Louisville basketball: 4 bold predictions vs. Virginia Tech
By Jacob Lane
THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Jacob Lane: Ryan McMahon does his best Kyle Kuric end of Freedom Hall impersonation
I will never in my life forget March 6, 2010. In the final game of an era for Louisville basketball inside of legendary Freedom Hall, Kyle Kuric had possibly one of the most magical games in Cardinal history against no. 1 Syracuse.
His 22 points, including four three-pointers, pushed Louisville to one of its biggest wins of the season and possibly one of the most important performances in history considering all that had taken place in that building.
The performance itself was spectacular considering Kuric was just beginning to develop into a player we knew would be a star, but it is the magic-like feeling that swept through Card Nation that day. It’s one that even today people will tell you where exactly they sat, watched from, and how it was one of their favorite memories of being a Cardinal fan.
Folks, this may sound crazy, but deep down in the deepest parts of my Cardinal fandom I have a feeling we’re about to embark on the magic again; this time with one of our most beloved, Ryan McMahon.
In my mind, it is beyond obvious that McMahon is the greatest Cardinal shooter to play on the KFC Yum! Center floor and maybe even one of the best in program history. His ability to go from zero to sixty in a matter of minutes by way of the three-point line rivals only teammate Jordan Nwora over the last 15 or so years, and it’s why he’s rising in the all-time rankings.
In fact, as of today, McMahon has hit178 out of the 455 total three-pointers attempted over the course of his career at Louisville which has him currently seated in 9th place in Louisville history. With just two more three-pointers made McMahon will tie Russ Smith and Francisco Garcia for 8th of all time, before having a chance to climb as high as 5th in program history by seasons end.
In doing some stat digging, I learned that while McMahon’s career-high three-pointers made in a single game is seven, which came earlier this season against North Carolina State in a road game. When looking at his career-high three’s made at home on the KFC Yum! Center floor, McMahon has had five on two different occasions, including Albany in 2017-18 and USC Upstate earlier this season.
On senior night in what should be an absolutely packed house, McMahon is going to give the Lousiville faithful one more magical performance at the KFC Yum! Center in what will be his version of the Kyle Kuric Syracuse game.
We’ve seen some special games from no. 30 over the years (as Mike Rutherford wrote, it does feel like he’s been here for 67 years), including his career-high in points against Michigan State last season, and far too often we’ve lost perspective of the perfection of his craft. Sunday will serve as a reminder of just how lethal McMahon has become from three. For a player whose entire basketball journey has been a fairy-tale of sorts, I’m expecting Sunday night to be the storybook ending to an era at the KFC Yum! Center.