Louisville, Kentucky – February 23, 2019
Hunter Robinson – Bluegrass Sports Nation Louisville
Basketball Columnist
The Louisville Cardinals return to action in the Yum!
Center today to take on the third ranked Virginia Cavaliers in what promises to
be one of the games of the season for Chris Mack’s squad. The Cards come in to
todays game following a disappointing 20 point loss on the road to a pesky
Syracuse team and are looking to stay near the top of the ACC standings with a
win today. This game will have implications for the Cardinals in seeding for
the ACC tournament and more importantly, their return to the big dance. The
Cavaliers have been one of the top teams in the country from week one and are
known for their suffocating defense, the way the Cards react and perform can be
a telling sign of what the postseason could have in store for one of the
surprise teams in college basketball this season.
From the tip it was apparent that UVA was going to
play their usual slow down style of offense and hardnosed defense. Louisville’s
first possession was a shot clock violation and the first points of the game
didn’t come until almost two minutes into the game. From there the Cards would
catch fire, with Dwayne Sutton scoring the first eight points for the Cards and
there being multiple instances where Louisville hit three straight threes on
consecutive possessions. While Louisville was playing off energy from the crowd
and having the hot hand, the Cavaliers found it difficult to have a consistent
offensive flow as their stars DeAndre Hunter and Kyle Guy were mostly
ineffective. Louisville was led by Jordan Nwora and Ryan McMahon with 12 points
each and shot 10-16 from three as a team. Louisville went into halftime with a
37-27 lead.
With the beginning of the second half it became
quickly apparent that Virginia would not lay down. Louisville began settling
for jumpers but the problem was they were not falling this half. Settling for
outside shots and Virginias strong defense made Louisville largely ineffective
for most of the second half. The problem was made more prevalent when Virginia
found a more consistent offensive flow. While the Cavaliers never seemed to hit
shots from the outside they were methodic in running their halfcourt offense
and getting a good shot near the rim or a offensive rebound. The pressure from
Virginia’s defense and their own inability to stop the Cavaliers from scoring,
especially DeAndre Hunter, proved to be a slow downfall for the Cardinals as
they would fall by a final score of 64-52.
With the loss the Cardinals drop to 18-10 overall and
9-6 in the ACC which has them at 7th in the ACC. What at one point
seemed to be a positive game for Chris Mack’s squad turned out to be a letdown
for the second time this week as the Cardinals now look to answer some
questions that linger with this team. The Cardinals were led in scoring by
Jordan Nwora and Ryan McMahon with 12 points apiece. With just a couple games
left before postseason play Louisville will be searching for answers and hope
to find them fast.
