Louisville basketball wins its second straight game as the Cardinals defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76-65 Wednesday night inside the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville improves to 16-6 on the season and 6-4 in conference play, and while it wasn’t the prettiest game of the season, the Cards pick up another win with just one month of basketball remaining.
Every win counts at this point of the season, and they aren’t going to be easy games, no matter who Louisville is playing. The Cardinals struggled shooting from beyond the arc as they finished with just seven made 3’s on 31 attempts, shooting just 23 percent from downtown. However, Louisville got a lot of help inside the arc this game, and from its frontcourt, as it outscored Notre Dame in the paint 40-22.
One player who stepped up when his name was called is Kasean Pryor. The former starter from a season ago, before his knee injury, hasn’t seen the court as much as he probably hoped, but in this February showdown, he showed why he is valuable to this team and why he should earn more minutes moving forward.
Kasean Pryor could be the answer for Cardinals physicality concern
The Cardinals' frontcourt is Louisville’s biggest question mark as we inch closer to March, as this team needs help with its physicality down low and rebounding. Pryor showed last night that he brings a different element to this team, as he is another spark and could be a crucial piece who can come off the bench moving forward if he can stay healthy and continue to practice more and more.
“He has been a different beast in practice the last 10 days to two weeks,” Kelsey stated on Pryor’s progress. “He adds a dimension to our team. I am just proud of his attitude. He has always had a good attitude. He’s been different the last couple of weeks, and we need him to just continue to do that.”
Pryor was one of five players to finish in double figures as the senior posted a 10-point and five-rebound performance while shooting 5-of-6 from the field. Kelsey made it clear he needs to see Pryor consistently produce at practice and in games when his name is called, and over the past two weeks, Pryor has been trending in the right direction, possibly earning more minutes and a larger role down the stretch.
The Cardinals' biggest concern is their physicality and length, and Louisville fans saw Pryor light a spark in this team when he checked in. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward is a tough, physical forward who isn’t afraid to push people around, and that is exactly what Louisville needs on offense and defense. He brought an edge to this Cardinals squad immediatley when he checked in, sprinting up and down the floor, doing dirty work in the paint, hitting fadeaway jumpers, and making a strong case to earn more playing time.
Pryor was a key addition in the 2024 offseason when he came over from USF after averaging 13 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from downtown. He was a key starter last season in Louisville’s first seven games, averaging 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, but went down after tearing his ACL and missed the remainder of the season.
He has now seen a smaller role this season after returning to Louisville, averaging just 8.1 minutes per game, and hasn’t played in the last three games. However, that could all be changing, as Kelsey mentioned, Pryor has made drastic improvements at practice over the last couple of weeks.
Louisville needs all the help it can get in the frontcourt, and someone like Pryor, who brings veteran leadership, tons of energy, and a physical presence, can be a key reason why he continues to earn more and more playing time.