The Louisville Cardinals had a season to forget — which led to the firing of Chris Mack — and the team now looks to make it a little better by beating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Louisville beat Georgia Tech during the regular season, but the Yellow Jackets were a lot more competitive in the final weeks of the season.
Will Josh Pastner’s team get in the win column against the Cardinals this year? You’ll have to keep reading our free college basketball betting picks and predictions for the Louisville Cardinals vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, March 8 to find out.
Louisville vs Georgia Tech odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Cardinals are favored by 1.5 (at the time of this writing) after opening as only 1-point favorites in this game against the Yellow Jackets. As for the total, the number has gone up from 133.5 to as high as 135.5 since becoming available.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
Louisville vs Georgia Tech predictions
Predictions made on 3/8/2022 at 1:50 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Louisville vs Georgia Tech game info
• Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ACC Network
Louisville at Georgia Tech betting preview
Injuries
Louisville: Jae’lyn Withers F (Questionable), Gabe Wiznitzer C (Out).
Georgia Tech: Tristan Maxwell G (Questionable), Deivon Smith F (Out), Bubba Parham G (Out).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Georgia Tech is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Louisville vs. Georgia Tech.
Louisville vs Georgia Tech picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Spread analysis
Louisville is just 193rd in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (all efficiency stats from KenPom.com), which means the Cardinals could be in trouble when facing a Yellow Jackets team that is in the Top 100 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Sure, Louisville won when these teams met on January 2, but Georgia Tech looked like a different team in the final weeks of the regular season. The Yellow Jackets earned wins over the Pittsburgh Panthers and Boston College Eagles, and also covered in close losses to the Syracuse Orange, Virginia Tech Hokies, and Clemson Tigers.
One of the reasons to back the Yellow Jackets in this game is that the team has the best player on the floor. Louisville isn’t completely lacking in the talent department, but Georgia Tech's Michael Devoe is averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game this season. The senior doesn’t have a ton of burst with the ball in his hands, but he’s smooth and has a lot of confidence in his jumper. In what should ultimately be a close game, Devoe’s ability to take and make big shots is going to be a difference-maker. An argument can also be made that Jordan Usher will be the second-best guard in this game, so Georgia Tech’s backcourt advantage can’t be ignored.
The one area where the Yellow Jackets need to be careful is on the glass, where Louisville forward Sydney Curry can be tough to outwork. Curry had 24 points and 14 rebounds against the Virginia Cavaliers last game, and he had 11 boards against Virginia Tech in the game before that. He isn’t the tallest guy in the world, but he’s strong and plays extremely hard. It’s crucial that an undersized Georgia Tech team doesn’t let him dominate the paint.
Prediction: Georgia Tech +1.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
Louisville has allowed at least 70 points in each of its last four games and five of its last six contests. The Cardinals just aren’t playing very well defensively, which means the Yellow Jackets should be able to find some success on the offensive end. Georgia Tech has a backcourt that can put up points in a hurry, so that’s not something that Over bettors will need to worry about. Louisville is also capable of putting up a decent number with the Yellow Jackets not being stellar on defense.
Since Josh Pastner became the head coach at Georgia Tech, the Over is 10-0 in games in which his team is playing away from home against a team that beat it earlier in the year. The Over is also 14-10-1 when Georgia Tech is playing in games with a line between +3 and -3 over the last three seasons. Look for these teams to trade buckets late, and don’t be surprised if this one ends up being one of the better games of the first round.
Prediction: Over 135 (-110)
Best bet
The fact that Louisville beat Georgia Tech on the road this year and is only favored by 1.5 is a bit fishy on its surface. Most bettors will see that and quickly jump to taking the Cardinals, but the Yellow Jackets become more enticing the more you dig into this game. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the way these teams finished the year. Georgia Tech’s win over Boston College should give the team some confidence, and the Yellow Jackets also went 5-1 ATS in their last six games. Meanwhile, Louisville enters the tournament after having failed to cover in three straight, and the team lost its home finale by double digits.
The Yellow Jackets also happen to be 28-13 ATS in games with a line of +3 to -3 since Pastner became the team’s head coach. On top of that, Georgia Tech is 16-6 ATS in March under Pastner. He tends to get the most out of his team when it counts.
Pick: Georgia Tech +1.5 (-110)
Did you know that if you parlayed our Louisville vs. Georgia Tech picks, you could win $26.45 on a $10 bet?
Use our college basketball parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
