Louisville started out hot and led wire-to-wire as the Cardinals improved to 7-0 on the year with a comfortable win over Western Kentucky on Friday.
Louisville started out the game on a 9-0 run and did not let up from there. The Cards led by as many as 19 in the first half and went into the break up 37-23. Jordan Nwora and Dwayne Sutton combined for 25 first half points and Louisville held WKU to 1-10 three-point shooting.
Out of the break, the Hilltoppers picked it up offensively, but they were only able to cut the lead to 9 points at 51-42 around the second media timeout. From there, things slowed down and Louisville cruised to a 71-54 win in Nashville.
Jordan Nwora led all scorers with 25 points and had 5 rebounds. Dwayne Sutton added 15 and 7. Malik Williams had 8 points and 9 rebounds of his own.
Taveion Hollingsworth led WKU with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Charles Bassey had 12 points and 9 boards. No other player for the Hilltoppers scored more than 6, and they only recorded 6 assists as a team.
It had been over three weeks since the season opener when the Cards beat Miami on the road. Louisville had not faced a team as good as WKU since then, but the Cards took care of business and kept their unbeaten record in tact. This is the start of a rough stretch and it will get significantly harder from here.
Louisville plays an undefeated Michigan team on Tuesday that just won the Battle 4 Atlantis and will almost certainly be ranked in the top 10, if not the top 5. That game suddenly becomes one of the best in the sport so far this season. The Cards have not played a ranked team yet, so a win next week would go a long way in solidifying that they belong among the best in the nation.
Up Next: Louisville hosts Michigan at home in the Big 10-ACC Challenge at 7:30 p.m. EST.
