75 - 61 The Cards celebrated the start of March in proper fashion.
There was no drama inside the KFC Yum Center Sunday afternoon, which was just what the doctor ordered for everyone associated with Louisville basketball.
The Cardinals kicked off what they hope will be a memorable March with a 75-61 Senior Day win over Notre Dame that never really felt in doubt. U of L made up for a dismal 2-for-22 shooting day from beyond the arc by playing tremendous defense and dominating the undersized Fighting Irish on the glass to the tune of a 49-30 advantage.
Jordan Nwora grabbed 11 rebounds and scored a team-high 20 points, his first game with 20 or more points since the Duke loss on Feb. 12. Malik Williams also notched a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards, and Christen Cunningham returned to form with 14 points and four assists.
V.J. King and Darius Perry each contributed some of their most impressive minutes of the season. King scored six points and was all over the glass on both ends, pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds. Perry made both of his field goal attempts, brought back the defensive fire he displayed throughout his freshman season, and ran the point effectively for an extended stretch where Cunningham was on the bench.
Notre Dame’s John Mooney posted his 18th double-double of the season by scoring 22 points and snagging 13 boards, but the Irish shot just 38.7 percent from the field as a team. They also misfired on 10 of their 14 free-throw attempts, an uncharacteristic performance from the second-best free-throw shooting team in the ACC.
The outside shooting is a concern, but it’s far less of a worry than if controllable things like lack of effort or focus had been present on Sunday. They weren’t, and that’s an encouraging sign for a team that is coming off a more tumultuous February than any other squad in the country experienced.
The defense was stellar, the energy was stellar, the effort on the glass was stellar, and for the most part, the offensive execution was stellar. The lack of anything resembling an anxious moment in the second half was nice too.
Let’s March.
