Louisville Drubbed at Duke in Road Finale

The Cardinals' loss at the Blue Devils secures back-to-back 20-loss seasons for the first time in program history.

DURHAM, N.C. - Facing Duke in what was their final true road game of the 2023-24 season, the Louisville men's basketball program proved to be no match against their hosts, suffering an 84-59 blowout loss on Wednesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Cardinals (8-20, 3-14 ACC) have not only dropped their last four games by an average margin of 21.5 points, the loss to the Blue Devils (22-6, 13-4 ACC) clinches back-to-back 20-loss seasons for the first time in program history. Louisville also falls to 1-21 in true road games under second-year head coach Kenny Payne.

As had been the case during their now four-game skid, Louisville struggled immensely on the defensive end. They allowed Duke to shoot 56.1 percent from the field and 11-of-22 on three-point attempts, and the Blue Devils assisted on 23 of their 32 made shots.

Of course, the Cardinals didn't exactly look sharp on the offensive end, either. They connected on just 41.1 percent of their shot attempts, were a paltry 3-of-17 on threes, and were out-rebounded 43-24. They even couldn't take advantage of Duke's struggles at the free throw line (9-of-16 for the game), posting a 10-of-19 mark at the charity stripe themselves.

Tre White led Louisville in scoring with 15 points, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added an 11 point and 10 rebound double-double, while Ty-Laur Johnson added 11 points off the bench.

Louisville's first half against Duke was one of their worst shooting halves of the season. They went just 9-of-31 from the field, 1-of-11 on three-point attempts and 4-of-9 at the free throw line, at one point missing eight-straight shots and going five-plus minutes without scoring early in the period.

However, for most of the half, the Cardinals were within striking distance mainly due to how poor Duke had been playing early on. They had six turnovers in the first 10-plus minutes and 10 for the entire half (compared to six for UofL), connected on just six of their first 13 field goal attempts and held just a four-point lead with 9:02 until halftime.

But those final nine minutes of the half undoubtedly belonged to Duke. They would proceed to connect on six of their next seven shots - including three straight threes - to go on a 14-4 run as part of a 19-10 run to end the half and maintain a 36-23 halftime lead over Louisville.

The Cardinals' offensive efforts took a noticeable uptick in the second half, but then again, so did the Blue Devils'. While Louisville shot 56.0 percent from the floor after halftime, Duke's 57.6 shooting percentage erased any sort chance for a comeback. UofL trailed by as little as 14 with 11:42 left in the game, but and 11-2 run by Duke to push the deficit into the 20's essentially put the game away.

Next up, Louisville will kick off a three-game home stand to end the regular season with a rematch against Syracuse. Tip-off against the Orange is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 2 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Tre White: Rob Kinnan - USA TODAY Sports)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter