Louisville Clobbered By North Carolina to Remain Winless in ACC Play

The Cardinals move to 0-7 in conference play, their worst start in over 80 years.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting an underperforming North Carolina squad, the Louisville men's basketball program could not take advantage of the opportunity to capture their first victory in ACC play, getting blown out 80-59 Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (2-16, 0-7 ACC) continue their winless start to conference play, with their overall losing streak now sitting at seven games, last winning on Dec. 17 against Florida A&M. It's their worst start to conference play since the 1939-40 season, when they went 0-1 in the KIAC.

The Tar Heels (12-6, 4-3 ACC), who had been tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the ACC as well as the preseason AP No. 1 overall team, notched their first true road win of the season in their fifth try.

Louisville shot just 37.0 percent from the field and a paltry 1-of-14 on three-point attempts, while North Carolina went 47.4 percent and 7-of-24 on three. Both teams coughed the ball up 14 times, but the Tar Heels scored 23 points off turnovers compared to just eight from the Cardinals. UofL also lost the rebounding battle, 40-31.

El Ellis was the only Cardinal to break double figures, scoring 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting and 9-of-9 at the free throw line. Five Tar Heels scored double digit points, led by a 14-point and 16-rebound effort from preseason ACC Player of the Year Armando Bacot.

Like in the previous game against Clemson, Louisville got off to a solid start. Thanks mainly to an imposing, physical play-style and efforts from Ellis, the Cardinals opened up the game on a 15-7 run over the first six and a half minutes, During this span, Ellis scored 11 points, including six at the free throw line.

But after that, North Carolina - and specifically Bacot - settled in and imposed their will on Louisville. After shooting just 2-for-10 to open the game, the Tar Heels then proceeded to shoot 11-of-21 in the final 13:28 of the second half, while also holding the Cardinals to 5-of-17 during that stretch. This resulted in UNC out-scoring UofL 30-11 in that time to take a 37-26 lead into the locker room.

Louisville was able to trim the deficit down to as little as six points thanks to a quick five-point burst in the first minutes of the second half, but that's as close as they got to North Carolina. Even with Bacot in foul trouble, the Tar Heels then immediately fired off a 16-4 run to take back control of the game, and never looked back.

After committing just five turnovers in the first half, Louisville coughed it up nine times in the latter half. The Cardinals also allowed the Tar Heels to shoot near at-will during this time, with UNC shooting 53.8 percent for the half and 5-of-13 on threes, compared to UofL's 42.3 percent and no threes.

Next up, Louisville will stay at home and host Pitt. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Armando Bacot, Sydney Curry: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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