Louisville basketball beat itself in another ACC road game. Let me explain | C.L. Brown

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Louisville basketball keeps beating itself in ACC road games and was at it again Wednesday at N.C. State.

Hear me out.

The Cardinals played in yet another venue only filled well below capacity, with a home fan base more apathetic than angry. They faced yet another opponent in the Wolfpack that couldn’t muster a natural challenge from a high ranking or position in the league standings. They played yet another game in which their motivation and focus had to come from within.

The Cards proved once again they’re self-starters in their 91-66 win over the Pack.

N.C. State is tied for last place in the ACC and in danger of going from winning the league’s tournament and reaching the Final Four last season, to missing the conference tournament in Charlotte.

The crowd at the Lenovo Center reflected that reality. (If you need a true comparison, it rivaled last season’s attendance at the KFC Yum! Center for men’s basketball.)

Louisville showed no signs it would play down to its competition. It jumped to an eight-point lead, forcing N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts, a former U of L assistant under Rick Pitino, to call a timeout before the first media stoppage.

U of L stretched its lead to 17 while shooting 60% from the field and nearly making the Pack have as many turnovers (9) as made baskets (10) in the first half.

As home teams do, even those struggling as mightily as N.C. State, the Pack made a run, cutting its deficit down to nine. But U of L point guard Chucky Hepburn was out of the lineup during that spurt. When he reentered the game, Hepburn stole the ball from center Ben Middlebrooks and raced in for a layup.

The lead never dipped below double digits again.

This column will be updated.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/louisville-basketball-beat-itself-another-021112873.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-13 02:11:00

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