Well, at least Louisville doesn’t have to worry about how they blew a sizable halftime lead after this one. Duke led by 10 at the break and did what they have done consistently to the Cardinals in the second half, rolling to an 83-52 rout that marked the largest margin of defeat of the Pat […]
Well, at least Louisville doesn’t have to worry about how they blew a sizable halftime lead after this one.
Duke led by 10 at the break and did what they have done consistently to the Cardinals in the second half, rolling to an 83-52 rout that marked the largest margin of defeat of the Pat Kelsey era. U of L has now trailed by at least 20 points in all three of their road losses against top 25 opponents.
Louisville shot just 30 percent from the field, a subpar performance aided significantly by a woeful 1-for-13 shooting effort from freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. Ryan Conwell, the only Cardinal to shoot at least 50 percent from the field, led U of L with 18 points.
A three-pointer from Conwell midway through the first half actually gave Louisville a 25-24 advantage. Duke outscored their visitors 59-27 the rest of the way.
Four players scored in double figures for the Blue Devils, who beat U of L for a record ninth straight time. Cameron Boozer led the way with 19 points, 10 boards and 4 assists.
I’m not sure “demoralizing” adequately describes the feeling after this one. You don’t have to win every game against every top tier opponent on your schedule, but you have to at least win a few of them … and you certainly can’t get your ass absolutely handed to you in all of them.
We are getting our asses absolutely handed to us every time we play a top-tier opponent.
The good(?) news? I’m not sure there’s a top-tier opponent remaining on Louisville’s regular season schedule. There are certainly good teams, and there are a number of Quad I opportunities up for grabs, but I don’t think any of U of L’s remaining 11 regular season contests will come against a team capable of winning the national championship.
Keep working, find your stride, get hot, and then hope to get another shot against an elite opponent at some point in March.
This wasn’t the mentality any of us were hoping to have at the end of January with this team, but it’s where we are. I don’t like it any more than you do.
Category: General Sports
