Cardinals Clipped by Hokies' Sharp Shooting at KFC Yum! Center
In a high-stakes conference game, the Louisville Cardinals faced off against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals, with an 18th rank, were outscored by the 12th ranked Hokies with a final tally of 86-70. The Cardinals' record now stands at a challenging 18-5 as they fell short against the Hokies' impressive 20-3 season record.
The home court advantage was not enough for the Louisville Cardinals as they struggled to keep pace with Virginia Tech's efficient offense. The Hokies showcased their shooting accuracy throughout the game, converting an outstanding 65 percent from the field and an impressive 83 percent on two-point attempts. Their sharpshooting was complemented by sinking ten three-pointers at a rate of 44 percent.
Louisville's defense had difficulty containing Virginia Tech's offensive onslaught, which saw them amass a total of 86 points. Despite this challenge, the Cardinals managed to make some headway with nine steals and forced a total of fourteen turnovers from their opponents. However, these efforts were overshadowed by Virginia Tech’s twenty-one assists that facilitated their scoring drives.
On offense, Louisville put up seventy points but shot only forty-two percent from field goal range and twenty-five percent from beyond the arc. They made ten free throws out of fourteen attempts for seventy-one percent completion but could not match Virginia Tech’s efficiency in scoring.
The rebounding battle also went in favor of Virginia Tech who grabbed thirty-five boards compared to Louisville’s twenty-four rebounds. This included seven offensive rebounds for both teams combined but it was clear that Virginia Tech capitalized more effectively on their second-chance opportunities.
One bright spot for Louisville was their ability to capitalize on turnovers; they scored eleven points off turnovers thanks to aggressive defensive plays leading to takeaways. Moreover, despite fewer assists than their counterparts with only seven in total, they maintained a higher assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.75 compared to Virginia Tech's ratio of 1.5.
Looking ahead after this tough loss at home before an audience of twelve thousand two hundred forty-nine fans cheering them on fervently throughout each quarter; The Louisville Cardinals are set for another challenge as they travel away from home turf to face Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets next week on February twenty-second at six PM Eastern Time in Atlanta’s Hank McCamish Pavilion which can be watched live nationally on ACC Network channel six hundred twelve.