Louisville basketball: Why Georgia Tech could be a “trap” game

The upcoming stretch of ACC games is easily the most important period of the season. Louisville basketball has 10 games currently left on the schedule with one game against Boston College that has been postponed for a later date that has not yet been announced.

Among the last 10 scheduled games, seven of them are against teams that are competing for a place in the NCAA tournament in March that ESPN’s Joe Lunardi considers as “Next Four Out” or better. Louisville will have to buckle down after their very shaky last couple of weeks during this coming span.

Georgia Tech is not one of the teams currently being considered for the tournament or even a legitimate threat to the Cardinals. The Yellow Jackets are historically a bottom-feeding team in the ACC. This should be an easy get-right game for Louisville then. Right?

This is a typical trap game scenario

The classic case of the “trap game” is when one team overlooks another in anticipation for a perceived much tougher opponent. In this case, it’s the danger of overlooking Georgia Tech due to a massively important stretch of six straight games against teams that are vying to be a part of March Madness.

Georgia Tech is not at the bottom of the ACC. Despite being one of the least talked about teams in the conference consistently, the Yellow Jackets are jockeying smack dab in the middle of the ACC right now.

The Yellow Jackets are boasting a 7-5 overall record with a .500 standing in the ACC at 3-3 with notable wins over North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Clemson on the year.

They have lost two games in a row, but they were both close losses including just a two-point loss to Virginia. Georgia Tech led for much of the game against the 8th-ranked Cavaliers.

Georgia Tech also has one of the best guards in the conference in Jose Alvarado. He’s a tremendous player that shoots over 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range.

They are a veteran team that can really shoot it from deep when they get hot. And Alvarado seems to never cool down with seven games of 20 or more points this season.

Louisville has proven they can lose to anybody. Right now, conference losses to Miami and Clemson are looking like a real eye sore to the team.

If they get complacent heading into the matchup against Georgia Tech, there is no reason that this team can or should feel safe.