Louisville basketball escapes road scare at Georgia Tech

The post-Chris Jones era of Louisville basketball is officially upon us, as the Cardinals narrowly escaped a colossal upset in the Empire State of the South, as Rick Pitino’s squad walked away from Georgia Tech with a 52-51 victory.

The first half was, well, not very pretty. The first nine minutes of the game saw 20 total points get scored, and the Cardinals shot 25% from the floor at halftime, and a measly 37.5% from the free throw line. To add insult to injury, neither Louisville nor Georgia Tech had a made three-pointer. Ouch.

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It was the Jackets who got the first real “momentum,” of the game, going on a 10-4 run to take a 20-14 lead with 6:42 to play in the half. The Cards tried to claw their way back in it before halftime, but couldn’t hit the back side of a barn with their shooting, missing even wide-open looks from in front of the rim.

The second half didn’t start much better, as the Jackets continued their roll, and at one point lead by 13 points at 41-28. Then came the Cardinals.

Terry Rozier hit a three ball to bring Louisville within 10, and that sparked not only the life of the Cards, but the life of Rozier, who finished the night as the leading scorer with 22 points.

From that point on, while Louisville didn’t have all the momentum, per se, they had just enough to outlast the Jackets and denied them of their fourth win of the ACC season.

In many aspects, it was a game that the Cards should have lost, no doubt about it. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Cards, outscored them in the paint, off the bench, on the fast break, shot better from the floor…and the Cardinals still found a way to hold on.

Wayne Blackshear was the only other Cardinal to notch double figures (10), while Montrezl Harrell disappointed on the offensive end, finishing with only eight.

The Cardinals have a lot of things to figure out before Saturday, when they’ll face their final road test of the regular season against Florida State. How did you feel about the game? What improvements do the Cards need to make? Let us know in a comment below or on twitter @BlueGrassDom.

Next: We Now Know A Bit More As to Why Chris Jones Was Dismissed From the Team