Louisville Uses Massive Second Half to Decimate Indiana in Battle 4 Atlantis Opener

The Cardinals snap a 16-game losing streak against ranked competition in blowout fashion.

Nov 27, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) drives to the basket as Indiana Hoosiers forward Luke Goode (10) defends during the first half at the Atlantis Resort. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

This story will be updated.

NASSAU, The Bahamas - The Louisville men's basketball program has made their first major statement of the Pat Kelsey era, and they did so in authoritative fashion.

Playing in their first game away from the KFC Yum! Center this season, Louisville and their first-year head coach kicked off their run in the Battle 4 Atlantis with an upset victory, steamrolling No. 14 Indiana 89-61 on Wednesday from Imperial Arena in The Bahamas.

The Cardinals (4-1, 0-0 ACC) snap a 16-game losing streak against AP Top 25 ranked opponents, securing their first win against such competition since taking down No. 19 Virginia Tech on Jan. 6, 2021. They also hand the Hoosiers (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) their first loss of the season.

It's Louisville's third-largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent, and their largest since beating No. 19 UConn 81-48 on Mar. 8, 2014.

Indiana made the first basket of the second half to cut their deficit to six, but after that, Louisville put their foot on the gas.

The Cardinals proceeded to score the next 11 points, and parlayed that into an overwhelming 37-9 run to lead by as much as 38 points. Louisville shot 66.7 percent in the second half alone, made 17 of their first 19 attempts of the period. They shot 56.9 percent for the game, and were 10-of-27 on three point attempts.

On top of their tremendous offensive second half, Louisville put together a much more physical performance on the defensive end for the game as a whole than they did in their last power conference game against Tennessee. They held the Hoosiers to 33.3 percent from the field, forced 23 overall turnovers and generated 15 steals, and held IU to just 20 points in the paint to their own 48.

Louisville was led by a fantastic performances from Chucky Hepburn. He came within striking distance of a triple-double, logging 16 points, a career-high 10 assists and seven steals. Noah Waterman, Kasean Pryor and Reyne Smith also hit double figures in scoring with 16, 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Louisville set a defensive tone out of the gates. Over the first 12 minutes, they held Indiana to just 4-of-18 from the field and forced seven turnovers - including five in four-and-a half minute span. It made up for the fact that the Cardinals themselves hit just seven of their first 19 shots, giving them an early 10-point lead.

Down the stretch, both teams started to find some offensive rhythm, only for it to come crashing down in the final minutes of the half.

IU made five straight shots with a trio of threes after their shooting slump, while UofL hit eight consecutive with five threes following their opening cold streak. Louisville might have missed their last five shots of the half, but Indiana missed their final six, allowing them to take a 37-29 lead into halftime.

Next up, Louisville will play their second of three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis, and will take on the winner of Gonzaga-West Virginia. Tip-off is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 28 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Kevin Jairaj - Imagn Images)

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