After getting steamrolled by Duke in a 31-point loss, No. 24 Louisville didn’t sulk - they responded. And now, as they gear up to host a struggling Notre Dame squad in an ACC showdown on Wednesday, the Cardinals are looking to keep the momentum rolling.
Louisville (15-6, 5-4 ACC) showed some serious bounce-back ability after that 83-52 beatdown at the hands of No. 4 Duke.
Just five days later, they handled SMU with an 88-74 win, and that came on the heels of an impressive 85-71 victory over Virginia Tech. That Virginia Tech game also marked the return of freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who had missed eight games with a back injury - and his presence is already making a difference.
Against SMU, Louisville found themselves in a 12-point hole early and still trailed by three at halftime. But the second half was a different story.
The Cardinals flipped the switch, and Brown led the charge. After a rough 1-for-13 shooting night at Duke, the freshman bounced back with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
That’s the kind of resilience coaches love to see from a young floor general.
He wasn’t alone. Four other Cardinals hit double digits, including sharpshooter Isaac McKneely (14 points, 4-of-9 from deep), Ryan Conwell (12 points), and J’Vonne Hadley (10 points). Off the bench, Khani Rooths delivered a double-double - 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes - providing a spark that Louisville sorely missed in Durham.
Head coach Pat Kelsey didn’t mince words about how his team responded: “Just didn’t blink, didn’t panic, and just went back to work, dusted themselves off, got up, attacked.”
That “attack” mindset showed up on the stat sheet. Louisville’s bench poured in 47 points against SMU - a massive jump from the six they managed in the Duke game. Brown technically came off the bench, but it was the combined 15 points from Aly Khalifa and Kobe Rodgers, along with Rooths’ big night, that helped Louisville pull away.
“Our bench gave us a really, really big boost,” Kelsey said. And he’s right - depth matters, especially in conference play when legs get heavy and rotations tighten.
From a tournament resume standpoint, Louisville is sitting in a solid spot. They’re currently No. 17 in the NET rankings and have just one loss outside of Quad 1 - a road stumble at Stanford back on Jan.
- That’s the kind of profile that keeps you comfortably in the bracket conversation come March.
On the other side, Notre Dame is trending in the opposite direction.
The Irish (11-11, 2-7 ACC) have gone just 1-7 in January and are watching their NCAA Tournament hopes fade fast. Losing star guard Markus Burton to a broken ankle in early December didn’t help.
They were 7-3 with him - 4-8 without. That’s a tough blow for a team that was already walking a thin line.
Their most recent outing - an 86-72 loss at Syracuse - was another case of falling behind early and never fully recovering. Notre Dame did battle back to within six midway through the second half, but they couldn’t get over the hump. Syracuse shot a blistering 57.1% from the field and hit 10 threes, and that kind of efficiency is tough to keep pace with, especially when you’re not getting much help from your bench.
Freshman guard Jalen Haralson was a bright spot, dropping a season-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He was aggressive, efficient, and gave the Irish a fighting chance.
Braeden Shrewsberry added 17 points and hit three of the team’s six threes, but beyond that, the offense was thin. The bench contributed just 10 points - not nearly enough to match Syracuse’s firepower.
“We have to be better defensively on the road,” said head coach Micah Shrewsberry. “We’re really trying to hone in on the details and just keep getting better at those things to allow us to give ourselves a chance.”
That’s a fair assessment. But with Notre Dame sitting at No. 85 in the NET rankings and holding just one Quad 1 win, the road to March is looking more like a mountain. Shrewsberry, now in his third year at Notre Dame following a stint at Penn State, is still trying to find the right formula - and the pressure is starting to build.
Wednesday’s game presents two teams on very different paths. Louisville is trying to solidify its tournament résumé and build on a pair of strong performances. Notre Dame is searching for answers, hoping to stop the slide and find some rhythm in a season that’s slipping away.
For the Cardinals, it’s about continuing to grow - especially with Brown back in the fold and the bench producing. For the Irish, it’s about rediscovering that early-season identity and proving they can still punch above their weight.
Tip-off can’t come soon enough.