While Virginia Tech still is working on its seeding for the upcoming ACC tournament, Louisville’s last-place standing already has been cemented as the teams get set to meet Tuesday.
The visiting Hokies (16-13, 8-10 ACC) are coming off an 87-76 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday that ended a two-game losing streak and jolted them from a run of six defeats in the previous eight games.
The Cardinals (8-21, 3-15) are heading toward the second of three consecutive home games to conclude the regular season, while riding a five-game losing streak. The latest losing skid for Louisville clinched last place in the ACC standings.
If there is any consolation to finishing in the cellar it is that Louisville is the first ACC team to secure its seed (No. 15) for the conference tournament. It is the program’s second consecutive season as the bottom seed.
The 21 losses also clinched the second worst season in Cardinals program history. The worst ever? That was last season’s 28 losses.
“I look at this and I say, ‘All right, am I giving the message the wrong way?'” Louisville head coach Kenny Payne said after Saturday’s 82-76 loss to Syracuse. “‘Am I asking you to sacrifice something that you’re not able to? Am I saying something that’s not translating?'”
Virginia Tech is chasing consecutive victories for the first time since a three-game winning streak in late January. The Hokies are one game out of a two-team tie for eighth place.
Hunter Cattoor scored 26 points in the victory over Wake Forest, while Lynn Kidd had 21 points and nine rebounds. Virginia Tech shot 59.6 percent from the floor and 63.3 percent in the second half to rally from an early 15-point deficit.
“We just needed to stay grounded, don’t get overwhelmed,” Cattoor said. “They were hitting shots. … They’re not going to do that the whole game at that kind of level. We kind of just stayed with our game plan and knew that in the second half, if we kept chipping away, we’d get back in it.”
–Field Level Media