Louisville scored the first 16 points of the game and never looked back on their way to an 87-78 bounce-back win over No. 22 Indiana Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.
Ryan Conwell scored 21 points to lead the way for the Cardinals, who hit 13 three-pointers and had five players score in double figures.
Isaac McKneely hit 5-of-9 three-pointers to lead the outside onslaught, and finished with 15 points. J’Vonne Hadley also scored 15, while Kobe Rodgers and Sananda Fru each chipped in 12. Fru also tossed in 7 rebounds, 3 steals, a block and an assist.
Defensively, Louisville forced the usually sure-handed Hoosiers into 13 turnovers and limited them to 41.0 percent shooting from the field. Tucker DeVries led the way for IU with 26 points, but nearly half of those (12) came from the free-throw line.
This was the response I think everyone was hoping to see from this group after Wednesday night. Louisville came out of the gate with the mentality that this was the national championship game, and served as the aggressor from pretty much start to finish. The Cardinals looked to be about 15-20 points better than Indiana, and the only disappointment of the afternoon was that the final score didn’t fully reflect that.
Now it’s a week to rest up and get better before a crucial pair of games against Memphis State and Tennessee.
