The Louisville Cardinals earned a much-needed bounce back win over the Indiana Hoosiers by a score of 77-62. The Cardinals smothered the high-powered Hoosiers and held them to 26 points below their season average.
Rick Pitino mixed up his starting lineup in an effort to wake up Donovan Mitchell and Jaylen Johnson, who were replaced by V.J. King and Ray Spalding, respectively. Anas Mahmoud also entered the starting lineup but that was in no way an effort to wake up Mangok Mathiang, Anas fully deserved to start and he capitalized on the opportunity. The Egyptian center finished with 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. While his stat line doesn’t jump at you, his court presence and defense gave the team a noticeable boost, look for Anas’ role to increase even more. Donovan Mitchell answered the call to a tune of 25 points, Deng Adel continued his good play with 17 points, and Jaylen Johnson finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
While the Hoosiers made runs at the Cards, the Cards never wavered and remained in control for the majority of the game. It’s always nice to get a top-25 win, but it’s so much nicer when it’s against Indiana, and more importantly, Tom Crean. Up next, the Cards travel to No. 24 Notre Dame on Wednesday at 9pm.
Go Cards!
