Louisville basketball game grades: Cards let one get away at Indiana

Louisville basketball led early and often, but could not put away Indiana in a back-and-forth final minutes.

Louisville basketball executed as well as they have all season, particularly in the early going, but ultimately let a late lead slip away in the waning minutes of the second half against Indiana on Saturday.

Jordan Nwora notched a career-high 24 points and 14 rebounds in one of his best performances ever, and Christen Cunningham added an efficient 16 points for the Cards.

The Cards looked disciplined and focused in the first half, leading to some of their best offensive execution all season. Crisp ball movement, and smart decision making led to a lot of open shots and easy dunks, as Louisville took a 33-28 lead into the locker room in the second half.

However, Louisville’s devaluing of posessions, and inability to get to the line hindered their ability to put the Hoosiers away for good.

The Cards took care of the ball in the first half, but commited 6 turnovers in the first 11 minutes of the second period. This allowed Indiana to take the lead for first time with 8:33 left in the game.

After IU took their first lead, the subsequent posessions were promising for Louisville. The Cards turned the Hoosiers over twice, and Indiana had three straight empty posessions. Unfortunately, Louisville could do nothing with those opportunities.

Ultimately, the game came down to what it did against Marquette, Michigan State, and Seton Hall- could the Cards execute and hit open shots to secure the victory? Ryan McMahon and Jordan Nwora were able to bury some clutch shots against MSU and Seton Hall, but the same shots that they made in earlier games just did not fall in the end.

A one point loss is a disappointing finish, but in a game the Cards controlled most of the way, you have to like their chances at home or on a neutral site going foward.

MVP:

Jordan Nwora. This guy stepped up in a big way today. 24 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals (including two in a row late in the game). Nwora stepped up in a big way to be the leader that Louisville needs him to be. His improvement on defense was apparent against IU, which bodes well for the Cards going forward.

LVP:

Home court whistles. Look, I am all for however the refs want to call the game. If you want to call it loose, great. If you want to be picky and call a tight game, I’m all for it. Just be consistent.

We certainly don’t want to blame the refs for every loss, and Louisville still should have put this one away. But, the inconsistencies, particularly in the post for Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford, were extremely apparent. Louisville was whistled for a lot of “fantom” fouls in a game that they otherwise dominated. Romeo Langford took more free throws than Louisville’s entire team, and it wasn’t for lack of trying on Louisville’s end.

X-Factor:

You could give this to Dwayne Sutton every game at this point, but the X-Factor award should go to Christen Cunningham this game. Cunningham only takes smart shots in the flow of the offense, and if it is a last resort for the team. But when he takes them, he makes them.