Louisville got off to a very slow start but finished well to notch a final home win over Virginia Tech on senior night. Early on, Chris Mack described the game as the Cardinals having a lid on the basket. Unlike other games this season, the team fought through it and used a hot second half to pull away from the Hokies.
Here are our individual grades for the game:
JORDAN NWORA
Grade: A
Chris Mack said himself in the postgame that this one of Nwora's best games in a Louisville game. The eye test and statistics back this assessment up. 20 points and 12 rebounds is enough but it wasn't all that he did. Nwora finished with 2 assists while also drawing a whopping 4 charges. Subjectively, he played tough, through contact, and was rewarded. The Nwora that played against Virginia Tech can make Louisville a contender in Greensboro and a contender to get to Atlanta.
STEVEN ENOCH
Grade: B-
Negatively, Enoch only finished with 8 points on 2 of 9 shooting in 28 minutes. He was often unable to finish around the rim despite Virginia Tech being a smaller team and his being counted upon to play additional minutes in Malik Williams' absence. Still, he did record 11 rebounds and only had 2 fouls to allow him to stay in the game without hesitation.
DWAYNE SUTTON
Grade: B
With 8 points and 9 rebounds, Sutton almost recorded another double-double. He attacked the basket more and seemed to enjoy a matchup where the opponent didn't enjoy the size differential that Florida State did. He also performed well in a pair of short stints as the center in a smaller lineup and held up fine against Virginia Tech's smaller roster. He recorded the team's highest +/- rating of 17.
DAVID JOHNSON
Grade: A-
He finished with just 8 points on 4 of 7 shooting and seemed to still get lost on defense occasionally. That being said he gets bonus points for the assist to Keith Oddo alone. For the game, it's hard to give a point guard anything other than an "A" when he finishes with 6 assists and a single turnover in just 15 minutes.
FRESH KIMBLE
Grade: B-
Kimble started as the point guard and played 23 total minutes. He added in 5 points but wasn't much of a threat to attack the basket despite Virginia Tech's relative lack of size. The same could be said for all of Louisville's guards. He finished with no assists but on the defensive end, he came away with a team-high three steals.
RYAN MCMAHON
Grade: B+
Getting the start on an emotional senior night, McMahon went out of the Yum Center in style. He played 23 minutes, added 10 points, was 2 for 3 from three-point range, and added in 3 assists. His defensive energy was evident from the outset and he'll leave Louisville as one of the most beloved under the radar players in recent memory.
DARIUS PERRY
Grade: C-
Perry has seen his minutes slowly dwindle and it's not entirely difficult to see why. He played just 11 minutes and was one of the few players to finish with a negative +/-. He scored just 2 points but committed 3 turnovers in that short time. Still, to his credit, Perry remains an upbeat teammate on the bench despite his increasingly reduced role.
SAMUELL WILLIAMSON
Grade: C
Williamson wasn't bad against Virginia Tech. In fact, he played 19 minutes and barely impacted the game in either direction. He's still not the primary or even secondary option on offense and appears to still be unsure just exactly what his role is. But he still shows at least once or twice a game, the natural ability and smooth athleticism that made him a McDonald's All-American.
KEITH ODDO
Grade A
In one of the better moments of the 2019-2020 season, Oddo came into the came for barely one minute. But with that minute he drained a three-point shot from the corner in front of the home bench and brought the home crowd to its feet. It was a great symbolic and emotional moment for Oddo and the team.
QUINN SLAZINSKI
Grade: C+
In just three minutes as the center, Slazinski made the most of his time pulling down a pair of rebounds and finishing with a positive +/- for yet another game where he proved to be the human victory cigar.
