Jarrod West scored a game-high 20 points on Tuesday night as 11th-seeded Louisville took a 27-point lead and then a furious Georgia Tech rally to an 84-74 victory in the first round of the 2022 New York Life ACC Men's Basketball organised. Tournament in New York.
The Cardinals (13-18) advanced in a second-round match against sixth-seeded Virginia on Wednesday night. The 14th-seeded Yellow Jackets, who won the tournament last year, finished their season 12-20.
Noah Locke added 16 points for Louisville, while Malik Williams contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sidney Curry scored 12 points and Ellis came off the bench to kick in 10 points and six assists. The Cardinals shot 48.4 percent from the field and made 18 assists on 30 made buckets.
Jordan Usher scored 19 points, provided nine assists and got six rebounds for Georgia Tech. Miles Kelly also had 19 points and Michael DeVoe chipped in on 15, though he only made 5 of 13 shots from the ground.
DeVo, a third-team All-ACC pick, and Usher did not debut for the Yellow Jackets for reasons unknown. Both reported in the game after the first TV timeout.
DeVoe heated up with 13 points from the second half, reducing Georgia Tech's 67-40 deficit to 73-68 when Deebo Coleman scored a free throw with 2:57 remaining. However, Louisville got back-to-back 3-pointers from the West and a short jumper with 1:21 remaining for an 81-70 advantage from Samuel Williamson.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first seven points of the game, but the next 25 minutes were all Cardinals, all the time. Curry put Louisville ahead for good with a free throw at 13:15 of the first half for a 12-11 advantage.
Locke sank a transition 3-pointer at the 8:23 mark for Louisville's first double-figure lead 25-15. The margin continued to grow for the remainder of the half, reaching 45–28 after finally entering the break, when Ellis drove for layup with 40 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals hit 53.3 percent off the floor and kept Georgia Tech off the half line.
Overall, the Yellow Jackets made 47.4 percent of their field-goal efforts and shot 12 of 15 free throws.