23 Ole Miss (16-5). As of Jan. 20, those teams, along with Oklahoma (15-5) are a combined 81-21.
• At SMU on Jan. 21, Chucky Hepburn broke the UofL single game assists record with 16. Reyne Smith broke the program’s single game made 3’s record with 10. Louisville became the only DI team this century to have a player with 10+ 3’s and 15+ assists in the same game. The Last NBA team to do it was the Warriors with Klay Thompson (10 3PM) and Steph Curry (15 AST) on Nov. 20, 2022.
• Against North Carolina on Jan. 1, Chucky Hepburn made 16 free throws, tying the program record for free throws made in a single game.
• Louisville played five ranked opponents by Dec. 14. The Cardinals have the 12th best strength of schedule according to KenPom as of Jan. 26.
• As of Jan. 30, Louisville is fifth in the country in 3-point attempts per game (31.3).
• As of Jan. 26, Chucky Hepburn is 11th in the country in assists per game (6.4) and 13th total assists (135). He’s also 11th in total steals (51) and 13th in steals per game (2.43). Reyne Smith is leading the country in 3’s per game (3.90) and total 3-pointers (82). He’s third in total 3-point attempts (201).
• Sophomore forward James Scott is second in the country in dunks as of Jan. 30 with 49 makes on the year, according to Bart Torvik. He leads the ACC in that category and is now seventh on Louisville’s dunks in a single season list.
• Senior guard Reyne Smith was named ACC Player of the Week on Dec. 23 for his 27-point performance at Florida State. It was just the third time in the program’s 11 years in the ACC that Louisville has had multiple ACC Player of the Week awards as Chucky Hepburn also earned that title on Dec. 2.
• The Cardinals are one of the more experienced teams in the country this season. Between the 17-man roster, the average amount of years in college basketball is 3.0 years with just two underclassmen on the roster. The Cards have 12 players designated as seniors this season, tied with Western Kentucky for the most on any team in men’s DI college basketball.
• Louisville has just two underclassmen in freshman Khani Rooths and sophomore James Scott. Louisville is one of just 11 schools in DI that has two or fewer underclassmen on their roster, and the only Power Four school in that list.

Georgia Tech

• Georgia Tech (9-12, 3-7 ACC) opens the month of February having gone 2-5 in the month of January with wins over Boston College and Virginia Tech, both at home. The Yellow Jackets, coming off a 71-68 defeat at Notre Dame Tuesday, are 9-5 overall at home this season, 3-2 on conference play
• Louisville is the fifth top-25 team Tech has faced this season and the first since Duke back on Dec. 21. The Yellow Jackets are 0-4 against top-25 teams this season after going 3-1 against them in 2023-24.
• A win Saturday would also be Tech’s first against a Quad 1 opponent in the NCAA’s NET rankings this season (Louisville is No. 25). The Yellow Jackets are 0-5 against Quad 1 opponents this season after going 4-7 against such teams last year. Two more Quad 1 opportunities exist on Tech’s schedule, Clemson (30) and Wake Forest (69), both on the road.
• Tech is 2-5 against Louisville at home since the Cardinals joined the ACC, including an 83-67 win two seasons ago (Feb. 25, 2023).
• Tech is 7-11 against Louisville all-time when the Cardinals have been ranked. Most recently, Tech defeated No. 5 U of L, 64-58, on Feb. 12, 2020.
• Unlike last season, when 14 of Georgia Tech’s 20 ACC games were decided by less than 10 points, only four of the Yellow Jackets’ first 10 conference games this season have been decided by single digits, and two of those have occurred in Tech’s last two games (71-64 win over Virginia Tech, 71-68 loss at Notre Dame).
• Five Yellow Jackets have averages in double-digits for ACC games – Lance Terry (15.1), Javian McCollum (14.1), Duncan Powell (13.3), Naithan George (11.5) and Baye Ndongo (11.0).
• Tech has utilized 7 different starting lineups through its first 21 games this season, all because of injury. Ibrahim Souare and Javian McCollum have each started Tech’s last four games, and Duncan Powell has started two of the last four.
• Tech rotation players have missed a total of 36 games this season because of injury or illness. Kowacie Reeves, Jr., has missed the last 15 games (foot injury), Luke O’Brien missed the last 10 games (toe injury), Jaeden Mustaf has missed the last 3 (foot) and Lance Terry has missed 2 of the last 4 (hand/illness). Javian McCollum missed 4 games earlier in December with a concussion. Reeves, Jr., has not played in an ACC game this season, while O’Brien has played in only one.
• Despite Tech’s shorter rotation the last three weeks, the Yellow Jackets’ bench remains one of the more productive in the ACC, ranking fifth in points per game (23.7), and 106th nationally

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Raymond Carlin III - Imagn Images)

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