It’s been a dark and gloomy season for Louisville on the hardwood, but for those lookin’ for a glimmer of hope, it could be found this week. The Cards added a fresh face in forward Emmanuel Okorafor, and he didn’t disappoint in his debut.
But the hopes of a successful trip was not to be, as the Cardinals returned to the nest another loss under their belt and little to cheer about as they fell 76-62 to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana.
But for the eternal optimists, there’s still a silver lining to be found. Okorafor put forth a strong showing, and the Cardinals showed heart in a late surge, even when faced with a daunting deficit.
In terms of shooting Notre Dame shot just slightly better than Louisville’s and also had a higher 3F% and FT%. Louisville had more turnovers, and Notre Dame had more points off turnovers. The rebounding was close, with Notre Dame having 31 and Louisville having 34.
The leading scorer for Louisville was Mike James with 14 points, followed by Ellis with 8 points. For Notre Dame, Starling had the highest points with 22, followed by Laszewski with 17 points. Starling also had the highest rebounds with 6.
Louisville did have an early 2 points lead in the 1st half and at one point made a 14-0 run.
Notre Dame had Ryan as their highest assist maker with 8, and Laszewski as their highest rebounder with 5.
Sydney Curry led the team in rebounds with 4, and El Ellis had 6 assists. As a team, they made 25 out of 54 field goals, 8 out of 23 three-point field goals, and 4 out of 7 free throws. The team recorded 7 offensive rebounds, 27 defensive rebounds, and had a total of 34 rebounds in the game.
Emmanuel Okorafor had a solid performance in his first game for Louisville, scoring 8 points on 3-5 shooting from the field and 2-3 from the free throw line. He also contributed 5 rebounds, 3 of which were on the offensive end, showing his presence on the boards. Despite recording 2 turnovers, Okorafor’s athleticism and hustle added another dimension to Louisville’s play and helped contribute to their overall performance in the game.
