Louisville Takes Down North Carolina in New Year's Day Showdown

The Cardinals snap a five-game losing streak to the Tar Heels.

Jan 1, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Ian Jackson (11) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals forward Aboubacar Traore (25) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is ringing in the new year on the right foot.

Hosting North Carolina for a New Year's Day showdown, the Cardinals earned a potentially resume-boosting win over the Tar Heels, coming out on top in a 83-70 decision on Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville (9-5, 2-1 ACC) snaps a five-game losing streak to North Carolina (8-6, 1-1 ACC) with the win, and are now over .500 in ACC play for the first time since January of 2022. They also move to 4-5 so far this season against Quadrant 1/2 teams in the NET.

A three-point heavy team, Louisville used defense and shooting inside the arc to put away North Carolina. The Cardinals shot 20-for-32 on two point tries with 38 points in the paint, making up for a 6-of-26 showing on three-point attempts which brought down their field goal percentage to 44.8.

On the other end of the court, the Tar Heels were held to 40.0 percent from the field and 4-of-16 from deep, and turned the ball over 12 times for 14 UofL points off of them.

The free throw line played a big role in the final outcome as well. 50 combined fouls were called, with North Carolina taking the most advantage of it. They were 18-23 from the charity stripe, while Louisville was just 25-for-39.

Chucky Hepburn led all scorers with 26 points plus a game-high seven assists, Reyne Smith had 17 points, James Scott added 11 points plus a team-high eight rebounds, and J'Vonne Hadley also poured in 10 points. Ian Jackson led UNC with 23 points.

Louisville also used the game to announce the signing of five-star Class of 2025 Mikel Brown Jr., who publicly announced his commitment in person at the KFC Yum! Center during a first half TV timeout.

Defensively, Louisville got off to a good start against North Carolina. In the first half, they held the Tar Heels to just 32.4 percent shooting from the floor and 3-of-12 on three-point attempts, despite only forcing four turnovers.

What kept the Cardinals from making this a blowout by halftime was their offensive efforts. UofL opened the first half shooting only 4-of-15 before hitting eight of their final 15 tries of the period, and were just 10-of-16 at the free throw line in the first 20 minutes, leading to Louisville only leading 37-31 at the break.

On the other side of halftime, North Carolina made the necessary offensive adjustments, shooting an even 13-of-26 for the second half. Louisville was able to keep pace with the Tar Heels to start the period by hitting ten of their first 15 shots after halftime, but an 0-7 shooting stretch allowed UNC to tie the game with 8:37 left.

Down the stretch, the Cardinals finally woke up and put the game away. They hit four of their final seven shots, and most importantly, held the Heels without a field goal in the final five minutes, and connected on 12 of their final 14 free throw attempts after starting the game 13-for-25 from the charity stripe. Free throws played a crucial role in a 13-1 run by Louisville to end the game while leading by just one with 5:09 to go

Next up, Louisville heads back on the road for a showdown at Virginia. Tip-off against the Cavaliers is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Ian Jackson, Aboubacar Traore: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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