By Derek DeBurger
Louisville has won back-to-back home ACC games for the first time in the Kenny Payne era.
The matchup may not have excited too many people outside of Derby City; Louisville and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were two of the bottom three teams in the ACC, and it certainly looked like it. The game was scoreless on both sides until over two minutes of game time had passed. Even after forward Kaleb Glenn found the rim first with a dunk, the two offenses were struggling to score against the two worst defenses in the conference.
After guard Ty-Laur Johnson was checked into the game the Cards’ offense improved enough to score fairly consistently, but the defense couldn’t stop leaving wide-open shooters from beyond the arc. Tech guard Miles Kelly got hot from three-point range early, and the Cards simply did not adjust in time. Kelly hit six threes in the game, four coming during a five-minute stretch in the first half.
Louisville played poorly but was able to hang on despite a lackluster defensive effort.
Georgia Tech led at the half, 32-30.
A string of offense plays from the Yellow Jackets finally came as the Cards continued to guard the three-point shot, yet just generally failed to guard Kelly. Tech was able to push their lead to nine at multiple points in the second, and Louisville didn’t do themselves any favors in forcing too many contested threes to cut the deficit all at once.
One shift in philosophy did help the team come back: attacking the paint. Coach Payne has preached the importance of getting paint touches since he first took the job, but often the play of the team did not reflect the emphasis he publicly stressed. Once Louisville began playing downhill, forwards Baye Ndongo and Tyzhaun Claude picked up four fouls each and were highly ineffective on the defensive end. Coupled with two of the Yellow Jackets’ big being inactive due to injuries, the foul trouble virtually eliminated the height advantage Tech had inside.
Johnson, Glenn, and Mike James began to relentlessly attack the rim, and a putback dunk from Glenn gave the Cards a 64-62 lead and every ounce of momentum in the KFC Yum! Center. They didn’t look back and ended the game on a 21-5 run.
Louisville would win 79-67.
The hometown hero Glenn played the best game of his career, quickly becoming a major reason why the Cards were able to come away with a win. Glenn had career highs of 15 points, and 13 rebounds, and contributed a block and a steal. Five other Louisville players scored in double-digits: Tre White(14), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield(12), Johnson(12), James(11) and Skyy Clark(11).
Louisville now sits at 13th in the ACC standings coming into their next game against the 12th-ranked Boston College.
It may not have been the prettiest win, but a win is a win. Louisville advances to 8-16 on the season—now double the amount of wins from last season.
Photo Courtesy // Chris Carter, U of L Athletics
