Louisville Starts Fast, Holds Off Virginia Tech to Clinch ACC Tournament Double Bye

The Cardinals will receive a top-three seed in the conference tournament.

Feb 1, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) dribbles / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Taking on Virginia Tech in their final true road game of the 2024-25 season, the Louisville men's basketball program was able to hang on for dear life after a blazing hot start, leaving Cassell Coliseum with a 71-66 win on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals (22-6, 15-2 ACC) not only extend their winning streak to six games, they have now won 16 of their last 17 since opening up the season at 6-5. Additionally, they snap a four-game losing streak to the Hokies (12-16, 7-10 ACC).

Most importantly, Louisville's victory at Virginia Tech officially clinches them a double bye in the ACC Tournament. With three games left in the regular season, the Cardinals can finish anywhere between No. 1 and No. 3 in the conference standings.

While Louisville out-shot Virginia Tech at 45.2 percent to 43.1 percent, there was a massive discrepancy with three-point shooting in favor of the home team. The Cardinals were just 6-of-23 from deep, compared to the Hokies' 11-of-26.

Additionally, while Louisville had 44 points in the paint to Virginia Tech's 24, they were abused on the backboards, getting out-rebounded 37-30 - including 21-13 in the second half.

What proved to be the difference maker were turnovers. Virginia Tech committed 22 of them for 26 Louisville points off of them, while the Cards had just 12 turnovers for nine Hokies points.

Chucky Hepburn finished with 15 points and six assists, both of which led the team. Terrence Edwards Jr. and James Scott each scored 13, while J'Vonne Hadley had 11 points and a team-best eight boards.

It's hard to have a better opening segment than Louisville had against Virginia Tech. Not only did the Cardinals hit their first five shots, they forced five Hokies turnovers in the first four minutes, forcing VT head coach Mike Young to burn a timeout at the 16:39 mark following an 11-0 UofL start.

Louisville pulled out to as much as 20-9 in the early goings, but Virginia Tech was able to creep back into the game. After starting 9-of-12 from the field, the Cardinals missed their next seven shots and went scoreless over 4:28, allowing the Hokies to string together an 8-0 run to pull within three despite continuing to cough up the ball.

Fortunately for Louisville, Virginia Tech also fell into a cold spell. After starting the game 6-of-11 and 5-of-8 from deep, the Hokies ended the half on a 3-of14 shooting stretch. It made up for the fact that the Cardinals were able to go 6-of-13 after their lengthy cold streak, and took a 34-26 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Louisville got incredibly lethargic - especially on the defensive end of the floor. They allowed Virginia Tech to hit 10 of their first 18 shots of the period, with the Hokies tying the game at 53 points a piece with 10:32 left in the game.

After that, VT could not land the kill shot, proceeding to miss their next five attempts. Louisville took advantage, hitting four of their next five tries after starting the period 8-of-20, pushing their lead back out to seven with 3:21 left.

But the Cardinals were not out of the woods just yet. The Hokies bounced back by making six of their next nine, trimming it to a one point game with 1:49 left.

While Louisville missed four in a row after their spurt to break the tie, Scott made a crucial put back dunk to give the Cardinals a 69-66 lead with 59 seconds to go. After the two teams traded turnovers, Hadley tallied a crucial steal with seven seconds to go, giving Smith the chance to ice the game with a pair of free throws.

Next up, Louisville starts a three-game home stand to end the regular season with a rematch against Pitt. Tip-off against the Panthers is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 1 at 6:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Brett Davis - Imagn Images)

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