Louisville Relieved After Securing First ACC Win Against Georgia Tech
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It finally happened: the Louisville men's basketball program's goose egg in the ACC win column has been vanquished.
After losing their first 10 games against ACC competition, almost all of which were double digit beatdowns, the Cardinals were finally able to get over the hump and crack the winning column in league play. Playing host to Georgia Tech in what was essentially a battle for the bottom of the conference standings, the Cardinals held off the Yellow Jackets just long enough to emerge with a 68-58 victory at the KFC Yum! Center, and snap a 10-game losing streak.
A national champion as a player at Louisville and longtime assistant at Kentucky, Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne has been used to winning in his life. That being said, he has always known how "fragile" it is to win, and it hasn't been more obvious than this season with Louisville now at 3-19. With their first conference win now in tow, he's hoping that it inspires his players as they move into the back half of conference play, and not take any win for granted no matter the competition.
"I want them to know this is about them and they can conquer whatever is in front of them if they believe," he said after the game. "Now if you don’t believe and don’t fight for it, you are not going to get it. You have to believe. You have to fight for it and give yourself a chance regardless of talent, regardless of all your insecurities, doubts, fears, whatever it is. If you believe in what you are doing and put in 110 percent in, it can happen for you.”
Admittedly, it wasn't the cleanest game of basketball ever played, especially considering each team was missing a starter. Neither team looked particularly efficient for extended stretches of the game. Louisville turned the ball over 15 times. Georgia Tech shot 29.5 percent for the game. You could easily tell that this was a matchup of the two worst teams not only in the ACC, but in the Power Five.
Louisville had a slim lead for much of the second half, and it stayed like that for almost the entire period. While they weren't able to generate much separation from Georgia Tech, they also didn't allow them to go on a long, game-shifting, back-breaking run like almost every single team has done to them this year.
In fact, not only did Louisville not let Georgia Tech flip the momentum, they actually closed out the game like a winning team should. Ahead by only four points in the final minute, Kamari Lands drained a critical three pointer, then immediately stole the ball on Tech's next possession, allowing El Ellis and Jae'Lyn Withers to hit three game-icing free throws and secure the win.
When the clock hit double zeroes, a release of sorts hit the players. El Ellis danced with Louie and gave his headband to a kid. Mike James, who is normally stoic on the court, was overcome with joyous emotion and clapping it up with his teammates. The constant barrage of losing, at least for the moment, was not weighing on their shoulders.
"Losing those games put us in a tough spot mentally, and when that buzzer sounds and you see the smiles on all of our faces, and just getting that energy from the crowd, and getting that winning feeling again, it meant a lot," forward J.J. Traynor said. "I think going forward, getting to experience that feeling again will push us to play hard.”
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, this win isn't going to change much for Louisville this season. They're still just one win away from tying the program record most losses in a single season. They're guaranteed to have to play on the first day of the ACC Tournament, and the last seed in the conference still isn't out of the question with how loaded the back half of their schedule is.
But Payne believes that their first conference win, as minuscule as it may seem in short sight, will serve as an important stepping stone to greater success down the line. Of course, he isn't going to guarantee a certain amount of wins for next season, but he does believe they're on the right track.
"I am going to tell you that I am building something, in my mind, that will have sustained success," he said. "Next year we will be better. I don’t now how we can get any worse. In the future I just tell you this that I know now, and I have always known how to put a team together that will make others want to come to be a part of it."
(Photo of Kamari Lands, Mike James: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
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