You might think that things can’t get much worse for Georgia Tech basketball after losing by 43 points to Duke, but if the Yellow Jackets were to lose to last-place Louisville on Wednesday, it will be worse.
Louisville is one of the worst teams in the country and are in last place in the ACC standings. The Cardinals are 2-19 this season and 0-10 in the ACC. They are ranked 300th in the KenPom Rankings (Tech is 198th) and have lost 10 straight games and have not won a game since the calendar turned to 2023.
Georgia Tech on the other hand is 1-9 in ACC play and has lost seven straight to Louisville. Georgia Tech plays three of its last nine ACC games on the road, including trips to Louisville and NC State this week. The Yellow Jackets’ only remaining home games are against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Louisville.
Tech is No. 2 in the ACC in three-point defense and is 44th nationally, allowing 30.5 percent from distance. Tech leads the ACC in bench scoring, with its reserves contributing 21.7 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 12 of 20 games.
Georgia Tech has not had success against Louisville and this is going to be by far its best chance to snap its losing streak to the Cardinals.
Louisville won the first seven games between the two teams as ACC brethren before Tech broke through with a 64-58 home win over the Cardinals in the second meeting of the 2019-20 season. It snapped a nine-game losing skid in the series that dated back to 1999.
The Cardinals defeated Tech twice in 2021-22, a 67-64 at McCamish Pavilion and an 84-74 win in the teams’ first-ever ACC Tournament meeting. Louisville has won 12 of the last 13 meetings.
I sound like a broken record, but Georgia Tech is going to have to shoot well in this game to win. Pastner has talked about wanting to be able to score more than 70 points to have a chance and that seems to be the case in this game tomorrow night. Tech has suffered three of its four poorest three-point shooting performances in its last four games (2-for-21 vs. NC State, 4-for-23 vs. Clemson, 5-for-22 vs. Duke). The Jackets have connected on just 21.6 percent from distance over that span. Tech is 1-13 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, 7-0 when it has a better percentage.
Tech’s last three opponents (NC State, Syracuse, Clemson, Duke) have each shot better than 50 percent from the floor (53.8 percent combined). Only two (Georgia, and Virginia) did so in the Jackets’ first 17 games. Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), and 2-12 when failing to reach 70. The Jackets have set season lows for points in each of their last two games (51 vs. Clemson, 43 vs. Duke). Tech has connected on less than 40 percent from the floor in four of its last five games (Pitt, NC State, Clemson, Duke). The Jackets’ 30.9-percent clip against Duke was a season-low.
Georgia Tech has also had issues with turnovers in various games this year, but that could be turning around. After a four-game stretch in which it averaged 17 turnovers, Tech has averaged less than 12 in its last five games.
Who: Georgia Tech at Louisville
When: 7:00 p.m., Wednesday
Where: KFC Yum! Center
TV: ACC Regional Sports Network
Live Stream: FuboTV (Start your free trial)
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 384, SXM app 974 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
Georgia Tech will hope to snap its seven-game winning streak
I have not predicted Georgia Tech to win a game since the Notre Dame loss, but they have to win this game.
Is this game going to help out Josh Pastner much? No, Louisville is a terrible team and nobody in the ACC should lose to them, but he can’t afford a loss to them. A loss to this team would be the worst of his tenure and he does not need any more heat than he already has.
For those reasons, Georgia Tech will win.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 73, Louisville 64
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