By Derek DeBurger
Through another failed comeback attempt—this time to the Syracuse Orange—Louisville has secured their spot as the worst team in the ACC for the second year in a row.
There were zero field goals in the first two minutes, and while there was some quick back-and-forth action that put points up, Syracuse quickly started to pull away. The Orange faced almost no resistance on offense—much like the first matchup between these two—and Louisville’s offense was not able to keep up.
Syracuse was forced to experiment with different defenses due to injuries at center, and they quickly learned that Louisville struggled in dealing with the two-three zone. For the vast majority of the rest of the game, the Orange stuck to a zone that caused fits and unforced turnovers for the Cards. Soon after guard Ty-Laur Johnson checked into the game, the Cards made a slight comeback in the first half to cut the lead to three. Louisville’s defense, however, could not stop a nosebleed and Syracuse continued to score at will.
Louisville trailed at halftime, 28-37.
After surviving a quick burst out of the half from the Orange, Louisville once again cut the lead down to a manageable amount. The main authors of the second stretch were forward Kaleb Glenn, and guards Mike James and Tre White, all of whom did a great job getting the ball close to the basket and making tough buckets. Syracuse then forced an almost four-minute scoring drought extending their lead to 17, and then later as high as 19.
With 7:15 left in the game, it felt over. Syracuse was running the clock down on offense and their defense was letting up. The Cards started to inch their way back into the game until all of a sudden it was back down to a nine-point game. From there, they cut the lead down to as low as four points, but a missed three-pointer from Curtis Williams ended all the momentum Louisville had built up.
Louisville would lose 76-82.
Louisville has given up a combined 176 points in two matchups against the Orange, who have been cursed with notable injuries each time they’ve met. While they played a great game offensively in the first matchup, Saturday was just stringing together competent offense in spurts. Once again the offense started slow and picked up significantly when Johnson was checked into the game. The final run at the end of the game came when both Johnson and guard Skyy Clark were in the lineup with Johnson playing on the ball.
With Louisville clinching the worst ACC record, this is now just the second time in program history that the Cards will finish with the worst record in conference, both seasons being under head coach Kenny Payne. Louisville has also secured their 21st loss of the season, officially making this season the second-worst season in program history—only behind last season.
Louisville falls to 8-21 on the season, 3-15 in the ACC, and 12-49 under coach Payne with just two games left in the regular season.
Photo Courtesy // Syracuse Athletics
