No. 8 Louisville survives Virginia Tech

LOUISVILLE -- No. 8 Louisville survived an incredible 17 3-pointers by feisty Virginia Tech to win 94-90 Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.

"It was a great win over a team that shot the lights out," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said.

The Cardinals (22-5, 10-4 in the ACC) got 26 points from Donovan Mitchell, 19 from Quentin Snider and 16 from Jaylen Johnson. Mitchell hit 8 of 13 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers.

Virginia Tech (18-8, 7-7) was led by Seth Allen's 23 points, which included six threes. The Hokies tied the Yum! Center record with 17 threes.

"We were fortunate that many of them went in -- some of them didn't deserve to go in -- but that's what enabled us to stay in the game," coach Buzz Williams of Virginia Tech said. Later adding, "I think if we don't have a hot shooting night they beat us by 40."

Said Johnson: "That's a great shooting team and they really showed it tonight. It was a great display of 3-point shooting. We tried to make it hard, but they made a lot of them."

Mitchell scored Louisville's first 10 points and hit big shots throughout the game when Louisville needed him.

"He's an elite level player, elite level," Williams said. "He can score on all three levels, great body, very physical and because he is so strong, he is deceptively an elite level athlete. He's a great player."

Mitchell's performance helped Louisville overcome a record-setting night for Virginia Tech. No Louisville opponent had ever scored 90 points in the KFC Yum! Center.

Virginia Tech also set a record for the most 3-pointers allowed by a Louisville team in a regulation game. And Louisville still won.

"It has been a while since we had to win by being the better offensive team," Pitino said. "It was enjoyable for the fans, I'm sure, but for a 64-year old coach who prides himself on defense, it wasn't very enjoyable."

Virginia Tech didn't start the game hot. In fact, the Hokies struggled to find the net in the first 10 minutes, missing 10 of their first 14 shots, but the hottest-shooting team in the ACC caught fire before halftime.

The Cardinals built a 30-20 lead after a three-point play by Ray Spalding with 7:44 left.

Then the Hokies hit every shot they took in the last seven minutes of the first half. It started with layups by Zach Leday, Ty Outlaw and Justin Robinson and continued with a string of five-straight 3-pointers, two by Ahmed Hill, one by Outlaw, one by Robinson and another by Justin Bibbs.

A dunk by Leday rounded out the shooting run, with Virginia Tech leading 44-43 at half.

After holding a 10-point lead in the first half, the Cardinals had to come from behind in the second half.

Louisville finally took the lead for good with just over 15 minutes left, but the Hokies kept hitting big shot after big shot to stay within striking distance, as the Cardinals' lead never reached double-digits again.

The Hokies had the ball while trailing 89-85 with 37.5 seconds left, but a 3-point shot by Justin Bibbs rimmed out and Snider grabbed the rebound for Louisville. He was fouled and hit both free throws to put the game away.

Virginia Tech shot an astounding 65.4 percent from 3-point range for the game, hitting 17 of 26.

Louisville shot well from long range as well, hitting 12 of 22 (54.5 percent).

"We will not win on the defensive side," Williams said. "We are playing four guards so we are going to have to out-score people, but we will not win when they score 26 points on put-backs."

Louisville outscored Virginia Tech 26-3 in second-chance points.

NOTES: Louisville holds a 31-8 series edge on the Hokies. The Cardinals have not lost to Virginia Tech since Feb. 13, 1991. ... Saturday was Virginia Tech's second game without star forward Chris Clarke, who is out for the season because of a torn ACL. ... Louisville played without reserve forward VJ King (thigh bruise) and reserve guard Tony Hicks (broken hand). ...Louisville claimed its 1,800th victory all-time, 10th in NCAA history.