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Best and Worst Moments during Louisville men's basketball 2019-20 season
Louisville men’s basketball had its 2019-20 season abruptly end due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), which caused the cancellation of the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament last week. The Cardinals finished the season 24-7 and 15-5 in the ACC.
Louisville was ranked as the No. 1 team nationally in the AP poll for two weeks during the 2019-20 season, just the third and fourth time ever in program history. Jordan Nwora was selected as an AP Third-Team All-American earlier this week.
Here's some of the best and worst moments from the past season:
Louisville tops Michigan in Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Dec. 3)
The Cardinals didn’t have to wait long to prove their No. 1 ranking.
A day after being ranked atop the AP Top 25 for the first time in six years, Louisville defeated Michigan 58-43 at the KFC Yum! Center as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Cardinals held fourth-ranked Michigan to 25.6% shooting for a season-low 43 points. Jordan Nwora finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in a game between two undefeated teams.
Louisville closes out road stretch with win at Duke (Jan. 18)
The Cardinals made enough plays down the stretch at Cameron Indoor Stadium to complete their three-game road trip with three wins. Louisville defeated third-ranked Duke 79-73 as David Johnson emerged as the team’s biggest playmaker.
Johnson, a freshman, scored 19 points in the road win that moved Louisville into a first place tie in the ACC.
Louisville wins 10 straight by ending streak to Virginia (Feb. 8)
Louisville ended its woes to Virginia, defeating the Cavaliers 80-73 at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals extended their winning streak to 10 games while ending a nine-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.
Jordan Nwora scored a team-high 22 points while Steven Enoch and Malik Williams each added 13 points for Louisville. The Cardinals trailed by a possession with less than four minutes left, but Enoch made a pair of free throws to give Louisville the lead for good with 2:47 left.
With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 21-3 overall and 12-1 in the ACC.
Texas Tech stifles Louisville at Madison Square Gardens (Dec. 10)
Louisville became the fourth top-ranked team to lose during the 2019-20 season as Texas Tech defeated the Cardinals 70-57 in Madison Square Gardens. In their first loss of the season, the Cardinals shot 34% from the field and struggled offensively throughout the night, finishing with 19 turnovers.
Kentucky outlasts Louisville in rivalry (Dec. 28)
Louisville rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to force overtime, but Kentucky outscored the Cardinals by eight points in the extra period for a rivalry win at Rupp Arena.
Jordan Nwora gave Louisville a three-point lead with 2:20 left in overtime with a shot from behind the arc, but Kentucky ended the game on a 13-2 run, scoring the final eight points.
Offense anemic in loss to Clemson (Feb. 15)
Louisville managed just 14 points in the first half in a 77-62 road loss to Clemson. The Cardinals shot just 15.6% from the field in the first half and trailed by double digits less than seven minutes into the game in Louisville’s second straight road loss.
Dwayne Sutton scored a team-high 18 points while David Johnson added 12 points for a Louisville team that trailed by as many as 21 points.
