On Monday night, the Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team traveled to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Blue Devils dominated the game, winning 79-62. Louisville struggled to keep up, falling short in both the rebounding and turnover battles.
Although the Cardinals outshot the Blue Devils from the field for most of the game, they were outscored on second-chance points and points off turnovers, with Duke taking a 16-6 and 14-6 lead in those categories, respectively. Louisville head coach Kenny Payne acknowledged that the Blue Devils are a talented team, even though they are young, and their length made it difficult for Louisville to compete in the rebounding department.
Despite a strong start that saw the Cardinals open the game with a 7-1 run and take their largest lead of the night at 18-9 on a basket by senior forward Sydney Curry, the Blue Devils soon took control of the game. Duke scored 13 straight points after Curry’s basket, leading to a 20-4 run that put them up 29-22 with 6:11 to play. By halftime, Duke led 42-33.
Duke’s dominance continued in the second half, with the Blue Devils leading by as much as 17 at 59-42 with 13:39 to go. While Louisville managed to get the game back to within 10 points several times in the final minutes, they never managed to close the gap further. Senior guard El Ellis had an impressive performance for Louisville, scoring 21 points and making seven assists. Junior forward JJ Traynor tied his career high of 16 points for the second straight game, making four of five from long range, and sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield contributed nine points and five boards.
In contrast, Duke had five players in double figures, with Jeremy Roach leading the way with 14 points. The Blue Devils had 19 assists on their 29 made baskets, demonstrating their strong teamwork and offensive play.
Overall, the Cardinals were disappointed with their performance, with Ellis acknowledging that the team had not responded well when Duke went on a run. The team is now 4-24 on the season and 2-15 in ACC play and will need to regroup quickly, as they face Georgia Tech on the road this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET in Atlanta. The game will be aired on Regional Sports Networks, giving Louisville another chance to prove themselves on the court.
