A monster week for Chris Mack’s first Cardinal team just got bigger.
Four days after knocking off No. 9 Michigan State in overtime, Louisville made sure that this would be remembered as the greatest week of the Chris Mack era to date.
The Cards trailed by 12 in the first half and nine in the second, but still managed to find a way to gut out a 70-65 road win over Seton Hall Saturday afternoon at the Prudential Center.
Unlike in its victory over the Spartans on Tuesday, U of L got the job done against Seton Hall thanks to a balanced scoring attack. Ten different players scored for the Cards, but only one hit double figures — Dwayne Sutton, who was Louisville’s leading scorer with 12 points.
Louisville also attempted (and made) fewer free-throws than its opponent for the first time this season, going 11 of 12 from the charity tripe as opposed to Seton Hall’s 12 for 15.
The Cardinals got the job done on Saturday thanks to terrific on-ball defense and a 42-28 edge on the glass. Seton Hall star Myles Powell scored a game-high 23 points, but it took him 19 shots — and a 2-for-12 mark from beyond the arc — to get there. As a team, the Pirates shot just 3-for-18 from three.
This is the type of game that Louisville loses by 5-7 points last year. Every time it looked like the Cards were going to wilt, someone stepped up to make a big stop, snag a loose ball, or hit a big shot. That’s exactly what Chris Mack wants this program to be, and this win is a clear indication that the process (at least for the time being) is ahead of schedule.
There are few things better than big-time, early in the day non-conference road wins on the weekend. I am about to enjoy the hell out of the rest of this day.