The victory marked the 100th for the Cardinals inside the KFC Yum Center.
Louisville got its 2016-17 season off to a terrific start by pasting visiting Evansville 78-41 Friday night. The victory marked U of L's 100th inside the KFC Yum Center.
Jaylen Johnson kicked off his junior season with a monster effort, posting career highs in both points (19) and rebounds (14). He led the Cardinals in both statistics. Donovan Mitchell added 15 points, while Mangok Mathiang -- playing in a regular season game for the first time since last December -- notched nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The victory was Louisville's 16th straight in a home opener, and also extended a 39-game November home winning streak that dates all the way back to 1972.
There were a few anxious moments for the Cardinals in the first half, however. After Evansville's Jaylon Brown banked in a 3-pointer to give the Purple Aces a 26-20 advantage, a furious Rick Pitino called a timeout to let his team have it. Louisville responded with a 23-1 run that allowed to take a 43-27 lead into halftime.
U of L didn't look back in the second 20 minutes, limiting Evansville to 14 points in the half and running away with its first victory of the season.