Louisville basketball is dancing into their first ACC Tournament Championship game. The Cardinals secured a 76-73 victory over the Clemson Tigers Friday night and will be seeking the program's first ACC title and the program's first conference tournament title since 2014.
The game was sloppier than some may have wanted, but a win is a win, and the Cardinals have secured 11 straight and 21 of their last 22. The Cardinals didn't shoot the ball spectacularly and, honestly, have a decent amount of areas to improve overnight if they want to defeat the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils, but they just upset the No. 10 seed Clemson, which is a huge resume boost.
This game had its moments of good and bad. At the end of the day, the Cardinals showed grit, resilience, and toughness in their victory, and they continue to survive and advance.
5 huge observations from Louisville basketball's win over the Clemson Tigers
Many fans will jump to the previews for the ACC finals showdown with Duke, but before we do that, let's recap on the five huge observations from Louisville basketball's win over Clemson.
5. The Cardinals miss Reyne Smith
The Cardinal's spacing and depth are hurting badly in this ACC Tournament run. Louisville basketball's lethal sharpshooter has been injured for the first two games.
Without Smith out there, the Cardinal's floor spacing has been atrocious. It is hard to get open shots without a threat from the outside, which allows the defense to sink into the paint more than usual. Smith's absence has made it clear he is an essential part of this offense, even when he isn't able to shoot the ball lights out.
Not only does he space the floor, but this Cardinals rotation is showing its weakness. Louisville basketball looks gassed at times, and reasonably so, as the significant rotational players are logging 35-plus minutes.
4. Clemson's glaring kryptonite strikes again
In the first half, it looked like J'Vonne Hadley was going to have a slow game for the second consecutive game. However, in the second half, the Cardinals guard stepped up big time and proved he could be Pat Kelsey's third scoring option.
Hadley is the glaring X-factor for this Louisville basketball team. Fans know what they will get out of Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr., but as for Hadley, he has to be that key third option.
The Cardinal's 6-foot-6 guard scored 20 points and secured nine rebounds while shooting 66% from the floor and from downtown. Hadley played great defense all night and caused havoc on both ends of the floor.
3. Louisville basketball escaped an epic collapse
Look, a win is a win, but that was not pretty at all. The Cardinals were up 67-52 with 3:50 left in the game. Louisville basketball would give up a 17-5 run, which led Clemson to go down two with just 54 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals struggled mightily against the Tigers' full-court pressure, including five turnovers in the game's final three minutes. The Cardinals secured one made jumper in the game's final four minutes. Louisville escaped a scary collapse, and for a brief second there, it seemed like Clemson was going to pull off the comeback.
2. The Cardinals All-ACC guards step up again
Terrence Edwards Jr. and Chucky Hepburn have become one of the best backcourt duos in the ACC and college basketball. These two All-ACC guards are flying under the radar and deserve much more attention.
Edwards led the Cardinals in scoring, and Hepurn secured valuable defensive stops when Lousiville needed them. Edwards finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Hepburn proved to Duke fans why he deserved the Defensive Player of the Year Award over Cooper Flagg, as he finished with a stacked stat line of 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and six steals.
The Cardinal's star guards are gelling perfectly at the best time, and fans love it. These two are reliable every night and are key reasons why the Cardinals are just one win away from securing the ACC crown.
1. Louisville basketball's bench continues to improve
The Louisville basketball bench numbers don't show just how much they impacted this game. Noah Waterman is a starter with Smith out, but he will be coming off the bench in the NCAA Tournament, and his last two games have given the Cardinals much more confidence in him.
Waterman is playing confidently and proving he deserves to be on the court. He finished with 10 points while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. Waterman has to be a reliable shooter off the bench, and if he can give the Cardinals two to three shots from downtown in March Madness, that would be huge.
Aboubacar Traore had a great game. Traore finished with seven rebounds, including three offensive rebounds. The Cardinal's bench player stat line doesn't stand out, but when watching the game, he was doing all the dirty work and provided excellent minutes.
The Cardinals will go head-to-head with the Duke Blue Devils tonight at 8:30 p.m. local time for the ACC Tournament championship game.