February 1, 2025

Jackets Topple No. 21/22 Louisville, 77-70

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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball secured its first top-25 victory of the season, taking down No. 21/22 Louisville, 77-70, on Saturday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion to end the Cardinals” 10-game winning streak.

The Jackets (10-12, 4-7 ACC)erased an 11-point halftime deficit (27-38) with a dominant second half, outscoring the Cardinals 50-32 to hand Louisville its second loss of Atlantic Coast Conference play while earning Tech its first win over a top-25 opponent since beating No. 3 North Carolina, last year (Jan. 30, 2024).

Lance Terry led the team in scoring, playing in his first game back at McCamish since missing the last two home games due to injury. Terry finished with 23 points, his seventh 20-point performance of the season and fourth of ACC play. Baye Ndongo recorded his 11^th career double-double, and fifth of the season, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Naithan George came up one assist shy of a double-double pocketing 15 points to go along with a team-high nine assists. Javian McCollum made his impact felt all over the court, ending with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Duncan Powell put up 11 points, all in the second half for his 10^th game of the season in double-figures.

George assisted or scored six of the Jackets first seven field goals to help Tech jump in front, 16-12. By the first media timeout, George paced Tech with five points and four assists and Tech led, 16-15, shooting 70 percent from the field as a team (7-10). The Jackets fell into a scoring drought later in the half and trailed by 11 after 20 minutes.

Tech upped its level defensively to begin the second period and erased a 12-point Louisville lead, using a 21-3 scoring run to turn a 49-39 deficit into a 60-52 lead with eight minutes remaining. McCollum’s driving layup gave Tech it’s first lead (51-50) since 4-2 early in the first half. After Louisville went back in front with a layup of its own, Terry cashed in a UL turnover for a slam to bring McCamish to its feet before Powell delivered a powerful bucket for a 56-52 lead with just inder 10 minutes remaining, sending Tech fans into a frenzy. The Jackets led the rest of the way.

The victory was the fourth top-25 win in the Damon Stoudamire era at Tech after defeating No. 21 Mississippi State, No. 7 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina last season.

The Jackets will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 4, when they travel to No 25 Clemson for a 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

Baye Ndongo (11) notched his fifth double-double this season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. (photo by Danny Karnik)

POST-GAME NOTES

Tech defeated a top-25 team for the first time this season in its fifth try, and got it’s first top-25 win almost a year to the day after its last one (Jan. 30, 2024 vs. No. 3 North Carolina). The Jackets were 3-1 vs. top-25 teams a year ago.
Tech’s last win over a ranked Louisville team came five years ago, a 64-58 win on Feb. 12, 2020 against a Cardinals team ranked No. 5 and on a 10-game winning streak. Louisville had won 10 in a row before Saturday’s game.
Tech also got its first win over a Quad 1 team (NCAA NET) this season. The Jackets are 1-5 vs. Quad 1 teams after going 4-7 against them a year ago.
Tech scored 50 points in the second half against Louisville, the fourth time this season and the third time in the last six games (SMU, Florida State, Louisville) it has done so.
Tech has shot 47.9% from the floor in its last 3 games (47.1% vs. Virginia Tech, 49.1% at Notre Dame, 47.6 vs. Louisville). The Jackets had connected on an aggregate 40.2% during their 4-game losing streak before the win over Virginia Tech.
Tech has played 7, 6, 7, 7 and 6 players in its last five games. The Jackets had played 8 or more in every game prior to Clemson, 9 or more in 11 games.
Tech has had fewer than 10 turnovers in its last two games (8 vs. Notre Dame, 9 vs. Louisville) and six times this season.
Tech has assisted on 57.4% of its made field goals this season, 55.2% in ACC games (5^th highest in the conference).
Tech has exceeded a point per possession in each of its last four games (1.080 vs. Florida State, 1.067 vs. Virginia Tech, 1.090 at Notre Dame, 1.076 vs. Louisville) after falling below that standard in three straight games. Tech’s efficiency rating at FSU and Notre Dame are its two highest in road games this season. The Jackets have scored over a point per possession in all 10 of their wins this season, and in 3 of their 12 losses.
Lance Terry has scored 20-plus points in 7 games this season, 4 times in ACC games. The senior guard, who missed the Clemson game with a hand injury and the Virginia Tech game with an illness, has averaged 17.1 points in his last 8 games, hitting 50.5% (52-of-103) from the floor, 40.4% (19-of-47) from three-point range.
In ACC games, Terry leads the Jackets at 16.0 points per game, while four other Yellow Jackets also average in double figures in conference games – Javian McCollum (13.9), Duncan Powell (13.1), Naithan George (11.8) and Baye Ndongo (11.1).
Sophomore guard Naithan George has scored in double digits in 9 straight games, averaging 12.7 points and 6.7 assists per game. He has shot 45.4% (44-of-97) from the floor, 32.6% (14-of-43) from 3-point range, 12-of-17 from the foul line, during that stretch.
George narrowly missed his third double-double this season with points and rebounds, scoring 15 with nine assists (and just two turnovers) vs. Louisville.
Sophomore forward Baye Ndongo has five double-doubles this season (11 for his career) after scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds against Louisville. He has three in ACC games (19 points, 12 rebounds at North Carolina, 14 and 12 vs. Clemson).
Junior forward Duncan Powell has averaged 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds over his last 9 games, including three games of 20 points or more. The Sacramento State transfer has hit 44.9% (44-of-98) from the floor, 40.4% (19-of-47) from three-point range and 75.6% (34-of-45) from the foul line in that stretch.