Louisville had just 15 second-half points as Virginia came from 10 down to win 64-52 at the KFC Yum! Center Saturday. Here are three things you need to know:
1. Hot Start from Three
Louisville hit 7 of its first 10 threes. They were rolling early on and seemed to have everything clicking from beyond the arc. Dwayne Sutton had the first eight points in the game, and Ryan McMahon had four threes in the first half.
The Cardinals limited Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy effectively and things seemed to be rolling, despite being outscored 20-0 in the paint.
2. Virginia Comes Back - Again
Louisville held a 10 point lead at halftime after a banked-in three by Jordan Nwora. But Virginia began eating into Louisville's lead immediately when the second half started.
"Why we lost energy when we started the second half, is a mystery," Mack said. "And it didn't happen later in the second half after a big Virginia run, it happened right at the beginning of the half."
Bennett said he credits his team for understanding how tenacious you have to be to win on the road in the ACC.
"Our guys have answered the call every time they have played them," Virginia's Tony Bennett said. "Last year was so improbable the way we came back in that on, but this year was how you are supposed to come back on a team."
3. Bigs got Beat
Louisville got crushed in the paint, losing the points battle 38-4. While it is certainly possible to win a game with that kind of deficit, it is highly unlikely. And with Louisville's ineffective second-half shooting from long-range, the Cardinals went from up 10 at the half to down 12 at the final buzzer.
The Cardinals had no answer for De'Andre Hunter (26) and Mamadi Diakite (14). Even Jay Huff had 12 points and 7 rebounds in 17 minutes.
"You can't be a donut for 40 minutes," Mack said. "...You have to be able to make a few down there so they can force a little bit of a crowd, and we didn't do that."
And it wasn't just their scoring, Virginia's bigs dominated Louisville's post players. Steven Enoch was 1-10 from the field and the one make was a three. Malik Williams was 1 for 6 from the field including three missed threes.
"We just could not score around the rim," Mack said.
