How it happened: Miami's length and athleticism too much for Louisville in ACC Tournament
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Louisville’s 78-73 loss to Miami (FL) in Thursday’s ACC Tournament quarterfinals ended up being one of the most physically demanding games of the season.
Three Cardinals suffered hits to the face, and they had to go back to the locker room. Louisville guards Isaac McKneely and Kobe Rodgers both bled onto the floor and had to exit for extended periods, McKneely even requiring four staples in his head. Both would return, as well as Sananda Fru, who was poked in the eye.
It was the second time in five days that Louisville played Miami, after beating the Hurricanes on their home floor in the regular season finale. However, this time around, a 10-0 Miami run near the start of the second half, and coming out of the locker room, only to shoot 19 percent from 3 the rest of the way, gave Miami a relatively clear path to victory.
WATCH: Louisville’s Pat Kelsey speaks following Miami loss
Starting his fifth consecutive game in place of freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr, Adrian Wooley seemed to have trouble with the Hurricanes’ perimeter length. After totaling 10 assists and one turnover in the last three games, Wooley scored just five points and turned the basketball over six times against Miami. He had been getting to the foul line for at least six attempts in the last two games, and did not attempt a free throw on Thursday. Ultimately, those two statistics — turnovers and free-throw rate — doomed Louisville. The Canes made 19 of their 29 looks at the stripe compared to the Cards’ 17 attempts. Kelsey’s team then relied on J’Vonne Hadley and Ryan Conwell to carry a majority of the scoring load, which they did, combining for 41 of Louisville’s points.
German forward Sananda Fru played a good second half, scoring seven of his eight points after the break and totaling all three of his blocks in the final stanza. Fru didn’t start for the fourth-consecutive game, but was a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line and played his best game since he scored 17 at Wake Forest. Louisville needed the junior to play well as the rest of the Cardinals’ front-court struggled outside of Khani Rooths.
Rooths made more than one field goal and scored in double figures against Miami for the first time in over a month, as his 11 points in nine minutes made up the majority of Louisville’s bench points. The 6-foot-10 sophomore did pick up three first-half fouls and only played three minutes after the break.
Miami forwards Ernest Udeh and Malik Reneau both had dominant performances in terms of physicality. Reneau got to the free-throw line for nine attempts, seven shy of his total when these two played on Saturday, and finished with a game-high 24 points. Udeh collected nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
Louisville will now await its selection in the 2026 NCAA Tournament as the Cardinals are expected to be invited back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014-15. We will know the Cards’ opponent and when and where they’ll play Sunday evening.
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