Louisville Uses Strong Second Half to Topple Baylor in Neutral Court Matchup

FORT WORTH, Tex. - Make that five in a row for the Louisville men's basketball program.

Taking a brief break from ACC play for a non-conference neutral site matchup with Baylor, the Cardinals were able to capitalize on recent momentum, pulling away in the second half to win 82-71 over the Bears on Saturday from Dickies Arena.

No. 24 Louisville (19-6, 8-4 ACC) is now off to their longest winning streak since starting the season 7-0, and move to 3-0 in neutral court games this season. Their last three wins have all been against Quad 1 teams in the NET, and they are now an even 6-6 in such games this season. Meanwhile, Baylor (13-12, 3-9 Big 12) has now dropped three-in-a-row, and 10 of their last 13.

Shooting-wise, it was one of Louisville's best games of the season. They connected on 56.0 percent of their field goal attempts, which was their third-most this season, including 15-of-23 in the second half of what was a tie game at halftime. The Cardinals collected 40 points in the paint, and were 8-of-18 on three-point tries - their fewest attempted threes in the Pat Kelsey era.

UofL wasn't half-bad defensively, either. Baylor was held to 36.7 percent shooting and just 2-for-22 on three-point tries. It proved to be too much to overcome despite going to 25-of-30 at the free throw to Louisville's 18-of-20, and winning the rebounding battle 30-to-29 - including 15-to-6 on offensive boards.

After tying the program single-game scoring record in the previous game vs. NC State, Mikel Brown Jr. followed that up with 29 points, six assists and five steals. J'Vonne Hadley also had 20 points and five boards, while Ryan Conwell finished with 14 points.

Louisville looked very good on both ends of the floor early, shooting it hot while putting together one of their best defensive stretches of the season. They hit nine of their first 17 attempts, as well as five of their first 10 tries from deep, while holding Baylor to a 5-of-16 shooting start to take a 23-16 lead at the 8:42 mark of the half.

But the Bears then found some momentum of their own, firing off a 16-2 run to take a seven point lead themselves with 3:37 until halftime. The Cardinals not only went 0-of-4 in this stretch, but BU was 4-of-6 and added seven free throws. In fact, they went 15-of-15 at the charity stripe in the first half, and sank 13 before Louisville had their first trip at the 2:10 mark.

However, it was UofL who ended the first half with some momentum. They hit four of their last six attempts in the half, forced Baylor to miss their final six, and clawed back to force a 34-34 tie at the half.

When the two teams returned to action, Louisville built on that stretch to end the first half.

Offensively, they shot out of a cannon to start the second half. The Cardinals connected on 10 of their first 15 attempts after halftime - including at one point sinking six consecutive shots.

Meanwhile, they locked down defensively as well to start the half. Baylor began the second half shooting 2-of-8 with four turnovers, allowing the Cardinals to take a 59-44 lead with 11:54 left.

In the final 12 minutes, the Bears were able to keep pace, but UofL's advantage never dipped below nine points.

Next up, Louisville returns to ACC play but will stay in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, traveling to SMU for an in-season rematch. Tip-off against the Mustangs is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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