By Derek DeBurger

No. 11 Louisville trounced the Memphis Tigers in the first meeting between the two rivals since 2017.

Give it a second

The start of the game was fairly ugly, with Memphis using its length and athleticism to muck things up.

Sananda Fru finally got the Cards on the board with an ally-oop from J’Vonne Hadley, then an and-1 to give Louisville their first lead 5-4.

A three-pointer from the Tigers put them back on top, but Ryan Conwell blew the whole game wide open with back-to-back threes.

That was the start of an 11-0 run for the Cards. And while Memphis was able to get downhill and cut the lead right back down to four, another three-point barrage took the lead back into double-digits.

The two teams traded buckets until Kasean Pryor checked into the game and made his presence known.

He was a menace on defense and hit three consecutive shots from deep. Adrian Wooley got in on the fun, too, knocking down some threes in the first half to help put Louisville up by 18.

With Memphis unable to stop the Doctors of Dunk, Louisville led 57-37 at the half.

Through the motions

With the game almost out of reach, Louisville put their foot down.

Hadley hit two more threes to add to the already ridiculous number, and Mikel Brown Jr. scored a layup to push the lead to 27 points.

It was then that the Cards took their foot off the gas, playing sloppy and letting the Tigers cut the lead down to 20.

Pat Kelsey took a timeout to rip into his team, and the result was another lob to Fru to spur yet another run for Louisville.

The lead grew as high as 30 points multiple times before the walk-ons were checked in.

Louisville won 99-73.

Optical illusion

Memphis was a talented team with a not-so-talented coaching staff, and that’s why Louisville was favored by double-digits going into the game.

But the way Louisville dominated is a much bigger story than it will get attention for.

The Tigers under Penny Hardaway are and always have been a poor man’s Arkansas: they’ve got tall athletes everywhere, and they want to play a free flowing offense and get out in transition.

That is the exact playstyle that gave the Cards so many fits in their lone loss of the season. It would have been concerning but understandable to see Louisville struggle with this matchup.

Instead, Kelsey and the staff made adjustments and they were able to run Memphis out of the gym.

The 18 threes on 51% shooting was remarkable. Six different players for Louisville hit multiple threes, only the second time that’s happened in program history and the first time since 2010.

Conwell led Louisville with 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

Wooley played amazingly off the bench, scoring 15 points on 5-for-8 from deep.

Khani Rooths quietly had and incredible game off the bench, scoring 10 points, leading all players with eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Louisville has swept every single one of their traditional rivals this season. They’re now 9-1 on the year.

Up next the Cards will travel to Tennessee.

Photo Courtesy / Mallory Peak / Louisville Athletics