After the Buzzer: Boston College

Quick Hitters:

-He’s heating up…he’s on fire! Jordan Nwora was playing NBA Jam against Boston College on Wednesday night with Danny Ainge getting an up-close look at the action. The ball was on fire and the net was burning up. You already know the stats. He had 37 points and was 7/14 from three. In the first half, he had 21 and the rest of the UofL team had 24 combined. The only forced shots were at the end when he was going for 40. No complaints from me there.

-Before Nwora took over, it was Darius Perry keeping the Cards in the game. Boston College couldn’t miss, and Perry answered a couple of their threes with threes of his own to keep them from getting too much momentum.

-I still have no idea what Darius Perry to expect. In the last three games, he is playing 26.3 minutes and has averages of 12.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.3 turnovers per game and is shooting 48.2% from the field. In the three games before that, those numbers are 14.6 minutes, 2.3 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers per game while shooting 22.2% from the field.

-Boston College came into the game shooting 29.8% from three. They made their first three attempts but finished only 7/22 from behind the arc for 31.8%. Quick math will tell you that after those first three, they only shot 4/19 the rest of the way.

-David Johnson had his moments. He looked great and he looked like a freshman. He once again stuffed the stat sheet with six points, eight rebounds, and six assists. But he also had four turnovers, his second most of the season. His two at the end of the first half did not look good. But again, you take the good with the bad with him. He made some incredible passes in this game and of those eight rebounds, five were offensive.

-Fresh Kimble struggled in this one, but I still think the Cards will need him in some big games in February and March. I’m nowhere close to being done with him.

-Ryan McMahon has handled his role change about as well as anyone could. He just makes the most of his limited minutes now. With the game still in reach and the Cards only leading by nine, McMahon drove the lane and found Samuell Williamson in the corner for an open three. On the next possession, McMahon buried a three of his own in transition. Just like that, the lead was 15 and the game was all but over. And you will always see him up and cheering his teammates on from the bench. He stays engaged. You have to appreciate that.

-ACC Network commentator analysis: The play-by-play guy kept saying “foul” and it sounded like “fall”. And the color commentator said that BC was playing pretty good defense. At that point, it was still the first half and Louisville had 40.

-Next up for the Cards is a road game at NC State on Saturday. The Wolfpack are 5-5 in the ACC and coming off of two straight losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina, which kind of makes me nervous. Are they about to fold or come out fighting for their lives?

-As always, thanks for reading. And Go Cards!

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