Final Score Predictions For Virginia Tech vs No. 19 Louisville

Virginia Tech and the Cardinals are rolling right now. They are No. 2 in the ACC Standings and one of the few ACC teams that seem destined to play in the NCAA Tournament. Pat Kelsey has done a great job of turning the program around in just one year, but can they avoid the upset tonight?

Virginia Tech carries a four-game winning streak in the series into Tuesday’s clash with the No. 25 Cardinals. The Hokies swept the two meetings a year ago: 75-68 in Blacksburg; 80-64 in Louisville. UofL still leads the series, 36-12, which dates back to Jan. 28, 1979. Prior to their four-game winning streak in the series, VT had lost 17 in a row to the Cardinals. Tech is 4-8 against Louisville as ACC foes and 3-18 when the Cardinals are ranked in the AP poll. The Hokies are 5-16 against UofL in Blacksburg. Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey and Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young have squared off three times before, with Young winning two of those battles at Wofford while Kelsey was the head coach at Winthrop. Kelsey won the most recent head-to-head battle with College of Charleston defeating the Hokies, 77-75, in the 2022 Charleston Classic title game. Tech forward Ben Burnham, who played for the Cougars at the time, had nine points on 4 for 5 shooting.

Tonight will be the first time Tech forward Ben Burnham squares off against his former head coach Pat Kelsey and teammates Reyne Smith, James Scott, Kobe Rodgers, and Spencer Legg. Burnham was part of two CAA regular-season championships, two tournament championships and two NCAA tournament teams while at the College of Charleston. He averaged 9.5 points in three seasons with the Cougars, including a career-best 11.9 ppg as a junior. Burnham dialed up 19 points in CofC’s first-round game against Alabama in the 2024 NCAA tournament.

Jaydon Young dialed up a career-high 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including 5 of 11 from long-range to propel the Hokies to an 81-68 win at Miami on Feb. 22. It was the first time a Tech player scored 25-plus off the bench since Justin Bibbs had 31 against Grambling State on Dec. 19, 2015. The last person to accomplish that against an ACC team was Jalen Hudson (32 points) vs. Wake Forest on March 10, 2015.

“He had a good look about him,” Mike Young said of Jaydon Young. “He’s practiced well, had some better looks at it than he’s had of late. Picked his spots. One of those players, one of those nights where the first couple went down, his eyes light up and that thing looks a little bit bigger than it has for him over the course of the season. He played very, very well.”

Prediction

Virginia Tech can never be counted out under Mike Young, but Louisville might be too much for the Hokies, even at home. Kelsey has this team firing on all cylinders since their loss to Georgia Tech, but that serves as a reminder that the Cardinals are not invincible. I like Louisville to win tonight due to their offense, but don't surprise if its close in the first half before they pull away.

Final Score: Louisville 79, Virginia Tech 70

Additional Links

Virginia Tech Baseball: Hokies rally to clinch series win over UNCG

Former Virginia Tech Quarterback Michael Vick Says He Should Have Won The Heisman Trophy in 1999

NFL Draft Profile - Virginia Tech Wide Receiver Da’Quan Felton