Turnovers once again doom Louisville in 75-65 loss at Boston College

It was all going so well.

Louisville led by as many as 12 in the first half — its largest lead over a power conference opponent this season — and was in front more than halfway through the second before the seemingly inevitable happened. The Cardinals refused to take care of the ball and allowed too many open looks from the outside at key moments on their way to a 75-65 loss at Boston College Wednesday night.

Louisville now sits at 2-18 overall, with a pair of nine-game losing streaks bookending its two wins over Western Kentucky and Florida A&M. At 0-9, the Cardinals also remain the only winless team in the ACC.

U of L lost by double figures to arguably the second-worst team in the conference despite shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from three. The difference proved to (once again) be an indefensibly high number of turnovers (19), as well as a 13-point disadvantage at the free-throw line.

El Ellis, who tweaked his ankle midway through the second half, led the Cardinals with 17 points and five assists. Jae’Lyn Withers (16 points, 7 rebounds) and Mike James (15 points) also turned in strong offensive performances.

I really thought there for a while that tonight might be the night. That reasoning was as much about Boston College as it was the way we were playing early on, but whatever. Instead, the nightmare continues.

2-18. 0-9. Unreal.