How it happened: Louisville fights off a pesky South Florida
Despite South Florida being a trendy upset pick leading up to Thursday’s Round of 64 game against 6-seeded Louisville, it was the Cardinals who were the aggressors in the opening minutes of the 83-79 win.
It’s Louisville’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2017, and it will now play the winner of 3-seeded Michigan State and 14-seeded North Dakota State on Saturday. A tip-off time will be announced in the next day.
The Cardinals, playing in the earlier window of the tournament’s first day for the third consecutive time, got off to a slow offensive start, coupled with one of the best defensive halves of the season. Pat Kelsey’s team held the Bulls to a poor 28.6 percent shooting overall and 1-of-17 shooting from
Kelsey even told TNT’s Allie LaForce during his first half interview that he felt the Cardinals threw the “first punch…now we just gotta go hoop.”
Louisville did just that. Isaac McKneely led the Cardinals with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The senior sharpshooter hit seven 3s and reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season. He, along with Louisville’s leading scorer on the season, Ryan Conwell, led the way for the Cardinals in the second half for 25 of 46 points after the break.
Sananda Fru was a defensive force for Louisville in his 25 minutes. He recorded his first double-double since Jan. 24 against Virginia Tech. The German big man led the Cardinals with 10 rebounds and also added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Making several key plays late on defense, Fru also tallied two blocks and a steal.
Louisville got off to a jittery start handling the basketball and wound up ending the game with a season-high 22 turnovers. Twelve of these came in the second half as the Cards fought a late push from South Florida and AAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Izaiyah Nelson. Nelson finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks despite fouling out. The Cards’ poor free-throw shooting also gave the Bulls a fighting chance late in the game. Louisville missed 11 of its 25 free-throw attempts, another one of its worst single-game stats of the season.
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