By Harry Barsan

No. 13 Louisville used late-game heroics and the biggest comeback of their season to beat the Stanford Cardinal in the ACC quarterfinals.

Louisville was once again shorthanded against the Cardinal, with Reyne Smith sitting out with an injury for the second game in a row.

Is this Madness?

Thursday got out to an ugly start for everyone but Noah Waterman.

While both teams jumped out a combined 0-of-8, Waterman went 2-of-2 from three-point range to secure an early 6-0 lead.

Then Maxime Raynaud got himself and Stanford on the board with a couple layups to start a 9-0 run for the Cardinal.

Chucky Hepburn eventually broke a nearly six-minute scoring drought with a single free throw, which would be his only points for most of the first half.

James Scott got in on the action with two straight dunks, while Terrence Edwards Jr. went off for eight straight to give the Cards a four-point lead.

But it seemed like every time Louisville tried to claim momentum, Stanford would knock down another three. Oziyah Sellers specifically took advantage of Louisville focusing in on Raynaud, going 3-of-4 from deep in the half.

After Edwards tied the game with his 12th point of the half, Chisom Okpara sank a corner three to take the lead back.

Louisville trailed 30-33 at the half.

Laughing to the bank

To say the second half was action-packed would be an understatement.

After starting the second down to an ACC opponent for the first time all year, Stanford increased the lead little by little.

After inching their lead to four points, the Cardinal went on an 11-0 run to take a 15-point lead.

Pat Kelsey called a timeout to refocus. And while the offense picked up the slack Sellers continued to hit every shot the Cards gave him, forcing another timeout from Kelsey.

Louisville came out of this timeout looking like new beasts. Edwards quickly made two buckets before Raynaud picked up his fourth foul and was consequently subbed out.

Louisville took advantage of the sub and then some, putting together an 11-0 run of their own, later extending that run to a 20-5 mega-run.

Hepburn picked up six of the next eight while soon after dishing two lobs to Scott as he eclipsed ten on the game. Stanford continued to come up with empty possession after empty possession and Louisville continued to push the gas.

After yet another Scott dunk tied it at 60-60, both squads traded free throws until Edwards made four straight and gave Louisville a small yet monumental two-point lead.

After trading blows, Louisville stayed in their flow picking up some big buckets from Hepburn and J’Vonne Hadley. When things couldn’t look any worse for Stanford, Raynaud picked up his fifth foul on an illegal screen, disqualifying him for the game.

Another layup by Scott and a free throw from Hepburn gave Louisville a 73-65 lead with just 1:56 left on the clock.

But Stanford wasn’t done, hitting a three on what had previously been a bad offensive possession. Then they forced a bad shot from Hepburn, and Sellers hit two more free throws to cut the lead down to three.

Hepburn then turned it over and Okpara went coast-to-coast for the and-1 to tie the game.

With about a second between the shot- and game-clock, Louisville had nothing but a bucket to go to seal the deal.

With the clock winding down and a completely blown up offensive set, Edwards chucked up a three, nearly drawing a foul but missed the mark. The ball went right into the hands of Okpara, but Scott knocked the ball loose and right to Hepburn with just over a second left.

He threw up the prayer and sank the game-winner at the buzzer.

Pandemonium ensued and the reality of what just occurred sat it in for all, Louisville won 75-73 to advance to the ACC semifinals.

New grounds

While Thursday was below the standard this team has set for itself, finding ways to win is exactly what you need to do in March.

This is Louisville’s biggest comeback this season by a mile, and they did so without Smith. Smith changes the entire complexion of Louisville’s offense, but increased reps without him on the court will do the Cards wonders.

In the weatherman’s absence, Edwards and Hepburn were the two unsurprising individuals who stepped up. Edwards led the charge with 25 points on an impressive 9-of-14 shooting, and Hepburn had 20 points and eight assists.

Waterman provided a huge boost in production in Smith’s wake, scoring 12 points with nine rebounds.

Scott also had 12 points with eight rebounds and the steal to set up Hepburn’s game-winner.

Hepburn’s game-winning buzzer-beater was the first for Louisville in the postseason since the Elite Eight in 1983.

While Louisville’s streak of leading ACC opponents by 10-plus may have ended at 21 games, their improved 26-6 record now eclipses the win total over the past three seasons.

Louisville will play the winner of the SMU-Clemson game in their first ACC semifinal in program history.

Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics