{"id":115572,"date":"2025-01-03T06:16:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T11:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=115572"},"modified":"2025-01-03T06:16:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T11:16:29","slug":"louisville-basketball-cardinals-secures-point-guard-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/03\/louisville-basketball-cardinals-secures-point-guard-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Louisville Basketball: Cardinals Secures Point Guard Of Future and Whats Next, and Is An NCAA Berth In Reach?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have the Louisville Cardinals<\/a> finally turned the corner? Louisville is on pace to record their first winning season since 2020, and it appears the Cardinals have secured their future point guard.<\/p>\n

The Louisville Cardinals<\/a> basketball had fallen on hard times of late, posting three straight losing seasons. The Cardinals are 47-83 since the 2020-21 campaign started and last won 20 games six years ago.<\/p>\n

In March, the Cardinals pried coach Pat Kelsey<\/a>, a two-time mid-major conference<\/a> COY, away from the College of Charleston in an attempt to turn things around. Kelsey is the Cardinals’ fourth coach over the last four years.<\/p>\n

And so, far things couldn’t be going better for UofL.<\/p>\n

Louisville ran their winning streak to three straight and improved to 9-5 overall (2-1 ACC<\/a>), surpassing last year’s eight-win total, with their 13-point victory over UNC at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals’ defense held the Tar Heels<\/a> without a field goal over the final five minutes of the game and received a game-high 26 points from Chucky Hepburn<\/a>. Their victory last night<\/p>\n

Louisville Basketball: Cardinals Secures Point Guard Of Future, What’s Next, and Is An NCAA Berth In Reach?<\/h2>\n

Hepburn, who leads the Cardinals at nearly 16 points a game, was highly efficient, averaging 3.2 points per shot. Hepburn attempted just eight field goals, connecting on five of them, but he tied a school record with 16 made free throws, including seven down the stretch.<\/p>\n

“I am proud of our guys,” Kelsey said following the game<\/a>. “It was a heck of a win. Obviously, Carolina is extremely talented. They are as good of a downhill, transition attacking team in American as you’ll see \u2013 maybe the best. We really had to be on transition defense and block out, which are two things we really, really harped on.\u00a0 I thought our guys were really good in that regard. It was probably our best defensive effort of the year. Terrence Edwards<\/a>, who has been phenomenal for us scoring the ball, I didn’t even know that he was two-for-12 from the field and only had seven points because his defensive performance was outstanding. He wasn’t the only guy who guarded RJ Davis<\/a>, but he guarded him the majority of the time. He (Davis) is a terrific player, as we all know, very, very decorated, an All-American. I thought Fatt (Edwards) did a phenomenal job. Chucky was amazing \u2013 26 (points), seven (assists) and two (rebounds) was an elite performance. I thought James Scott<\/dfn><\/a> was great at the end of the game, to close out with a block, a big rebound, and a dunk.”<\/p>\n

Does Louisville Have A Chance To Make The NCAA Tournament?<\/h3>\n

Louisville accomplished a few other things besides extending their current win streak against Carolina. The Cardinals sit in fifth place in the ACC, and their two conference victories are one fewer than a season ago. The Cardinals haven’t had a winning conference record since winning eight games in the COVID-shortened campaign.<\/p>\n

Louisville has played nine of its 14 games at home, winning six of its nine contests at the YUM! Center. Therefore, the Cardinals are 3-2 away from home, including 1-1 in true road contests.<\/p>\n

Louisville’s NET ranking of 50 is the fifth-best in the ACC. According to the NET Rankings, the ACC is considered the fifth-best conference, and the Cardinals have the 10th-toughest schedule. The ACC received five NCAA Tournament bids last season, four of which were at-large.<\/p>\n

Louisville has a +6.8 scoring margin and 4-0 in Quad III and IV games. The Cardinals are also 4-5 in Quad I and II contests, including just 1-4 in Quad I contests.<\/p>\n

Louisville finished second in the Battle of the Atlantis, falling to Oklahoma in the championship game. UofL picked up quality wins over Indiana and West Virginia in the tournament. Their victory over UNC was their third quality win.<\/p>\n

Louisville’s four setbacks have all come against quality teams. The Cardinals suffered 20-point victories to Tennessee and Ole Miss. They fell to Duke by 11 and to Kentucky by 8.<\/p>\n

The Cardinals have lost some depth. Koren Johnson<\/a>, who averaged nearly 20 minutes off the bench, is redshirting this season after suffering a shoulder injury in the Cards’ second game of the season. Then, Kasean Pryor<\/a> suffered a season-ending ACL injury against Oklahoma in the Battle of Atlantis championship game. The 6-9 wing, who came into his own last season at South Florida, was having a solid campaign before the injury\/<\/p>\n

Right now, Louisville is on the cusp of an at-large bid. But there is still lots of time left in the season. The Cardinals have at least a half-dozen quality games left on their schedule to make their case.<\/p>\n

Mikel Brown Jr. Commits To Cardinals<\/h3>\n

But the real story was what Louisville revealed at the eight-minute media timeout in the opening half of the UNC game. With Louisville leading 21-18 at the stoppage, following a three-point Tar Heels three-point play, the Cardinals revealed that five-star 2025<\/a> point guard Mikel Brown Jr.<\/a>\u00a0was officially part of the program. Brown immediately becomes the highest recruit and first five-star during Kelsey’s short tenure.<\/p>\n

After the announcement, Brown walked onto the floor and received a standing ovation.\u00a0 According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi,<\/a> Brown signed with Louisville during the early signing period, but the Cardinals kept the news under wraps.<\/p>\n