No. 8 North Carolina Handles No. 7 Louisville 74 – 63

The biggest matchup of the season for the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals, playing at No. 7 North Carolina, was a great opportunity to put themselves in position to not only win the ACC regular season title, but to be in a position for an all-important No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.  A win would put them in the driver’s seat.  

An inability to hit from outside and from the free throw line put the Cards in a tough position against a tough opponent on the road.  The Cards made only 4 of their 13 free throws and were equally inept from 3-point range going 5 – 20.  

U of L didn’t hit a free throw or 3-pointer in the first half, but trailed only 33 – 30 at the half.  Deng Adel was strong going to the basket scoring all eight of his points including a monstrous dunk late in the half.

Strong rebounding has been a staple of North Carolina’s teams under Roy Williams and they did not disappoint against the Cards.  The Tar Heels outrebounded the Cards 46 – 33 including 16 – 8 on the offensive end.  

Donovan Mitchell was the only U of L player to reach double figures.  He finished with 21 points on              8 – 15 shooting, but made only 3 – 9 from 3-point range.  

The Cards return home Sunday to face Syracuse at 2:00.