No. 12 men's basketball defeats Clemson despite slow start • The Louisville Cardinal

By Matt Bradshaw–

No. 12 men’s basketball overcame a sluggish start to beat conference opponent Clemson, 92-60.

Five Cardinals scored in double figures in Quentin Snider’s absence. The Cards lacked Snider’s ability to create plays, instead relying on points in the paint and points off turnovers.

“It’s a different game with Quentin out,” coach Rick Pitino said. “You don’t get as many easy shots and you have to work for it.”

Donovan Mitchell led the Cardinal attack with 8-for-8 shooting and 18 points in the first half. Mitchell cut through Clemson’s tight defense and finished the half with a buzzer-beater three.

“You have to create ball movement and beat them one-on-one, and Donovan did that,” Pitino said.

The Cardinal defense struggled and allowed Clemson the lead in the beginning of the game. The Tigers made their shots and capitalized on Louisville turnovers.

“Clemson is a really good basketball team,” Pitino said. “They hang in there with everybody.”

Louisville eventually turned the game around and went on a 29-10 run. They passed the ball around more and began making their shots. U of L led 41-31 at the half.

The Cardinals’ defense kicked in in nthe second half, forcing 14 Clemson turnovers by the end of the game. Louisville’s offense took advantage and ended the game with 23 points off turnovers.

Mitchell and Deng Adel led the team with 18 points each. VJ King had 14 points, and Jaylen Johnson finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Louisville moves to 16-3 and travels to Florida State Jan. 21 at 2 p.m.