LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Watching Louisville face North Carolina State before a smattering of fans in Raleigh was not unlike watching a boxer hit a speed bag.
In a 91-66 Louisville victory, the hits just kept on coming. The Wolfpack came into the game not having allowed more than 74 points in any game at home – and that was in overtime.
Louisville hit that total with about seven minutes to play. Their only wobbly stretch of the game came on a handful of possessions in the first half after sprinting to a double-digit lead. Honestly, it looked like they got bored.
But Louisville threw a knockout at the end of the half, when Chucky Hepburn, who returned to the lineup after missing the Cards’ win on Saturday over Miami, got a steal and score. Then, coming out of a 30-second timeout, Louisville sprung Reyne Smith for a deep three to go to halftime with a 41-27 lead.
And I know what you’re saying. N.C. State isn’t any good. They’d lost eight in a row coming in. But half of those losses were by one score, and nobody was blowing them out. Kansas beat this team by 15 in Lawrence. Purdue beat them by 10. Duke beat them by 10 in Cameron.
Louisville demolished them. It was the Cardinals’ largest margin of victory ever in Raleigh and matched the largest for either team in the series. It’s the first time in school history that a Louisville team has had five wins of 20 points or more on opponents’ home courts.
If you ever wondered what it would look like if everybody on Louisville’s team had a pretty good shooting night — it looks like this.
“You know, winning on the road in college basketball isn’t easy,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. “These guys continue to prepare the right way, carry out the game plan. N.C. State has a bunch of very athletic and talented attacking guards, and we worked hard the last couple of days on trying to do a good job of guarding the basketball, trying to keep the floor tight and take away a lot of their driving lanes. And I think our guys, for the most part, did a pretty good job of that. I thought Khani Rooths gave us a great second half after not playing many minutes in the first half. We had a bunch of guys, five in double figures — Kader (Traore) had nine so I’m counting him right there. But we shared the ball, played well together, stepped up, made shots and really guarded.”
The Cards shot 63.6 percent for the game and made 11 of 19 three-pointers. The outscored N.C. State 21-10 on the fast break and 46-16 in the paint.
Smith had 21 points and made 5 of 9 threes. Terrence Edwards finished with 21 and went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. J’Vonne Hadley had 17 and went 7-of-11 from the field. Chucky Hepburn had 15 points on 5-7 shooting and added six assists.
“He got through the game, it seems like, in good shape,” Kelsey said of Hepburn. “I didn’t hear any issues from him. . . . Chucky, I wouldn’t trade him for any point guard in the country. . . . He leads. He’s a pro every, single day. He’s a straight-up winner. He’s a stud on both ends of the floor. I knew he was going to be really good, but I didn’t know he was going to be this good. He’s special. Any list of the best point guards in the country, he should be on, 1,000 percent.”
The Cards had a few more turnovers than they’d like, but in a 25-point win, what’s the worry?
Former Cardinal Brandon Huntley-Hatfield played for the first time in three games, finishing with four points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Kelsey also singled out James Scott for praise. The Fayetteville, N.C., native was determined not to let teeth being knocked out and some facial fractures suffered Saturday against Miami knock him out of the game. Kelsey said he was texting coaches from the dentist’s chair, assuring them that he would be good to play, and would be at practice. Engineers at the Speed School of Engineering at U of L helped craft a mask that specially met his needs for the game. Kelsey called it “a Hannibal Lecter-type thing.”
“James is from right down the road, so coming back here means a lot to him,” Kelsey said. “His mom’s here, his grandfather’s here, who he’s named after. His grandfather is a veteran. He’s out there, if you guys saw him in the wheelchair, it was just awesome for him to see his grandson, his namesake, out here on the biggest stage in the ACC catching lobs, getting his teeth knocked out, the whole gamut. It’s pretty darn cool.”
Louisville improves to 19-6 overall, 12-2 in the ACC (7-1 in league road games), exceeding the school’s number of conference wins from the past three seasons combined.
Next up for the Cards is a Sunday trip to Notre Dame, where they will look to reach the 20-win mark for the first time since 2020.
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