The Louisville Cardinals went into the Petersen Events Center on Saturday and left with their third quadrant-1 win of the season. The Cards won 82-78 in a thrilling back and forth game with the Panthers. Louisville is now up to 12-5 on the season and 5-1 in the ACC. Pitt dropped its second game of the week, falling to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Cards ended Pitts 15 game home winning streak.
Louisville had four players in double figures, led by Reyne Smith with 25 points on 7-11 from the three-point line. Smith scored 16 points in the second half. A Chucky Hepburn layup in the final seconds extended the lead to two possessions, capping off the 82-78 victory. Pittsburgh shot lights out all afternoon, hitting 10 of its 21 three point attempts while finishing 20-22 from the free throw line.
Read more: Gameday Recap: Louisville at Pittsburgh
Highlights:
This is a game that Louisville could not have afforded to lose. The win puts them firmly into the NCAA tournament as things stand and gives the Cards some room for error as they enter the heart of conference play. You can make a real argument that Louisville is the second best team in the conference right now behind Duke.
The toughest stretch of the ACC slate is over and the Cards sit at 5-1 in conference play. There are not many opportunities for “good” wins left on the schedule, If Louisville continues to play at this level they should be in a position to finish in the top-4 of the ACC and comfortably make the field of 68. We still have a couple months, but this is one heck of start for the Cards.
Up Next:
Louisville is on the road Tuesday night against Syracuse at 7:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
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