After the Buzzer: Duke

Quick Hitters

-Anyone else still pumped about that big win on Saturday night? I can’t get enough of the highlights. I’ve watched the game twice and I may have to add another viewing soon. From the start, Louisville was the more aggressive team and just seemed tougher. So many deflections, steals, and runouts early on. It was really hard to believe.

-And I know we were all on the same page here. No matter how big that lead was, not a single one of us felt comfortable. And I don’t think it was a surprise that they came back. It’s Duke. It’s Cameron Indoor. They were going to make their run. Last year’s Louisville team folded at home. THIS year’s Louisville team held on and made plays to win on the road. Huge difference!

-David Johnson…what more can I say? The guy was incredible and paced the Cards through the first half. He got to the rim and scored whenever he wanted. He made great passes and his court vision continues to impress me. A lot of people are wanting him to start. I honestly do not care who starts. To me, it’s more important who plays significant minutes and who closes the game, not who is out there for the jump ball. DJ shows up several times in the film review so there really isn’t much more to say about his performance. It was amazing.

-Check out how the homegrown boys did on Saturday night…

-David Johnson: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 8-12 FG, 2-2 FT.

-Dwayne Sutton: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-6 FG, 7-8 FT.

-Cards were 14-17 from the line for 82.4%.

-From three? 7-14. Awesome.

-Ryan McMahon played 13 minutes and made the most of it. Right when he came in, he made a great pass to a cutting David Johnson for a backdoor dunk. Late in the second half, he hits a huge three on the underneath out of bounds play.

-Jordan Nwora assist/turnover watch for this game: two assists and one turnover. That’s a positive.

-With the game tied up twice late in the second half, Fresh Kimble broke them with huge plays. Both are on the film review, so you will see them. But the first was the driving layup where he finished and got fouled. Just watch the hesitation dribble he uses. The next was the step-back three pointer that I thought had no chance of going in from the camera angle. The guy has made some of the biggest shots of the season at Kentucky and at Duke. Combine that with his defense and leadership and you can see why he was a captain for three years at St. Joe’s.

-Malik Williams was saving all of the juice in his legs for that last play. My goodness! I mean, what more do you want me to say about that? He hits two big free throws and then caps it off with a baptism. That will go down as one of “those” dunks that we always remember. Put it up there with Kuric at ND, Earl over Harangody, and Trezl in the championship game. No, I am not ranking those dunks as the best ever at UofL. They were just a few that came to mind. The pictures of this dunk are great just because of reactions in the background from players and fans.

-Random, but the camera angle from a few rows up needs to be retired. As much as I love a shaking video, just keep it simple.

-I thought Samuell Williamson played well. The stage didn’t look too big for him. I have always been a fan of his rebounding and he grabbed four to go along with his five points in 20 minutes played.

-So many chest fouls.

-Joey Baker…tool.

-Bench points: Louisville 39 – Duke 5.

-Louisville just went on the road for three straight ACC games and won them all. Not only that, they had to show some toughness and fight to win them all, which I think is an even bigger deal. They beat Notre Dame by three, beat Pittsburgh by five in overtime after being down by seven with 2:20 left in regulation, and then hold off the Blue Devils in this one. Nothing came easy. They had to earn each win, and they did that. I, for one, could not be prouder.

-As always, thanks for reading. Let’s build on this and beat Georgia Tech. Go Cards!

Film Review: