By Harry Barsan

No. 14 Louisville takes care of business at home against the Stanford Cardinal on senior night.

Saturday’s victory was the Cards’ first win on senior night since the 2019-20 season.

One final run (or two)

Louisville won the tip-off, and after a couple of sloppy possessions Chucky Hepburn found James Scott for an ally-oop dunk.

Stanford then matched the shot and took the lead off of a three-pointer from Maxime Raynaud.

That score would be equalized by a bucket from Noah Waterman, the start of a 13-0 run.

The rowdy run would quickly be met by a nearly three-minute run of nine straight missed field goals before Terrence Edwards Jr. broke through with a mid-range three-point play to take the score to 18-10.

After a lone free throw from Raynaud, Louisville would spring out on a 9-0 run. Louisville led 29-18 in spite of only making two threes.

Stanford would close the gap by the half, scoring seven of the final 11 points, but Khani Rooths would end the half with a ferocious slam dunk of an Edwards assist.

Louisville stood in front 33-18 at the half.

Tough it out

The second half got off to a strange start, with the referees swallowing their whistle on both sides. As soon as the teams adjusted, they loosened their whistles and turned the game into a foul fest.

This led to a sloppy first five minutes, then a quick 13-6 burst from Stanford. The Cardinal drew within eight off this run, and forced a timeout from Pat Kelsey.

The Cards kept them at bay though with an 8-0 run out of the timeout, reclaiming momentum.

But the refs would return to their silent protest, once again swallowing their whistle on both sides. Stanford  cut the lead back down to 10 points, and refused to die lying down.

Then tides would shift as Louisville entered their final mega-run of 15-4. J’Vonne Hadley would start the run with two tough layups off the glass on back-to-back possessions.

Once the game was out of reach Kelsey would call a timeout to sub each senior out one by one to give them their own moment. The crowd responded with standing ovations for each, and Hepburn even kissed the dunking Cardinal at mid-court.

The Cherry on top would be a three from Cole Sherman, a local kid who scored the first points of his Louisville career.

Louisville would come out on top 68-48.

Revived Ville

The game may have been sloppy, but a win is a win.

The Cards only shot 22.7% from deep and 44.3% from the field, but the absence of Reyne Smith was a clear factor. Smith is obviously a threat from three, but he spaces the floor and provides opportunities for others even when he doesn’t touch the ball.

Smith is listed as day-to-day, but he will be needed for Louisville to make a post-season run.

Hepburn and Edwards starred in their final game in the KFC Yum! Center, each scoring 16 points. Hepburn added five rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Edwards had four assists, three rebounds and one steal.

Hadley was just one rebound short of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, and he hit some crucial buckets when the offense was running dry.

Every senior showed out, marking their spot in the record books and the hearts of fans.

Louisville finishes the regular season at 25-6 and 18-2 in the ACC.

The 25 wins ties the combined win total over the past three seasons for the Cards, and the 18 conference wins are not only a program record and an ACC record, but it falls just one win short of the combined conference wins over the past four seasons.

The Cards also extend their streak of leading by 10-plus points in ACC games to 21.

Louisville locks up a top-two seed in the ACC tournament, and could receive their first ever ACC regular season title with wins from Clemson and North Carolina.

Photo by Vinny Porco