Virginia Tech vs Louisville Odds and Picks
- Louisville is a 4.5-point home favorite against Virginia Tech in an ACC game Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center
- Louisville has won 16 straight games against Virginia Tech
- The lines, odds, and prediction for the game can be found below
Virginia Tech will try to keep its momentum going against a nemesis when it visits Louisville at 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday in an ACC game at the KFC Yum! Center.
Picked to finish 11th in the 15-team ACC in the preseason, Virginia Tech is ranked #19 with an 8-1 record. The Hokies are also 2-0 in conference play, on a four-game winning streak, and 5-4 in the ACC
Louisville has won three games in a row to improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC. The Cardinals are 4-3-1 ATS.
Virginia Tech vs Louisville Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | +176 | +4.5 (-110) | Over 131.5 (-110) |
| Louisville | -210 | -4.5 (-110) | Under 131.5 (-110) |
Odds taken Jan. 5 from FanDuel.
Hokies Hang On
Virginia Tech eked out an 80-78 home win over Miami as an eight-point favorite in its previous game Dec. 29.
The Hokies nearly blew a 17-point second-half lead. They turned the ball over twice and missed four free throws in their last six possessions before escaping.
Junior forward Keve Aluma continued his fine season with a career-high 26 points, six rebounds and four assists. He 16.0 points and 6.7 rebounds a game are team-leading figures.
Career-high 26 points for Keve Aluma in the Hokie win! 🦃 @AlumaKeve | @HokiesMBB pic.twitter.com/mb3XJIyxmj
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) December 30, 2020
Aluma is in his first season with Virginia Tech after transferring from Wofford, where he also played for current Hokies coach Mike Young. Aluma has 28.6% of Virginia Tech’s possessions used and 26.6% of the shot taken.
Three others player, all sophomore guards, have double-digit scoring averages — Nahiem Alleyne (11.1), Tyrece Radford (10.8) and Jalen Cone (10.3). Radford had 13 points against Miami and Cone added 12.
Junior forward Justyn Mutts added a season-high 15 points, just the third time he reached double figures in nine games. He, too, is also in his first season with the Hokies following stops at High Point and Delaware.
Justyn Mutts making plays from the seat of his pants!
@JM_Squarepants | @HokiesMBB pic.twitter.com/I8Uto5ZePa
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) December 16, 2020
Mutts, though, was so disappointed with his two-for-five showing from the free throw line that he returned to the court after the game to work on his foul shooting.
Johnson Steps Up
Sophomore guard David Johnson scored a career-high 20 points to lead Louisville to a 76-64 road win over Boston College on Saturday as a 6.5-point favorite.
Johnson had 14 points in the first half as Louisville built a 37-24 lead. He also made four 3-point field goals as the Cardinals just 47.1% (eight of 17) from long range.
He flashed the kind of potential that lead some to believe Johnson could be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
DRAFT SLEEPER SUNDAY- 6’5 Freshman G David Johnson out of Louisville is UP NEXT. The Louisville, KY native averaged 6.3 PPG 2.8 RPG 2.8 APG this past season. Dropped 19 pts 7 ast 4 reb 3 stl in a road win at #3 Duke…SERIOUS 2021 LOTTERY PICK POTENTIAL 💯💯 @davidjohnson13 pic.twitter.com/1EeiTgkZSc
— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) July 19, 2020
Louisville needed Johnson’s offensive effort as leading scorer Carlik Jones struggled with his shooting. The graduate transfer guard from Radford made just three of 13 field goal attempts but finished with 15 points primarily on the strength of going nine for 11 at the foul line.
Jones has given a young roster a big boost by averaging 16.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game. He was the Big South Conference Player of the Year last season.
.@carlikjones led the Cards to two key wins over the holidays to take home this week's @PFDairy Student-Athlete of the week!#GoCards pic.twitter.com/tjWG9mgfL8
— Louisville Athletics (@GoCards) January 2, 2021
Johnson, too, is having a fine season with averages of 14.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists He has more than doubled his scoring average of 6.3 from his freshman season in 2019-20.
Johnson has also played 88.4% of Louisville’s minutes.
Another sophomore, wing Samuell Williamson, has also become an important contributor with 10.0 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.
Cards Pitching Shutout
Louisville has gone 7-0 against Virginia Tech since joining the ACC for the 2013-14 season and have won 16 straight in the series dating to when both schools were in the old Metro Conference.
The Cardinals won last year’s meeting 68-52 at home as a 12-point favorite. Cone shined for the Hokies in a losing effort with 15 points.
Virginia Tech has been one of the surprise teams in college basketball. Thus, it would not be a surprise to see the Hokies hang tough with nemesis Louisville this time.
The Pick: Virginia Tech +4.5 (-110)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
