78 - 63 There was no post-North Carolina hangover for the Louisville basketball team, which pasted Virginia Tech in a game that was even more one-sided than the 78-63 final score would indicate.
The Cards received yet another masterful performance from point guard Chris Jones, who registered a career-high 11 assists while turning the ball over just twice. The biggest benefactor of Jones' generosity was backcourt mate Terry Rozier, who scored a team-high 16 points and hit 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. Wayne Blackshear added 15 points and six rebounds, while Montrezl Harrell came alive in the second half to finish with 11 and 8.
Perhaps the game's most pleasant surprise was the play of Mangok Mathiang, who re-entered the starting lineup and responded with 10 points in the game's opening 12 minutes. He finished with 11 points and tied for the team-high in rebounds with 8.
Virginia Tech, a team which lives and dies with the 3-pointer, finished 8-for-19 from beyond the arc, but the bulk of those makes came after the game had already been put away. The Hokies trailed 43-24 at halftime and were down by as many as 28 in the second half before Rick Pitino called the dogs off.
Louisville improved to 1-0 in the ACC and 28-0 all-time in games in which sophomore guard David Levitch sees the court.
