Louisville Denied Sweep of SMU, Falls in Rematch to Snap Winning Streak

DALLAS - The Louisville men's basketball program's winning streak has come to an end.

A few days removed from knocking off Baylor in a neutral court matchup in Fort Worth, the Cardinals made the trip across the DFW area for a rematch against SMU in Dallas, but were dealt a 95-85 loss at Moody Coliseum on Tuesday night.

No. 21 Louisville (19-7, 8-5 ACC) sees their five-game winning streak snapped as a result, which was their longest since starting the season 7-0. Ironically, the streak started back on Jan. 31 at the KFC Yum! Center against SMU (18-8, 7-6 ACC).

Defensively, the Cardinals struggled all night long, allowing the Mustangs to shoot 58.5 percent from the field and 9-of-19 on three-point attempts. It was both their most points allowed and their highest opponent shooting percentage allowed under second-year head coach Pat Kelsey.

It negated a pretty good effort on the other end of the floor, as Louisville shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 13-of-34 of threes. However, their 17 turnovers (against 18 assists) was their most this season, resulting in 21 SMU points the other way.

Mikel Brown Jr. scored a team-best 29 points, with J'Vonne Hadley adding a 14-point effort. Brown and Hadley combined to shoot 17-of-28, while the rest of UofL was only 13-of-39. SMU got a combined 48 points from Jaron Pierre Jr. and Boopie Miller.

The first half was a blistering period of basketball where the pace was NASCAR fast and defense was completely optional. The two teams played 74 possessions in the opening period, combining to shoot 56.5 percent from the floor, with the lead changing 11 times during this span.

Louisville went 18-of-34 in the first half, including 9-of-19 on three-point tries, and made seven of their final 11 shots. However, SMU one-upped this offensive outburst, shooting 21-of-35 before halftime, along with 6-of-9 on threes. The Mustangs made 15 of their final 21 attempts in the half, including hitting their final six to take a 52-49 halftime lead over the Cardinals.

The fervent pace took a step back when the teams returned to action, and with it, Louisville's offensive efforts took a step back with it. They shot only 12-of-33 overall and 4-of-15 on threes in the second half, with Brown and Hadley combining for most of their production in this period.

Still, they found themselves in a tie game with 6:33 left, but SMU took over down the stretch. Not only did the Mustangs shoot 17-of-30 after halftime, they connected on 8 of their final 10 ties, and ended the game on a 19-9 run to seal a Cardinals defeat.

Next up, Louisville will return to the KFC Yum! Center, and host Georgia Tech for the penultimate home game of the regular season. Tip-off against the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2:15 p.m. EST.

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