Louisville honors 2013 squad with 83-73 upset of Clemson

Louisville saved its best performance of the season for perhaps the season’s most important night.

On an evening where U of L honored its 2012-13 national championship team, a Cardinal squad that might not win more games than that squad lost found a way to take down one of the ACC’s top teams. The Cards got 28 points from El Ellis and a terrific overall performance from JJ Traynor as they took down Clemson, 83-73, in front of easily the most lively home crowd of the campaign.

As impressive as the dunk above was, it was Traynor’s block in the game’s closing moments that finally let the home crowd exhale a bit. The Bardstown High School product and Louisville legacy finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four swats.

Against one of the better outside shooting teams in the country, U of L held Clemson to just four makes on 24 attempts from beyond the arc. The Cardinals, meanwhile, shot 51.0 percent from the field as a team.

That was the game.

With the win, Louisville improved to 8-0 all-time in home games against Clemson. The loss was especially painful for the Tigers considering that they entered the evening as the last team in the field of 68 according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Yes, it was just one night, but man, it was a hell of a lot of fun.