Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies cruise to easy win over Louisville

The good vibes continued for the red-hot Virginia Tech basketball team Tuesday night when the Hokies destroyed Louisville, 75-43, in Blacksburg.

It was Virginia Tech’s ninth win in 10 games, and the Hokies improved to 11-8 in ACC play and 19-11 overall. Remarkably, the Hokies sat at 2-7 in late January and were 10-10 overall. Some delusional part of the fan base wanted head coach Mike Young.

Amazingly, this was Virginia Tech’s first win over Louisville since Feb. 13, 1991. That game was also at Cassell Coliseum, and the Hokies won, 72-56. That was when both schools were members of the old Metro Conference.

This game was never in doubt as the Hokies dominated from the tip and went into halftime with a 33-21 lead. Tech turned it up a notch in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 42-22 en route to one of its easiest ACC wins in memory.

Forward Justyn Mutts had another solid all-around game, leading the Hokies with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Keve Aluma and Darius Maddox each scored 11 points. Sean Pedulla and Nahiem Alleyne each scored nine points, while Storm Murphy finished with eight points and Hunter Cattoor with seven points.

The Hokies shot 46.7% from the field and made 12 of their 28 3-point attempts after recently struggling from beyond the arc.

Virginia Tech held the Cardinals to 36% shooting from the field and forced 18 turnovers.

Mutts and sophomore forward David N’Guessan each had a highlight-reel dunk, and Cassell Coliseum went nuts each time.

The Hokies are on the road for the regular-season finale Saturday with a trip to Clemson.