Louisville Falls Behind Early at Notre Dame, Extends Losing Streak to 10
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Louisville men's basketball program's ongoing futility has made history, again.
Staying on the road to face a struggling Notre Dame squad, the Cardinals' attempts to capture their first win against ACC competition this season was met with an emphatic beatdown right out of the gates that they couldn't overcome, as they lost 76-62 Saturday at the Purcell Pavilion.
Not only does Louisville fall to 2-19 overall and 0-10 at the halfway point of their slate of ACC games, but their current losing streak now sits at 10 games. This matches their longest losing streak of the modern era, which was set earlier this season after dropping their 2021-22 finale and their first nine games of the current season. It's their longest losing streak since dropping 12 straight from Feb. 23, 1940 to Feb. 8, 1941.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame earns just their second win in conference play this season, improving to only 10-12 in the process. Their lone other win in the ACC came earlier this month in overtime against Georgia Tech, who Louisville faces next.
The two teams had relatively even shooting splits, with Louisville connecting on 46.3 percent of their field goal attempts and 34.8 percent on threes, while Notre Dame went 45.3 and 35.7 percent, respectively.
However, turnovers - and shooting lulls - played a large factor in the final score and listless first half effort. Despite logging 13 assists, the Cardinals also coughed the ball up 12 times, resulting in 16 Fighting Irish points.
Mike James and Jae'Lyn Withers were the lone Cards to finish in double figures, with James scoring 14 points and Withers tallying 10. Four Notre Dame players hit double digits, led by 22 points from J.J. Starling.
Emmanuel Okorafor, who has been on the team for less than two weeks, made his collegiate debut against Notre Dame. He finished with eight points and a team-high five rebounds in 18 minutes.
Unlike some recent games, Louisville showed very little early fight or resistance against Notre Dame. Only the first four minutes of the game were remotely competitive, and then following a 13-0 run by the Fighting Irish, the Cardinals completely fell apart.
In the first half, Louisville turned it over eight times to produce 11 Notre Dame points, shot just 33.3 percent from the field - including a stretch where they shot 3-for-18 - and allowed the Irish to connect on seven of their 16 three-point attempts. This helped produce a 46-24 score at the break, which was Louisville's sixth-largest halftime deficit in program history, and the most points Notre Dame has scored in a first half all season long.
Louisville got down by as much as 30 points in the first few minutes out of halftime, but then started to make things very interesting as the second half progressed. They began draining a lot of their shots, while Notre Dame inexplicably went ice cold. This allowed them to go on a 21-5 run, pulling within 14 points with just over nine minutes to go.
However, it proved to be much too little, much too late. Despite Louisville cutting down on their turnovers, and shooting 62.5 percent from the field for the half to Notre Dame's 37.9 percent, the Irish were able to keep the Cardinals at bay for long enough to prevent a complete and total second half collapse.
Next up, Louisville will return to the KFC Yum! Center and host Georgia Tech. Tip-off against the Yellow Jackets is set for Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Cormac Ryan, El Ellis: Matt Cashore - USA TODAY Sports)
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