CRAWFORD | Khalifa leads bench blitz; No. 6 Louisville shuts down Eastern Michigan 87-46

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Egyptian Magician didn’t saw anyone in half Monday night, but he did make a basketball disappear. Three times. From behind the arc. Into the net. Poof.

Aly Khalifa was the show in the second half for Louisville, 11 points, three second-half threes, five assists, three blocked shots and enough sleight-of-hand to make David Blaine jealous.

But he wasn’t even the headliner in an 87-46 victory over Eastern Michigan.

That honor belonged to the Louisville defense, which mauled EMU like it held a grudge. The Cardinals limited the Eagles to 28 percent shooting, forced 13 turnovers, and blocked six shots, with impunity. The Eagles spent most of the night looking for a safe word.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

“Our prep is elite,” Khalifa said. “And I'll give all credit to our scout team. I was part of the scout team last year. They come in early for hours just prepping. The coaches, the walk ons, everybody on scout team, and the GA's, just give them all credit for preparing us every single game. And the standard is the standard is the standard, no matter who we're playing.”

The offense? Efficient. Ryan McKneely knocked down five of his nine threes and led the Cardinals with 17 points. Freshman Mikel Brown danced into double figures with 11 points, and a dozen Cardinals scored. Bench points? Louisville 38, Eastern Michigan 11.

“I was proud of our team,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. “I felt like we met that physical challenge tonight. We knew it was going to be that type of game. I thought we got a huge boost off of the bench. ... I felt like we played really hard on the defensive end.”

At one point, the Cards led by 41. Even with some second-half slippage once they were up 30, Louisville yielded only 0.69 points per possession.

“Defense is a big difference for us,” McKneely said. “You know, we know we're very talented on the offensive end, but even if shots aren't falling, we can still win the game with our defense. And I thought we did that tonight. That was a talented offensive team, but we gave up 46 points, so that’s really good, and we just want to continue to get better.”

One game after getting a dose of Cincinnati’s physicality, Louisville dished out its own.

Khalifa said Louisville will go as far as its ability to play physically tough will take it. And he said the Cincinnati win was a pivotal step in the right direction, a step that carried over to Monday’s win.

“It was great getting out of the gate playing a team as long and athletic as Cincinnati,” Khalifa said. “They were really good, really physical, and I feel like we responded well after starting slow. And a game like this was good, too, for us to show what we learned.”

As for whether he’s going to become a spot-up shooter, Khalifa said he would take them “when it’s my time.” But he added, “I’m still going to pass the ball.”

McKneely said he wasn’t surprised to see Khalifa’s shooting. He’s seen it in practice.

“Oh he shoots them,” McKneely said. “You knew it was coming at some point. He’s a very capable shooter. He just needs to shoot it with confidence.”

Next up for the Cards is a 9 p.m. game Wednesday against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.