CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the ACC Championship title matchup on Saturday evening, the University of Louisville men's basketball team was unable to outlast the Duke Blue Devils, falling 62-73 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.
The Cards fall to 27-7 on the season, while the Blue Devils improve to 31-3 and are crowned the ACC Conference Tournament Champions for the 2024-25 season.
Terrence Edwards Jr. finished with 29 points and six rebounds in Louisville’s first ACC Championship title game. Chucky Hepburn added 14 points; J'Vonne Hadley and James Scott both posted six points to finish out their ACC Championship tournament run.
“I want to start by congratulating Duke,” said head coach Pat Kelsey. “Great team. Jon is a heck of a coach. They were the better team today, and I give them credit. I'm very, very proud of our players. I told them in the locker room that in the last three months, they've lost twice. Right? I think strongly in my heart that the best is still yet to come for this team, but I told them the disappointment that they're experiencing right now shouldn't keep them from realizing the special season that they're having right now. I told them that they are beloved by the citizens of our great city in Louisville. Our town was a bit beaten down, and this team has done a lot -- just how the last couple years had gone, and this team has done a lot to resurrect this city. Basketball in Louisville means a lot. It's a tremendous group of young men, and our fan base has seen how they poured their heart and soul into trying to make that name across our jersey be great once again, and they've done that. We're very excited and fortunate to play in the national tournament starting next week. We're excited to find out where we're going and who we're playing tomorrow. I believe it's the greatest spectacle in American sports, and we're excited and fortunate to be playing in it. Our guys have been absolute warriors over the last three days. They've played to exhaustion. They played their hearts out. They left everything out on the floor.”
Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn made a stepback second-chance jumper to score the first points of the game. The Cardinals and Blue Devils both asserted dominance early with a total of eight lead changes throughout the first half. Overall, the Cards shot 55% from the field during the first half; J’Vonne Hadley scored five points including a steal that led him to make a fast break layup right under the seven-minute mark of the half.
Terrence Edwards Jr. made a stance on the Cardinal's offense late in the half. Edwards answering to the Blue Devils offense making a jumper in the paint followed by a 3-pointer to give the Cards the lead. Edwards led the Cards with 15 points and two assists heading into halftime. Louisville made a 7-0 run over 2:15 to end the half leading the Blue Devils 38-33.
Duke came out of the locker room hot, starting the second off strong against Louisville. Edwards continued his rhythm with a three to start out the Card's second-half scoring. Edwards Jr. continued his scoring run by sticking a three at the shot clock buzzer.
Duke bounced back with a 12-0 scoring run over 2:51 in the middle of the second half taking a 10-point lead, putting the game out of reach for the Cardinals.
Edwards Jr. scored 29 points in total, the most by an individual against Duke this season. Edwards also had his 13th 20-point game at Louisville and the 29th of his college career.
The Cards shot 25-64 (39.1%) from the field and 7-26 (26.9%) from long range. Louisville outrebounded Duke 38-35 and forced 10 Blue Devil turnovers in the game.
Louisville finished as runner-up in both the ACC regular season and tournament. The Cardinals fate regarding the NCAA Tournament first-round opponent and location will be revealed on Sunday evening in the CBS NCAA Tournament Selection Show. The selection show begins at 6 p.m. ET.
