LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Upsets reigned in the Atlantic Coast Conference this week.
Wake Forest toppled No. 14 Duke. Boston College outlasted No. 21 Virginia Tech. Florida State survived Notre Dame. Underdogs percolated with hope.
Up next was Louisville, which was an 18-point underdog at North Carolina State in Raleigh on Thursday night.
The Cards threatened. For 22 minutes. Against a 10-win team.
The last 18 minutes?
Don’t ask.
Flattened by a 17-point N.C. State run, Louisville lost, 76-64, at PNC Arena. Louisville dropped to 2-11 overall and 0-3 in the ACC.
In a season where wins figure to be elusive for the remainder of the season, you could file this one as progress. In its first six games against opponents from the Power Six leagues against Arkansas, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Maryland, Miami and Florida State, Louisville was beaten by an average of 25.1 points. Instead of surrendering again, the Cards did not check out over the final 10 minutes.
"I thought we proved we could play with them," U of L coach Kenny Payne said. "We just have to do it more consistently. But you know they got (17) more shots than us. Our 17 turnovers and their 12 offensive rebounds, that will give them more shots."
The Cards went from tied at 33 to behind by 9 points in 94 harsh seconds.
"We just weren't communicating (on defense) at all as a collective," U of L forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield said. "Once they started hitting those threes and we had those mistakes, we didn't come together."
The Wolfpack pushed their lead to 50-33 in an unsettling stretch where NC State made four shots from distance while the Cards missed two shots, two free throws and turned the ball over four times.
The Cards went 4 minutes and 21 seconds without scoring a point. They also went 7 minutes and 35 seconds without making a field goal. This team isn't good enough to overcome that, even on a night when Louisville made 51.1% of its field-goal attempts.
The Wolfpack eventually moved ahead by 18. Instead of checking out as they have in several games, the Cards did cut the margin to 10 — three times.
But, as always, Louisville stopped itself with 17 turnovers. The Cardinals also missed 10 of 24 free throws. They also burned too much clock while dribbling the ball on the perimeter before starting their offense. The Wolfpack had a major advantage from the three-point line, making 10 of 26 while U of L was 4 of 8.
"We have to do a better job and be more physical and rebound the ball," Payne said. "And we have to continually have to take care of the basketball if we're going to win games."
Payne earned his first technical foul while protesting a play where Payne thought Sydney Curry was fouled while soaring for a dunk along the baseline.
Curry eventually fouled out with 16 points. Playing in front of his mother, brother and nearly 20 other family members and friends, El Ellis had 15 points. Huntley-Hatfield contributed a dozen points and a dozen rebounds. With 10 points, Mike James gave Louisville four guys in double figures.
The Cards were excellent in the first half. After falling behind 5-0, they scored the next 8 points. They dogged the Wolfpack into missing 11 of their first 14 shots. They blocked four shots. They led by 5 points although they gave that advantage away to trail, 31-28.
But over the first 7 minutes of the second half, NC State outscored the visitors 22-7.
"It happens every game," Huntley-Hatfield said. "Once we come out in the second half, I feel like we get a little lackadaisical. We feel like teams are going to give it to us. We've got to go take it ...
"We're always allowing other teams to be the aggressors. We're always getting punched in the mouth and we have to dig ourselves out of a hole. We have to figure out a way to stop doing that."
The Cardinals have a 9-day break until their next game, which is booked for noon on New Year’s Eve against Kentucky in Lexington. They will return to ACC play when Syracuse visits Jan. 3.
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