The Louisville Cardinals traveled up to Boston to take on the Boston College Eagles on Wednesday night. Despite the Cards returning to the win column, it came with a price. One of Louisville’s star players could miss some time in the future.

All Gas No Brakes

In the words of college basketball legend, Jon Rothstein, Pat Kelsey is all gas, no brakes. The Cards came out swinging in the first half. However, turnovers were an issue with eight of them in the first half. Quite a few players got involved in the scoring front.

J’Vonne Hadley had the half-high for the Cardinals with 10 points and followed it up with three rebounds. Terrence Edwards Jr. added nine points. Followed by Hepburn with eight points and three assists. Traore added six points and four rebounds in eight minutes of the half. The Cardinals would shoot over 50% in the first half and focused on their free-throw woes from last game making 100% (2-2) in the first half.

Louisville would lead Boston College by 10, 41-31 heading into the locker room.

The Good, The Bad, Not Ugly

While Louisville did let the Eagles creep back into the game early in the second half, the Cards eventually went on a run and never looked back. However, during the run, star player Chucky Hepburn got injured and never returned to the game.

With just over 15 minutes left in the half, Chucky Hepburn drives the ball into the lane and makes a tough layup over Boston College defenders. Afterwards, you can see Hepburn visibly in pain holding his groin area. Many suspected him getting hit in the family jewels, but video replay would refute this claim which led many to believe it has something to do with his groin.

After the game, Pat Kelsey would address the media’s question about Hepburn saying “I’m not the medical guy, we’ll know more tomorrow… The medical team told me he wouldn’t be able to return.”

Despite the huge loss with Chucky Hepburn, The Cards would continue to roll starting with 8:37 left in the game Louisville would end the game on a 21-6 run and get out of Boston with an 84-58 win over the Eagles. The Cards would shoot 50% from the field for the game. Free-throw percentage took a dip to 64% on the night going 5-9 in the second half. Turnovers in the second half calmed down with only three totaling 11 for the game. Louisville would also out-rebounded the Eagles 44-32.

Notables

Louisville did have a few guys that scored double-digits on Wednesday, as well as someone who had double-digits in rebounds.

  • J’Vonne Hadley: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, shooting 8-12 from the field, 2-2 from behind the three-point line
  • Terrence Edwards Jr.: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 8-15 from the field, 1-3 from behind the arc
  • Chucky Hepburn: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-10 from the field, 2-4 from behind the three-point line
  • Aboubacar Traore: 9 points, 11 rebounds, 4-4 in field goals in just 15 minutes
  • Khani Rooths: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3-5 from the field, 1-1 from behind the arc

All-in-all a good performance for the Cardinals to close out this two-game road trip that started with a loss to Georgia Tech. We should hear something about Chucky Hepburn later today or possibly tomorrow. Hopefully it’s not something too serious that he can bounce back from and help the Cards down the final stretch before tournament time.

What’s Next?

The Cardinals will finally come home and host the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday at 2 pm est. Saturday will be a special day in the Yum! Center, the 2004 Final Four team will be honored for their 20th anniversary on Saturday. Even though it is a game the Cards should dominate, I recommend every one get a ticket to let our 2004 Final Four team hear the Yum! Center ROAR!