| Game Summary: East Carolina | Score: Louisville 82, East Carolina 76 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (30) East Carolina: Derrick Wiley (29) |
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| With power forward Ellis Myles out for the season with a knee injury, and center Marvin Stone sitting out due to questions over his eligibility, the Cards got off to a bumpy start, having to reinvent themselves as a team on the fly. Nevertheless, the Cards were able to end their three-game losing streak, and reach the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1996-97. Reece Gaines had 12 points in the first half, but committed a few turnovers and had two fouls, so he sat the last six minutes of the half. U of L opened a 10-5 lead, but after going up 15-11, the Cards missed seven of their next ten shots. ECU got rolling behind Derrick Wiley, who paced the Pirates with 29 points, shooting 10-19 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds. ECU went up 23-21 for their first lead, and held the Cards without a field goal in the final 5:48 of the first half to lead 36-31 at the break. East Carolina shot over 54% in the first-half. |
| The opening of the second half highlighted the game for the Cards. U of L turned on its full-court press like it hadn't all season, and forced East Carolina into eight turnovers on its first nine possessions of the second period. The Pirates got off only one shot during that span, as U of L used a 17-0 run to erase its halftime deficit and build a lead. A lay-up by Gaines pulled U of L to within 36-35, and the Cards were off. Dean got a steal off the press and quickly hit a three-pointer. Gaines hit a jumper off another ECU turnover, then the Pirates coughed the ball up again, which was then followed by a three from Francisco Garcia. The Cards had their biggest lead at 48-36, but then missed 13-16 shots as ECU pulled to within 54-50 at the 9:06 mark after a lay-up by Wiley. A Gaines three-pointer put U of L up 71-62 with 4:09 left. ECU was down only 75-72 with 1:41 left, but 7-10 shooting from the line in the final stretch helped seal the win for U of L. East Carolina had been averaging only 12.6 turnovers per game, but U of L's press and defense forced ECU into 23 turnovers; the Cards were able to score 30 points off of those turnovers. The Cards shot 9-24 from behind the arc, with Garcia hitting 3-6, and Gaines 4-9. |
While Myles and Stone sat, at least they didn't go to the free throw line. The two combined to shoot 8-20 from the line in the Cards' last game. Against ECU, U of L shot 19-25 from the line, as Gaines hit 8-10. Gaines finished with a game- and season-high 30 points. Not surprisingly, the Cards were outrebounded, 38-35, but helping out on the boards for U of L was guard Taquan Dean, who had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, plus Otis George, who had nine rebounds in 21 minutes. Kendall Dartez played a season-high 36 minutes, scoring eight points and adding five rebounds. Garcia finished with 15 points for U of L.  |
| Game Summary: DePaul | Score: DePaul 79, Louisville 76 (ot) |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Taquan Dean (16) DePaul: Sam Hoskin (21) |
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| The Cards' end of season collapse continues, as U of L loses to DePaul for the first time in 13 games, and the first time ever as a C-USA opponent. Marvin Stone was reinstated for the game, but wasn't much of a factor as the Cards have now dropped five of their last seven contests. Much like in the loss to St. Louis earlier this season, the Cards had chances to close it out, but couldn't, and now have only one regular season game left to right their ship. U of L went to a smaller line-up, with Kendall Dartez and Otis George each getting their second starts of the season, and their ability to play a pressure defense paid early dividends. The Cards forced seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play, and thanks to scoring from Erik Brown, who had 15 points but was only 1-7 from three-point range, the Cards built a 20-11 lead. But DePaul started applying its own half-court defense, and the Cards made only two of their next 12 shots. The Blue Demons made seven of nine shots in a 19-4 run that gave DePaul a 30-24 lead. At the half, DePaul led 32-28. |
| Francisco Garcia scored eight quick points for U of L to open the second half as U of L went up 36-34. Garcia left the game early due to a groin injury, and finished with 13 points in 14 minutes of action. U of L led twice in the final 5:25, but after grabbing each lead, the Blue Demons responded with three-point plays. DePaul was up 64-62 with 1:27 left, and after a controversial foul call against DePaul, U of L regained possession and was able to tie the game on two free throws from Reece Gaines, who had 15 points and nine assists but shot only 3-13 from the field. DePaul hit on a free throw, but Taquan Dean, who led U of L with 16 points on 4-7 shooting from three-point range, hit one of those threes with 5.7 seconds left to give the Cards a two point lead. As regulation ended, DePaul's Drake Diener missed a three-point attempt; Sam Hoskin, who led DePaul with 21 points and 14 rebounds, pulled down the rebound and missed on a put-back, but after the buzzer sounded, a foul was called on U of L's Luke Whitehead. With no time remaining, Hoskin hit both foul shots to force overtime. |
| U of L scored five straight in overtime to take a 76-74 lead on a jumper by Erik Brown with 1:52 left, but the Cards were shut out the rest of the way. Andre Brown made one of two free throws with 56 seconds left. With 19 seconds left, DePaul's Diener hit a three-pointer to put the Blue Demons up two. Dean missed a runner in the lane, and tips by Dartez and Stone were both off the mark. The lack of an inside presence, compounded by the absence of Ellis Myles and the inability of Stone to be a force down low, worsened U of L's performance on the glass; the Cards were destroyed 48-28 on the boards, and scored only two second chance points the entire contest. U of L was again outscored from the foul line, 24-11, as DePaul pounded the ball inside whenever they needed points. Hoskin was a perfect 7-7 from the line; also pacing DePaul was Andre Brown with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Delonte Holland with 14 points and six rebounds. U of L's leading rebounder was Dartez, who grabbed eight. U of L shot 9-31 from three-point range. |
| Game Summary: Charlotte | Score: Louisville 100, Charlotte 59 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Luke Whitehead (19) Charlotte: Demon Brown (12) |
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| U of L wrapped its most winningest regular season since 1996-97 in convincing fashion over Charlotte, finishing the regular season at 21-6 and matching a school-best 11-5 C-USA record despite the absence of Marvin Stone, who sat out for the second time in three games due to an NCAA inquiry into his eligibility. The 41-point margin made for the most lopsided loss in Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz's tenure with the 49ers, and U of L's biggest margin of victory this season. Reece Gaines, playing in his last regular season game for U of L, scored 13 points and had eight assists. He is the school's fourth all-time leading scorer, and still has a chance to become the fourth player in U of L history to score over 2,000 points in his career. |
| U of L was up only 25-24 with 11:10 left in the first half, but five straight points from Gaines and put-back hoops from Erik Brown and Luke Whitehead helped the Cards build a 10-point lead. Whitehead then scored five points in a 10-0 run that propelled U of L to a 49-33 halftime lead. The Cards scored on five of their first six possessions of the second half to build a 23-point lead, and it was smooth sailing for U of L the rest of the way. After connecting on eight of its first 11 shots, Charlotte was only 12-44 the rest of the way. |
| Leading U of L was Whitehead, who had a game-high 19 points, a career-high 15 rebounds plus a career-high six assists, all of which came in the first 25 minutes of action. Whitehead shot 6-10 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the line. Kendall Dartez scored 16 points on 7-9 shooting. U of L shot a blazing 13-25 from three-point range, getting at least one three-pointer from nine different players. Despite the absence of Stone, the Cards outrebounded Charlotte 37-30. Simeon Naydenov played what is most likely his last regular season game at Freedom Hall (he will graduate this summer) and scored seven points, while senior Erik Brown pitched in nine. Taquan Dean had 12 points for the Cards. Demon Brown led Charlotte with 12 points. |
| Game Summary: Tulane | Score: Louisville 82, Tulane 66 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines, Francisco Garcia (15) Tulane: Waitari Marsh (17) |
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| The resurgence and elevated play of Luke Whitehead mitigated the absence of Marvin Stone, who sat out his third of U of L's last four games due to an NCAA inquiry over his eligibility. The Cards found out Stone would sit the game out just prior to tip-off, and their sluggish first half performance was a result of the disappointing news. Tulane hit a three to open the game, and Coach Pitino immediately called a timeout to urge U of L to press harder on defense. Taquan Dean, who finished with 12 points for the Cards, made three three-pointers in the first half to keep U of L in it. The Cards were up 31-24, but went the final four minutes of the first half without scoring. A Tulane three and floater in the lane as the first half expired made it 31 all at halftime, and Tulane actually led 43-40 with just over 15 minutes left. But U of L finally got things rolling with a 15-0 run to build a 55-43 lead; the Green Wave committed six turnovers in that stretch, and got no closer than 10 the rest of the way. Two Otis George dunks highlighted the run (for the game, George finished with 14 points) while Reece Gaines and Dean each hit a three during the spurt. A three by Francisco Garcia and a follow shot by Whitehead put U of L up 67-52 with 4:25 remaining. |
| The play of Whitehead, George and Kendall Dartez helped the Cards overcome a poor shooting night. U of L shot only 43% overall, and was a cold 8-28 from three-point range. For the game, U of L had a season-high 14 steals as Tulane committed 25 turnovers leading to 28 Cardinal points. Meanwhile, the Cards had only six turnovers, and had 15 offensive rebounds. On the game, both teams finished with 33 rebounds. Tulane shot 58% from the field, but took 18 fewer shots than the Cards. Tulane was also 9-16 from three-point range. Whitehead had his second straight double-double for U of L, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end. Garcia, who was named C-USA Freshman of the Year earlier in the week, did not start, but scored 15 points, mostly from inside the paint. Gaines also had 15 points for the Cards. Tulane was paced by Waitari Marsh, who had 17 points but eight turnovers, while Brandon Brown and Nick Sinville each had 12. |
| Game Summary: Memphis | Score: Louisville 78, Memphis 75 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Marvin Stone, Francisco Garcia (15) Memphis: John Grice (29) |
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| Marvin Stone was finally allowed back into action, and not a moment too soon. He helped the Cards contain the powerful frontcourt of Memphis, as U of L held Memphis star Chris Massie scoreless before fouling out with a few minutes remaining in the game. Stone had 15 points and six rebounds and some intimidating defense to help U of L overcome the Tigers' frontcourt; for the game, U of L outrebounded Memphis 44-37 after losing the rebounding battle by 16 in their first meeting of the season. Luke Whitehead had his third straight double-double, really filling in for Ellis Myles on the glass, as he scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. His play has really lifted the Cards, and this is probably his most impressive run of games in his career. Massie, who was leading the Tigers in scoring with 17.3 ppg, was 0-5 from the field, did not get to the line and committed four turnovers as U of L double-teamed him after he was fed the ball in the post, a move which prevented Massie from being able to find the open man on the perimeter. Massie's frustration came to a head when he missed a dunk with 10:40 left in the game, and then fouled out several minutes later. |
| Memphis wasn't the only team with limited production from its star. Reece Gaines got into early foul trouble, and fouled out for the first time this season with 3:34 remaining. He played a season-low 20 minutes and tied a season-low with 10 points. Like the first match-up, it was a foul-filled game, with 61 fouls called leading to 86 total foul shots. Again, U of L failed to help its cause at the line, making only 27-44 from the charity stripe while Memphis made 30-42. It was the foul line that kept Memphis in the game early, as the Tigers were only 4-15 from the field in the first half but 16-23 from the line to be within 36-27 at the half. Memphis clawed back, and took its first lead since being up 13-12 after a Bryant Northern turnover led to a lay-up for Antonio Burks that put Memphis up 70-69 with 1:29 left. (Still, Northern was a major contributor, hitting three threes to finish with nine points and to break out of a severe shooting slump.) A jumper by Stone put the Cards up again by one, but Memphis followed with two free throws by Earl Barron with 44 seconds left. Barron blocked a shot by Francisco Garcia on the Cards' next possession, and two free throws by John Grice put Memphis up 74-71 with 32 seconds left. Grice led all scorers with a career-high 29 points, hitting 8-13 from the field and 6-10 from three-point range, many from well beyond the three point arc. Grice had 23 points in the second half, as Memphis erased what was once a 16-point first half deficit and 11-point second half deficit. |
| Garcia, who finished with 15 points, made two free throws to pull the Cards within one, but Burks then hit one of two fouls shots to put Memphis up 76-74 with 22 seconds left. Taquan Dean then hit the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer from the wing with 11 seconds left to turn a two-point deficit into a 76-75 lead. It was Dean's only field goal of the game after missing his first seven shots. Memphis did not call timeout, and Billy Richmond drove the length of the floor and missed a short jumper. Whitehead got the rebound, was fouled and made both foul shots to give U of L a 78-75 lead. Memphis called timeout, but Burks missed a three-point attempt as time ran out. Jeremy Hunt was 12-19 from the line to score 18 points for Memphis, while Burks finished with 15. |
| Game Summary: UAB | Score: Louisville 83, UAB 78 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Luke Whitehead (17) UAB: Morris Finley (20) |
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| The Cardinals win their first ever C-USA tournament championship in a heart-stopping win over UAB. Leading scorer Reece Gaines was held to a season-low eight points, but Luke Whitehead had his fourth straight double-double in leading the Cards with 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Cards win their first conference championship in eight years, and now will make their first NCAA tourney appearance since 1999-2000. It will be the Cards' 30th appearance in the NCAA tournament, and this year's berth ends their longest drought from the tourney since 1969-1971. UAB did not look like a team playing its fourth game in four days. The Cards went up 3-0, but the Blazers scored on seven straight possessions and led 16-10 after a three-pointer by Eric Bush at the 14:06 mark of the first half. The Blazers refused to wear down, and led 37-35 at the half. Early in the second half, the Cards made a move, but were unable to put UAB away. The Cards went on an 11-0 run to turn a 46-43 deficit to a 54-46 lead. The Cards led 67-56 with 7:50 left, and had their biggest lead at 72-60 with 5:29 left, but the Blazers didn't fold. |
| With greater defensive intensity that caused several U of L turnovers, and with dribble penetration that got them to the line, UAB pulled to within 72-64 with 5:15 to play. Gaines then was able drive to the hole and either get fouled or find the open, as he helped the Cards maintain a 10-point lead. Still, after Erik Brown, who had 10 points, scored on a field goal after a steal, the Cards scored their final basket of the game with 4:00 left. UAB caused turnovers on four of U of L's next five possessions, and drew within 76-73 before Kendall Dartez hit two free throws to put U of L up five. UAB's Morris Finley responded with a three-pointer to make the score 78-76 in favor of the Cards with 1:34 left. U of L's Francisco Garcia hit one of two free throws, but UAB freshman Demario Eddins drove the lane and was fouled, hitting both free throws to pull UAB within one. Eddins finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers. |
| With U of L up 79-78, Taquan Dean was stripped of the ball, but UAB's Finley, who led all scorers with 20 points, missed a tough scoop shot with 25 seconds left. Reece Gaines got the rebound, was fouled and calmly made both free throws to put the Cards up 81-78 with 11.4 seconds left. The Blazers' Eric Bush drove to the basket instead of pulling up for a three-point attempt; he missed the lay-up, Whitehead got the rebound, then was fouled and made both free throws for the game's final margin. Whithead's 37 rebounds in the C-USA tourney was a tournament record and propelled him to the tournament MVP award. Francisco Garcia was also on the all-tournament team (along with UAB's Finley and Bush and Marque Perry of St. Louis) as he scored 14 points and had six rebounds in the championship game. Dean finished with 15 points and six rebounds for the Cards, and was the third-leading rebounder in the tournament. With center Marvin Stone scoring 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, the Cards put five players in double-figures for only the fourth time this season. The crowd of 17,202 was the largest ever for C-USA tourney title game. |
| Game Summary: Austin Peay | Score: Louisville 86, Austin Peay 64 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Luke Whitehead (20) Austin Peay: Josh Lewis (20) |
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| The Cards win their first NCAA Tournament game since 1997 over Austin Peay, yet the best news was that forward Francisco Garcia was not critically inured when he suffered a knee bruise late in the first half, and was unable to walk off the floor unassisted. Garcia returned in the second half, which buoyed the Cardinals' spirit, and led to a decisive run which pushed U of L into a second round match-up with Butler, who upset Mississippi State. Luke Whitehead had his fifth straight double-double in leading U of L with 20 points and 11 rebounds, hitting several mid-range jumpers. It was U of L's fourth-biggest margin of victory in an NCAA tourney game. Whitehead had all but two of his rebounds in the second half, as the Cards ourtebounded the Governors 27-14 in the second period and 44-29 for the game. U of L was also effective with its pressure defense, forcing Austin Peay into 18 turnovers (including 12 Cardinal steals), off of which U of L scored 24 points. |
| The game was even throughout the first 10 minutes, but then the Cards used a quick, six-point, 23-second run to go up 26-19. Reece Gaines, who had 18 for U of L, and Bryant Northern hit back-to-back threes for the Cards as U of L went up 38-23 with 4:34 left in the first half. The Cards were deflated, however, when Garcia went down a few minutes later; U of L led 45-33 at the break, but heads were down due to the perceived severity of Garcia's injury. The Cards forced three straight turnovers to open the second half, but after a 7-2 Austin Peay run, the Cards were up just 49-40 with 15:00 remaining. At that point, Garcia returned, and brought back to life energy for U of L. The Cards were up 51-41 when Garcia entered the game, and just like that were up 60-43 two minutes later. U of L's biggest lead was 27. For the game, Garcia had six points, seven rebounds and five assists, while reserve Alhaji Mohammed pitched in eight points. Austin Peay shot a woeful 2-21 from three-point range, while they were outscored 28-3 by the Cardinal bench. U of L shot 50% from the field and 8-24 from three-point range. Austin Peay was led by Josh Lewis, who had 20 points on 8-9 shooting, and Adrian Henning, who had 17. |
| Game Summary: Butler | Score: Butler 79, Louisville 71 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (26) Butler: Darnell Archey (26) |
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| The Cards suffer a season-ending upset loss to 12-seed Butler in the second round of the East Regional of the NCAA tournament. It was Butler's Darnell Archey who did in the Cards, as he matched a career-high with 26 points on 8-9 three-pointing, including all six of his attempts in the second half. It really was a brilliant display of shooting, and a brilliant display of offensive execution that got Archey open for so many good looks. On the game, Butler shot an amazing 14-22 from behind the arc; their 14 three-pointers were a season-high. That helped Butler overcome an early 24-9 deficit, fueled by turnovers caused by U of L's intense defensive pressure. The Bulldogs slowed U of L down by going into a 2-3 zone; the Cardinals made 11 of their first 16 shots, but only 3-12 after that against the zone. The Bulldogs scored 14 straight points to take a 26-24 lead with 4:35 left in the first half, and led at the half 34-33. |
| Butler went on a 13-3 run to open the second half. Archey hit back-to-back threes from the left corner to push a three-point Bulldog lead to 50-39 with 14:30 left in the game. But Reece Gaines went on a tear, scoring 11 of U of L's next 13 points in helping pull the Cards back into a tie with 9:20 remaining. A three-pointer by Archey gave Butler the lead for good and Duane Lightfoot added two free throws for a 59-54 edge with less than seven minutes left. Archey hit another three off a U of L turnover, and after Francisco Garcia, who finished with 16 points, pulled U of L to within three at the 5:30 mark, Archey hit another three-pointer to double the Butler lead. Gaines, who led the Cards with 26 points on 10-15 shooting, including 6-10 from three-point range (with all six coming in the second half), hit one of those threes a minute later to pull U of L to within 64-61, but Archey responded with yet another three-pointer from the corner. Press repeat: Gaines drilled another three for U of L at the 1:50 mark to make it 70-69, but then Archey responded with another three-pointer of his own with 1:28 left. Gaines had scored 11 straight points for U of L within the last five minutes until Garcia got a lay-up to make it 73-71, but Butler got a lay-up of its own to establish a 75-71 lead with 33.1 seconds to go. Reece Gaines then missed a three for U of L, and Archey hit two free throws to put the game out of reach. |
| U of L shot only four free throws in the game, two coming off of a technical foul, but the Cards were 11-25 from three-point range. Luke Whitehead had 14 points and a team-high 6 rebounds for the Cards. For the game, Butler outrebounded U of L 28-27. Besides Archey, pitching in for Butler was center Joel Cornette, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Mike Monserez had 14 points on 4-7 three-point shooting plus nine assists, while Duane Lightfoot, Jr. had 14 points as well. U of L forward Larry O'Bannon did not dress for the game for undisclosed reasons. The loss matched the lowest seed to ever beat U of L in an NCAA tourney game; the Cards also lost to 12-seed Ball State in 1990. The Cards finished the season with a school-record 272 three-pointers, eclipsing the mark set last year of 261. |
