Louisville basketball overcomes another slow start and scraps out a gritty win over the SMU Mustangs. The Cardinals improve to 15-6 on the season after finding a way to come back after being down as much as 12 points in the first half.
It was a concerning start for the Cardinals, as Louisville shot just 21 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, but got within three at the end of the first half. Mikel Brown Jr. struggled in the first half as the Cards 5-star commit had five turnovers in just the first half alone and just eight points off the bench for Pat Kelsey.
However, Brown made crucial adjustments at halftime and went on to lead a monster second half for the Cardinals, and led Louisville to a dominant 14-point victory.
Mikel Brown Jr. makes key adjustment in second half to lead Louisville to marquee win
While Brown was shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half, including a 3-pointer that put the Cardinals within three in the first half, he clearly wasn’t himself, with five turnovers. He was getting caught in the air, making sloppy passes, and simply trying to do too much, which led to the Cardinals' 5 of 7 turnovers.
However, Louisville took over in the second half, led by Brown, who scored 12 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from downtown, while adding three assists and zero turnovers.
"Just letting the game come to me," Brown stated after the Cardinals' win on Saturday. "Let my teammates eat, get them involved, get them open shots, and that just gets me going."
Brown improved drastically after halftime and was a key reason this Cardinals team won the second half 44-27. The former 5-star guard led all scorers with 20 points, and he did it coming off the bench. Brown is coming off his worst game against Duke, when he scored just 7 points on 7% shooting, and with a lot of pressure on him entering the second half, the future NBA lottery pick showed why he has so much potential.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard looked like himself as he was controlling the pace of the game in the second half and was playing his style of basketball. Brown stopped trying to do too much, and in a must-win game, he showed up when Louisville needed him the most in the second half to help the Cards overcome a 12-point deficit.
The Cardinals pick up a massive ACC victory on a Saturday afternoon, and as they enter February, while they may not be sitting where they would like at 15-6, they have a crucial month of basketball, and this game could be the tide-turner.
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