Louisville basketball: Handing out awards from sentimental senior night

Louisville basketball got everyone involved in a sentimental senior night win over Virginia Tech. Let’s hand out some awards.

In a game that began emotionally, and ended in storybook fashion, Louisville basketball put away Virginia Tech in its final home game of the season.

The Hokies started slow… Louisville started slower.

A starting lineup that featured five of Louisville’s six graduates saw Louisville look lackadaisical as each graduate tried to “get theirs” but ultimately were off the mark.

In the second half, Louisville continued to lock Tech down on the defensive end and the Cardinals got into a rhythm that propelled them to a pretty easy victory for the 17th time this season at home.

Let’s give out some

Dundies

Senior Night Awards.

Seniors most likely to make you cry: Dwayne Sutton and Ryan McMahon

I mean, what the hell, man? Who is cutting onions in the Yum!?

Today was about the worst day possible for the Cards to finish out their season at home. My schedule is pretty hectic, but I’ve managed to make nearly every game this season.

Yet, when it came to the most important game of all- the one where we had one final chance to send off a beloved senior class- there were a ton of speed bumps in the way.

Many favors were cashed in in order to see two players in particular, Dwayne Sutton and Ryan McMahon, one last time in person.

We’ve waxed poetic on this site for quite some time over these two, and will continue to do so long after their careers have ended. We’ll let that go one marinate for a bit, but for now, just know that this senior class was special.

DeJuan Wheat, Francisco Garcia, Reece Gaines, Terrence Williams, Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng, and so many others have come through this program in recent years. Somehow, this story feels the most special, and this team feels like there is so much more to be written.

Whether their last game ends in tears of joy, or tears from the agony of defeat, I will be so, so full of pride for this senior class- Especially Sutton and McMahon.

MVP: Jordan Nwora

”One is the most complete performances of (Nwora’s) career.” That’s the words of Chris Mack in the postgame presser.

Look, nobody has taken more unwarranted flack in program history than graduating junior Jordan Nwora, and the team’s leading scorer responded by giving a complete effort from start to finish in his final game in the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cards got 20 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists on a night where he didn’t really have it from the field, and Nwora completely changed the game with his penetration, hustle plays, and perhaps his best defense of the season.

For the haters.

Play of the game: Keith “Onions” Oddo from three

There were a ton of really just solid athletic feats in this game, but they can forget about winning play of the game because freshman David Johnson and grad Keith Oddo stole the show in the waning moments.

Mack mentioned that Johnson was reinserted just to get the ball to Oddo, and Johnson took his job very seriously.

On an inconsequential missed three in the final seconds of the game, Johnson got into the lane, soared in for a rebound, and in one swift move snapped the ball to Oddo for a sexy-ass splash from deep.

Oddo is a walk-on fifth year senior who played sparingly at Richmond for four years, went through an emotional senior night, then sat on the bench colder than the south side of Antarctica for one hour and 48 minutes before entering the game, and your boy dialed up the prettiest splash of the night.

After a long, assuredly painstaking career that saw lots of ups and downs and a ton of waiting his turn on the bench, when Oddo got his moment, he sunk the biggest shot of his life.

The Louisville bench erupted like he just won them the national title.

What a moment.

Other stuff: Look, some other stuff happened. Louisville was kind of sleepy through the first half and into the beginning of the second half.

But, in the end, the seniors did the damn thing. Then Cards came away victorious for the infinityith time against Virginia Tech, and now await a trip to Virginia with a chance to win an ACC title on Saturday.

Let’s go!