The Louisville Cardinals traveled to Raleigh, NC to take on the NC State Wolfpack. Both teams some great players like UofL’s Damion Lee and NC State’s Anthony “Cat” Barber. They are two of the best players in the ACC but neither of them were fantastic tonight. It was the combination of Quentin Snider and Chinanu Onuaku that eventually propelled the Cardinals to a victory.
This game has become sort of a rivalry in the conference after both teams split their meetings last year. The Cardinals have now won two in a row in the series after tonight’s victory. Here’s what stood out from the Cardinals standpoint.
Quentin Snider needs to not start anymore games
This is not a shot at Snider whatsoever. He was actually the Cardinals leading scorer tonight with a career high 21 points. Snider was hitting three’s from just about everywhere and was the only Cardinal who could truly keep up with Barber. Lewis and Mitchell didn’t have their best games but with Snider coming off the bench it provided the punch the Cardinals needed. Pitino would be wise to try to get that from Snider on a nightly basis by bringing him off the bench.
Freshman impact
Raymond Spalding has been up and down all year, but he has shown tremendous upside. He played very well tonight scoring 12 points off the bench. NC State couldn’t really match his length in the paint or his quickness. Deng Adel provided some solid minutes off the bench for four points and a block. He’s still rehabbing from an injury but you could feel his immense defensive pressure was still there.
Starter Donovan Mitchell provided three points, four rebounds, and two assists. He didn’t have as great of a game as he did against Wake Forest but he still had a great impact on the floor. Mitchell even had a no look alley-oop pass to Ray Spalding. These freshmen are getting better and better.
NC State almost came back
There was a time when Louisville was up by 16 with 3:38 left until the Wolfpack came within three points with only 16.8 seconds remaining. Caleb Martin hit two key three’s and Rowan had a four point play. Damion Lee then missed two key free throws despite being one of the best free throw shooters in the country. The ending call of the game was when the ball “went off” UofL with 7.5 seconds left until the refs replayed the call and ended up giving Louisville the ball back to eventually win the game.
This was the Cardinals first away victory of the season and it was much needed. The Wolfpack clawed back at the end to make it respectable but it was just too much and too late. Both team’s look like tournament teams but the Bearcats have a tough challenge on Saturday. This was a must win for the Cardinals and Snider lead Louisville to victory.
Louisville (13-2, 2-0) Next at Clemson Saturday
NC State (10-5, 0-2) Next at Wake Forest Saturday