LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — By the end of the afternoon, it almost looked like a hockey game.<\/p>\n
Louisville players were bleeding, bandaged, blinking away eye pokes and trying to gather themselves between whistles. One had staples in his head. Another had a split lip. Even a referee got knocked sideways along the sideline.<\/p>\n
And still the Cardinals nearly pulled it out.<\/p>\n
Playing their second game in two days \u2014 and without star guard Mikel Brown Jr. \u2014 Louisville fought through a bruising ACC Tournament battle before falling to Miami, 78\u201373, Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
It was the kind of gritty effort that tends to earn respect in March. It just didn\u2019t earn Louisville another day in Charlotte.<\/p>\n
Miami did just enough in the areas that usually decide close tournament games \u2014 winning the paint, forcing a few extra turnovers, and arriving with fresher legs after a first-round bye.<\/p>\n
Louisville left the floor battered, but hardly broken.<\/p>\n
Five quick takeaways<\/p>\n
1. The injury list kept growing<\/p>\n
Louisville was already without Mikel Brown Jr., but the afternoon turned into a survival test.<\/p>\n
Isaac McKneely left the floor in the first half but returned with\u00a0four staples in his head. He never really got himself going, finishing with six points in 30 minutes, and shooting 1-for-6 from three-point range.Kobe Rodgers crashed face-first onto the court and split his lower lip. He also returned but played just eight minutes.Sananda Fru took a finger to the eye and had to leave briefly. He returned to finish with eight points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.<\/p>\n
In the final minute, even veteran official Roger Ayers collided with a Miami player near the sideline and needed a moment to gather himself.<\/p>\n
It was that kind of game.<\/p>\n
2. Louisville fought hard enough to win<\/p>\n
For long stretches, Louisville played well enough to survive. Miami took a nine-point lead with 8:21 left and given the momentum and the way things were going for Louisville, the game could\u2019ve gotten more out of hand.<\/p>\n
Louisville fought back.<\/p>\n
In the end, the Cardinals shot\u00a048.2% from the field\u00a0and actually outebounded Miami 36\u201333.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They also produced some key bench minutes \u2014 including a burst from Khani Rooths (who finished with 11 points in nine minutes) \u2014 and hung around all afternoon despite the mounting physical toll.<\/p>\n
But in a five-point game, the margins mattered.<\/p>\n
3. Miami won the small statistical battles<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes gained the edge where it mattered most.<\/p>\n
Miami scored\u00a044 points in the paint to Louisville\u2019s 38\u00a0and generated\u00a017 points off turnovers to Louisville\u2019s 12.<\/p>\n
Those are the kinds of quiet differences that often decide neutral-floor tournament games.<\/p>\n
Miami also lived at the foul line late, attempting\u00a029 free throws to Louisville\u2019s 17, and outscoring the Cardinals 19-13 from the stripe.<\/p>\n
4. Louisville never found its three-point rhythm<\/p>\n
The Cardinals\u2019 offense has leaned heavily on perimeter shooting all season.<\/p>\n
Thursday, the shots never really came.<\/p>\n
Louisville finished just\u00a06 of 24 from three-point range (25%), including\u00a03 of 16 in the second half.<\/p>\n
Ryan Conwell led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds, but needed\u00a020 shots\u00a0to get there, and went\u00a01-for-10 from beyond the arc.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes that\u2019s fatigue. Sometimes it\u2019s the opponent. On Thursday it was both.<\/p>\n
5. A little rest might be exactly what Louisville needs<\/p>\n
There was disappointment in the result, no question.<\/p>\n
But after two physically punishing days \u2014 and with multiple players leaving the floor for treatment \u2014 Louisville might also benefit from the sudden break. Conwell, McKneely, Hadley and Adrian Wooley all played 30 or more minutes in consecutive games.<\/p>\n
March basketball rewards teams that arrive healthy.<\/p>\n
Right now, that might be Louisville\u2019s most important recovery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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