LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville played Duke on Monday.
That’s the rumor, at least.
Somewhere between tipoff and liftoff, the Cardinals vanished.
They walked into Cameron Indoor with warmups, water bottles, and hope in their hearts. They left 83–52 losers and lighter by a few illusions. Louisville didn’t just lose to Duke. It evaporated. Left behind were a box score and a chalk outline.
This was basketball as a disappearing act. Houdini with a headband.
With just over five minutes left in the first half, Louisville led. By one. Briefly. For 36 seconds. It was the happiest minute of the night for the guys in black. After that, Duke outscored them by 32 and turned the floor into a cautionary tale.
Let’s talk math. Duke had 47 rebounds. Louisville had 26. At one point, the rebounding margin was even. Then Duke grabbed 32 of the next 42 boards. That’s not rebounding. That’s pillaging.
The Blue Devils scored 42 points in the paint. Louisville managed 10, which is what you usually get from a Nerf hoop over the closet door. Duke had 16 second-chance points. Louisville had five. Duke’s bench outscored Louisville’s 25–6, and I’m not entirely sure Louisville’s reserves knew the second half had started.
Louisville missed 10 layups. I’ve got nothing clever for that. They now even have me missing layups.
Mikel Brown Jr. returned to Earth with all the subtlety of a meteor crash. A week after saving Louisville with 20 points against Virginia Tech, he went 1-for-13 from the field and 1-for-7 from deep. He kept driving. But his shots were uncannily inaccurate given their proximity to that round orange thing they were supposed to go through.
To his credit, Brown tried. So did Ryan Conwell, who scored 18. But trying and trailing aren’t mutually exclusive. Duke trailed for exactly zero minutes in the second half. It bullied Louisville physically. The Cards’ body language slumped.
It should be noted: Louisville didn’t travel to Durham until Monday morning because of the winter storm that arrived over the weekend. It was a long day. But the night was even longer.
Pat Kelsey famously says that to win on the road, you need to pack two pairs of defense.
Louisville might want to speak to someone at baggage claim. The Cards also played a fourth straight game without Khani Rooths and without Kasean Pryor, whose recovery from knee surgery looks increasingly shaky.
The Cardinals gave up 1.37 points per possession, the basketball equivalent of propping the door open and offering hors d’oeuvres.
Ten Blue Devils scored. Cameron Boozer had 19. Patrick Ngongba had 15 and 10. Isaiah Evans added 15. The Cameron Crazies got less entertainment from the game than they did from Johnny Kelsey bombing three-pointers before the game. No matter what you read, the younger Kelsey is not a Duke lean.
Louisville has wins over Kentucky and Indiana. They used to shine like merit badges. Now they look more like clearance-rack souvenirs. Because when the Cardinals hit the road — to Arkansas, to Tennessee, to Durham — they don’t just get beat. They get embalmed.
Down 20 at Arkansas. Down 25 to Tennessee. Down 31 to Duke.
You don’t need a Duke degree to do that math.
Louisville isn’t close. Not to Duke. Not to March success. Not to solving whatever equation it takes to hang with the blue bloods.
This wasn’t a step back. It was a masterclass in regression.
The Cardinals are a shooting team that isn’t shooting, and can’t find answers on defense, particularly inside. They shrink against strength. They’re a tournament hopeful that better start hoping harder.
They’ve got time. But the optimism around their season is melting faster than a Popsicle in a sauna.
Duke, meanwhile, looked ready for something bigger. Bigger than Louisville. Bigger than Cameron. Maybe even Houston in April.
Louisville? It needs to get back to the drawing board.
Or at least back to the layup line.
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