Louisville, Georgia Tech both desperate for a win

Field Level Media|published: Fri 9th February, 17:58 2024

Feb 7, 2024; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange guard Judah Mintz (3) posts up against Louisville Cardinals guard Ty-Laur Johnson (4) in the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. credits: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Louisville will try to bounce back from a narrow loss in the final seconds when it returns home to face Georgia Tech in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Saturday evening.

The Cardinals (7-16, 2-10 ACC) are coming off a 94-92 loss at Syracuse on Wednesday night. Louisville lost after Kaleb Glenn was called for goaltending with 3.8 seconds left in a tie game, and Syracuse held on to win when the Cardinals missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Louisville coach Kenny Payne was not certain that the goaltending call was correct.

"But I don't expect to get breaks," Payne said after his club's seventh loss in eight games. "I expect us to make our breaks. It's unfortunate if it was not goaltending, but there were enough plays within that game that we still should have come out of here with a victory.

"We've got to learn from it. I wish we could learn and walk out of here with a victory."

The next test for Payne's team will come against Georgia Tech (10-13, 3-9), which also is eager for success after losing two games in a row and five of its past six.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off an 80-51 home loss against Wake Forest on Tuesday night. Georgia Tech fell behind 46-20 at halftime and struggled to compete the rest of the way.

After the loss, Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said he was primarily focused on his players' effort.

"We've got to sprint back in transition harder," Stoudamire said. "We've got to dive for loose balls. We've got to rebound with two hands. We've got to get into a defensive stance. We've got to be out in gaps. We've got to run 3-point shooters off the line. ...

"To be honest with you, Kenny Payne's a really good friend of mine and I respect him, but I'm really more concerned with our effort and how we come out of the gate."

Miles Kelly leads the Yellow Jackets with a 13.8 scoring average. For the Cardinals, Mike James averages 13.6 and Skyy Clark chips in at 13.2

Louisville is 6-7 at home this season. Georgia Tech is 2-6 on the road.

—Field Level Media

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