The Louisville Men’s Basketball team took a 78-76 victory over Eastern Kentucky at home Saturday. EKU falls to 6-7 overall on the season. The Cardinals will enter the new year with an 8-5 record.
Louisville led by 15 late in the first half but were unable to pull away from EKU at any point in the final 20 minutes. After trading buckets throughout the final minutes of the second half, the Colonels went up 76-75 with just over a minute to play. A driving score by Noah Waterman with 1.2 seconds on the clock gave the Cards their final lead, sealing an eventual 78-76 win.
Louisville avoided what would have been a disastrous loss on Saturday. Given the current record and the depleted ACC, losing that game would have done irreparable damage to the at-large resume. EKU made a ton of tough shots in that second half but the overall defensive effort was inexcusable at times throughout the afternoon.
You can expect Louisville to take a significant dive in the NET rankings after this. All that said, this is a team who has five losses, all of them coming to teams currently ranked in the top-16 of the AP poll. There already is not much margin for error given the lack of opportunity on the schedule remaining. A major bullet was dodged on Saturday at the Yum! Center.
Press Conference:
Head Coach Pat Kelsey
Up Next:
The Cards are back at home on Jan. 1 for a matchup with North Carolina at 6:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
