By Russ Brown
Special to NKyTribune
LOUISVILLE — Hmmm. Maybe the first half or so of Louisville’s Atlantic Coast Conference basketball schedule, which consists mostly of teams picked to finish in the bottom half of the league, will be tougher than expected.
At least it would be easy to draw that conclusion based on the 18th-ranked Cardinals’ struggles in their ACC opener, a 65-57 win in the KFC Yum! Center Sunday night that was close all the way and wasn’t decided until the final seconds.
In fact, UofL coach Rick Pitino has already reached that opinion, comparing the ACC with the old Big East Conference after Wake (9-4) took UofL to the wire despite being picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll.
“This has now become what we were in the Big East when you had 11 teams in the (NCAA) tournament,” Pitino said after UofL’s win. “We knew this was going to be a really tough game because that’s what the ACC is all about. The bottom teams have come up when they were down. So there is no longer any victories where you can say, ‘Well, we can pencil that in.’ I mean, the fans may think that about Wake Forest, but all the films we watched, we knew this would be a war.”
Maybe that’s more than typical Pitino hyperbole. We’ll see.
Whatever the case, the Cards (12-2) had plenty to feel good about after raising their homecourt record to 11-0 this season as they tipped off their 18-game ACC schedule.
Foremost was their ability to finally finish a close game successfully, albeit on their homecourt against a 14-point underdog.
UofL led all the way, but never by more than eight points, and when Wake freshman guard Bryant Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 left and raised a finger to his lips to shush the crowd, the score was tied at 56.
Turned out Crawford’s gesture was somewhat premature. It was still just 58-56 at the 1:21 mark, but Louisville scored on four of its next five possessions and held the Deacons scoreless on their last seven possessions to secure the win.
The Cards sent Wake to the foul line five times during that 81-second stretch, but the visitors cooperated by missing five of six free throws, along with all five field goal attempts. UofL got just one field goal — by Damion Lee that gave his team a 60-56 lead with 1:02 left — but hit 5-of-6 free throws.
“That’s huge for us,” Lee said. “We were in two close games before and we weren’t really able to close those games out.”
He was referring to road losses at Michigan State (71-67) and Kentucky (75-73).
Aside from their poise down the stretch, the Cards got confidence-boosting performances from a veteran and a rookie that raised optimism about their ability to perform against tough competition.
Sophomore center Chinanu Onuaka (6-10) avoided foul trouble for a change and contributed a career-best 15 rebounds, scored 12 points and blocked four shots while playing a career-high 37 minutes. He hit 6-of-9 shots.
“I thought Nanu played a terrific game, gave us a big lift,” Pitino said. “I don’t think in the past he could play 37 minutes from a conditioning standpoint.”
And that was against Wake big man Devin Thomas (6-9), who had embarrassed Onuaku by scoring 31 points in last year’s 85-76 loss to Louisville. This time, Thomas wasn’t nearly as effective, with 14 points.
Onuaku’s previous high in playing time was 28 minutes and he had picked up two fouls in the first six minutes at both Michigan State and UK. He didn’t have a single foul in the first half Sunday.
“He (Thomas) was talking about it a lot and I just took it upon myself to try and stop him,” Onuaku said. “My team has a defensive anchor when he’s not in foul trouble. I grab rebounds. If I get the ball in the post I can score.”
Teammate Donovan Mitchell called Onuaku “monster” on the boards and on offense. And speaking of Mitchell. . .
The freshman guard was sensational while playing a season-high 30 minutes because Trey Lewis was limited to 22 minutes by a sprained ankle. Making the first collegiate start, Mitchell got season highs in both points (18) and rebounds (8) and added two steals and a block.
“I just went out there and did what I normally do, which is focus on defense,” Mitchell said.
“Donovan Mitchell is really, really improving,” Pitino said of the former 5-star recruit from Greenwich, Conn. “He’s a special basketball player.”
Lewis, a fifth-year senior, wasn’t expected to play after suffering the ankle injury in practice Firday afternoon and being ruled out of action by Pitino. But after receiving numerous treatments over a 36-hour period, Lewis insisted he was ready to go.
“I have spent eight years in the pros and a long time in college, and that showed me something because his ankle wasn’t ready to play,” Pitino said. “But you wouldn’t have known it tonight. Pretty tough kid, pretty special.”
Lee, Lewis’ roommate, said the ankle was swollen to the size of a fist, “or a tennis ball or softball or a lacrosse ball, whatever you want to call it. To come back off is a testament to his character and how much he cares about the team.”
Lewis wound up playing 22 minutes and showing no ill effects from the injury. He scored nine points, hitting 3-of-5 3-pointers. He called it a “miracle” that he was on the court.
“There was no way I should have been able to play,” he said. “But I know the team feeds off my leadership and I just wanted to be out there somehow. I was praying and I expected God to do a miracle and he came through. I feel like today was a testimony to what God can do and when you believe. I want to him Him the glory for this performance.”
In the glow of victory, it was easy to overlook some shortcomings by the Cards — Pitino won’t, of course — that could prove more damaging down the road unless they’re corrected.
Although UofL is averaging 14.7 assists per game, against the three best teams on their schedule they’re averaging just 7.3, including seven against Wake, which had 17. In the second half, the Cards managed only two assists on 10 field goals.
They were outscored 12-0 on fast break points and got just four points off nine Wake Forest turnovers, a season-low for a UofL opponent this season.
Their first chance to improve in those three areas will come Thursday night at NC State (10-4, 0-1). The Wolfpack dropped its ACC opener at Virginia Tech, 73-68.
“We know we’ll have to play much better to get a road victory,” Pitino said.
Wake coach Danny Manning thinks the Cards are on the right track.
“I think the two older guys (Lee and Lewis) that came in have given them some experience, a sense of desperation in that it’s their last go-round,” Manning said. “They have come in and adapted to the system well and they are impressive both offensively and defensively. You look at their big guys and they all rebound the ball exceptionally well. They all block shots. So this is a team that is going to be very good throughout the course of conference play and in the postseason as well.”