Louisville Basketball: The Irish not so lucky in Charlotte

Louisville basketball faced the Irish for the second time in 10 days, this time for a chance to advance in the daunted ACC tournament.

For a team that was in a downward spiral just a few weeks ago, Louisville basketball sure has picked up their game. We all know Notre Dame isn’t very good, but after the Cards lost 6 of 8 and couldn’t seem to find their heads – blowout wins can’t be undervalued.

This game started out with the Irish hitting their first couple of three’s and to be honest, they did miss even most of their open looks. But Louisville was tenacious on defense, communicating very well and hustling for everything out there.

Mooney, the best player for Notre Dame, went 3-17 on the night after making his first 2 shots when the Cards defense completely took him out of the game. Offensive rebounding was a big key for U of L as well, 10 of them for 8 points. Malik Williams and Steven Enoch were beasts on the boards tonight, both grabbing 7.

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A 22 point win is a great way to start off conference tournament play, but this one was less about the score and more about our guys being locked in. They looked focused from the start, and even though there was about a 7 minute stretch near the end of the first half – with the bench in – that was less than stellar, I believe Mack knows what he’s doing.

Christen Cunningham got more rest tonight than he’s gotten all year (which could be huge next game vs, UNC) and Darius Perry stepped up admirably in his place. CC’s poise is missed on the floor during stretches, but the play from our bench was as solid as it has been all year long. Mack has given them all an opportunity to prove themselves and is teaching them lessons in game that could prove to be invaluable moving forward.

Probably most encouraging was seeing this team be more patient, reading the defense and getting good shots, not just jacking up three’s. It looked like it could go that way for a minute, (to be fair when you’re playing a zone you’re going to have to shoot them) but the guys kept their composure. Keep taking what the defense gives you fellas. That means keep shooting, *to Ryan and Jordan only.

MVP: Jordan Nwora. Scoring the Cards first 12 points, Jordan was feeling himself tonight. He fell just one rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 24 and 9. He didn’t turn the ball over, played great defense, and kept his poise when handling the ball, especially in transition. Nwora tourney mode? Activated.

LVP: Khwan Fore. He didn’t play much because he’s been struggling offensively. He finally scored when the game was well in hand and hopefully that broke the seal for him, because we all know his defense is stellar. If he can put in a few points a night, that’s a bonus for us.

X-Factor: For me it’s a tie between Darius Perry and Dwayne Sutton. Darius showed flashes of composure and leadership that could be the difference for this team. Not only does CC get needed rest, but Darius’ confidence coupled with his ever growing maturity does wonders for this team. And Dwayne is still struggling offensively, but the dude had 10 rebounds tonight. His heart and toughness permeates the entire team, and that’s something that you can’t put a price on. When this team plays tough we’ve all seen what they can do.

Let’s give out some grades