Virginia Tech Hokies at Louisville Cardinals

Jones, Rozier help No. 6 Louisville beat Virginia Tech 78-63

Tuesday's 78-63 win against Virginia Tech showed what the Cardinals are capable of when their senior point guard is in a generous mood.

Jones had a career-high 11 assists and Terry Rozier scored 16 points as No. 6 Louisville (15-2, 3-1, ACC) easily brushed off the Hokies (8-8, 0-3).

Louisville coach Rick Pitino said prior to Tuesday's game that Jones is "the type of guy who always has his hands in the cookie jar, and if you allow his hands to go in the cookie jar, he'll take all the cookies."

It was a comment meant to show a coach's watchful eye on a player prone to bad habits at times.

Jones made a concerted effort to set others up Tuesday after averaging 21 points in his last three games. Pitino still wants Jones to take open shots but pinned Louisville's improvement to the senior's improved decision-making.

"We're getting better, and I think it all stems from Chris Jones' willingness to be a leader and to be a point guard," Pitino said.

Louisville tied a season-high with 10 3-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field (31 of 65). Rozier hit 4 of 6 from behind the arc.

Wayne Blackshear added 15 points and Montrezl Harrell and Mangok Mathiang each had 11 points and 8 rebounds as the Cardinals bounced back from Saturday's 72-71 loss at North Carolina.

Jones' timing couldn't be better as Louisville starts its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

"I had to transfer my game for us to be a Final Four contender or a national championship contender," Jones said. "I just had to change my game. I was willing to do that and I'm just all-in with my teammates."

Putting his teammates first actually makes it easier for Jones to score, according to Rozier.

"When he plays like that, he's unguardable," Rozier said. "It takes a lot of pressure off of him and then he can get his points after. He did a great job tonight."

Adam Smith had 19 points, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers, and Justin Bibbs scored 15 for the Hokies, who lost their fourth straight game after winning the previous four.

After trading baskets to start the game, Louisville established itself early with a 15-0 run and led by as many as 29 with 12 minutes to play.

Mathiang had 10 points in the game's first 12 1/2 minutes to eclipse his season high.

After Louisville's opening run, Virginia Tech cut the lead to single digits three times in the first half, the last on Smith's deep 3-pointer that made it 33-24 with 3:09 remaining. Louisville then ended the half on a 10-0 run, capped by Blackshear's 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a 43-24 halftime lead. The Cardinals also scored the first eight points of the second half.

Louisville hit 10 of its first 20 3s before missing its final five to finish with 40 percent shooting on 3-point attempts. Virginia Tech missed its first five triples but finished the game 8 of 19 (42 percent).

TIP-INS

Louisville: The 11 assists from Jones surpassed the 10 he had at Wake Forest on Jan. 4 . Harrell, a junior, is now 12 points shy of 1,000 for his career. . Rozier has reached double figures in all but one of Louisville's 17 games this season. The sophomore guard was second in the ACC (17.5 points per game) entering the game.

Virginia Tech: Freshman Justin Bibbs did not start the game, a first in his career. . The Hokies will need a big upcoming performance to snap their four-game losing skid, facing No. 15 North Carolina, No. 12 Notre Dame and No. 2 Virginia in the next three games.

UP NEXT

Louisville hosts No. 4 Duke on Saturday.

Virginia Tech travels to No. 15 North Carolina on Sunday.

BENCH SCORING

Entering Tuesday, just 16.9 percent of Louisville's scoring (199 of 1177 points in 16 games) had come from the bench. Freshman Shaqquan Aaron and Jaylen Johnson each had six of Louisville's 18 bench points. Reserves had more than 40 percent of Virginia Tech's scoring (418 of 1041 points in 15 games) and that percentage will push higher as 40 of Virginia Tech's 63 points came from non-starters.

METRO REUNION

Tuesday marked the first matchup between Louisville and Virginia Tech in 20 years. The schools were both members of the Metro Conference from 1978-1995.

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