Louisville Falls to Duke in ACC Tournament

(Photo of Samuell Williamson: Andrew Dye via the Atlantic Coast Conference)

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Taking part in their first postseason action, the Louisville men's basketball program could not secure a third win against Duke despite sweeping them in the regular season, falling 70-56 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Cardinals (13-7, 8-5 ACC) had their worst shooting performance of the season, connecting on just 19 of their 62 field goal attempts to go 30.6% from the floor. Louisville also was just 5-16 on layups, and averaged just .875 points per possession.

David Johnson had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Louisville in both categories. First Team All-ACC selection Carlik Jones was the lone other Cardinal to finish in double scoring with 13.

On the other end, the Blue Devils relied heavily on Mark Williams and his interior presence. He had a 23 point and 19 rebound double-double, helped Duke score 34 points in the paint and shoot 44.8% as a team. Matthew Hurt, who had averaged 30.5 points in the previous two games against Louisville, finished with 20 points.

The game had the early makings of a blowout in Duke's favor, as Louisville's offense was incredibly stagnant in the first 16 minutes of the game. The Cardinals had a stretch where they scored just a single point in 6:36, and another where they went scoreless for 4:46, the latter of which the Blue Devils went on a 12-0 run to go up by as much as 27-13 with 3:50 left in the first half.

But in the half's final four minutes, Louisville's offense flipped a switch. Coming out of the final media timeout, the Cardinals then exploded for a 16-0 run, briefly taking the lead before a Matthew Hurt three-pointer gave the Blue Devils a 30-29 lead at the half.

When the teams reconvened, Louisville's offense regressed back to their previous state. Duke produced a quick 9-0 run to jump back out to a comfortable lead, and never looked back. Thanks to a 15 point & 10 rebound second half double-double from Williams, and Louisville not being able to string together any shots, the Cardinals faced a double digit deficit for most of the second half.

Louisville will now await their NCAA Tournament fate, in hopes that their proverbial bubble has not been burst. Selection Sunday is scheduled for Sunday, Mar. 14 at 6:00 p.m. EST on CBS.

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