By Vinny Porco
The No. 24 Louisville Cardinals defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Wednesday night to build a two-game ACC win streak.
Finding the footing
The Cards started cold, allowing the Fighting Irish to lead 5-0 before putting up a basket of their own.
Pat Kelsey quickly made adjustments in light of the slow start. He checked in Aly Khalifa, Adrian Wooley and Khani Rooths after just three minutes of game time.
This didn’t immediately jumpstart Louisville, however, as Notre Dame took advantage of missed threes by Ryan Conwell and Wooley to go up 10-2 on the Cards and force Coach Kelsey to take a timeout at the fifteen-minute mark.
With Kobe Rodgers now in the game for Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville quickly narrowed the gap to 10-7 thanks to an Isaac McKneely triple and a Rooths layup on which he was fouled.
But this success was short lived, as a pair of threes from Notre Dame’s Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa reopened the gap, this time 16-7.
The Cards chipped away over the next few minutes, holding Notre Dame from scoring to the halfway point of the first half and tying the game 16-16.
The teams traded buckets, misses and small leads down most of the stretch of the first half but neither could quite make a run.
That was, until big plays down low from Rooths and Sananda Fru started a five-point swing in the Cardinals’ favor that was capped off by a McKneely three to lead 37-28.
A few late points by Jalen Haralson and Certa of the Fighting Irish reduced Louisville’s lead to 38-32 heading into the half.
Couldn’t be caught
Notre Dame forward Brady Koehler drained a three to start the half, but McKneely answered with his own for the Cards immediately.
Coach Kelsey then burned another timeout to start a half following a defensive miscommunication that resulted in a wide open dunk for Carson Towt of the Irish.
Louisville seemed to figure out the issues, as they managed to extend their lead to 52-43 thanks to two layups and an “and-one” free throw from Kaesean Pyror as well as a three from Brown.
However, the Fighting Irish also got to business on the offensive end, keeping the Cards honest with two triples in a row from Certa.
The teams traded more misses than buckets, and the Cardinals simply could not hit from beyond the arc throughout the middle of the second half. Notre Dame, while also cold, benefited from just a few layups that kept things close at 59-54.
The Cards, however, soon got off to a ten-point run highlighted by a Khani Rooths triple to lead by a game-high fifteen points after the five-minute mark. Looking impressive on defense, Louisville held Notre Dame scoreless for nearly six minutes of game time down the stretch.
The Irish got themselves a couple baskets for the road in the waning minutes of the game, but the Cardinals still won handily 76-65.
Good news and bad news
Louisville’s woes from beyond the arc continued against Notre Dame. The Cards shot an abysmal 7 of 31 from three, and stars Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell especially struggled.
In lieu of Brown and Conwell’s usual scoring, the Louisville big men made their presence known in the paint. Sananda Fru and Khani Rooths both scored 12 points on the night, and Rooths even had a double-double with 12 boards. Kasean Pryor was also heard from against the Irish, dropping 10 points after being relatively quiet for most of the season.
As the season continues, the Cards gradually continue to find out just how important post scoring will be in the long run.
This is not just true of the big men. Conwell, in recent games, has replaced his typical stream of threes by showing flashes of scoring ability in the lane. Additionally, unlocking and refining Mikel Brown Jr.’s slashing ability could be the key to diversifying the Louisville offense.
For now, the Cardinals can feel good about a solid defensive performance that allowed them to get away from the Irish at the end for another ACC win.
Louisville is now 16-6 on the season, and will travel to face Wake Forest on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Photo Courtesy / Matt Stone / Courier Journal
