Given that Sunday evening’s upcoming halftime show, bookended by two halves of football, shall take place nearby, any number of hundreds of lead-in shows have come from Alcatraz. Scenic, I suppose. ACC Country is a continent away from the iconic prison, but make no mistake, U of L’s 88-80 victory over Wake Forest was an […]
Given that Sunday evening’s upcoming halftime show, bookended by two halves of football, shall take place nearby, any number of hundreds of lead-in shows have come from Alcatraz.
Scenic, I suppose.
ACC Country is a continent away from the iconic prison, but make no mistake, U of L’s 88-80 victory over Wake Forest was an escape.
Of the harrowing variety.
No Burt Lancaster, but what the hell, call the Cardinals the Birdmen of Winston Salem.
Louisville made 27/51 of its FGs. 53%.
Ten of their 25 attempted triples. 40%.
In what evolved as FT shooting contest — Where’s the Elam ending when we really need it? — the Cardinals drained 24/31. 77%.
And yet . . . and yet . . . against a Demon Deacon squad that had, coming in, lost 4 in a row, 6 of 7, 8 of 10, U of L’s once 15 point advantage (which should have been greater frankly) had totally evaporated with 4:44 left.
80-80.
Why? Because as acceptable as the Cards were with the rock, the defense they trotted out Saturday afternoon for the vast majority of the tilt was, shall we be kind and simply say, Less Than Tenacious.
Until it can be posited, crunch time.
When Louisville ran off the last 8 points from that tie.
While not hitting a field goal for the final 6:38.
Because they canned all but one FT of import through to the conclusion.
While tightening up their defensive intensity just enough and keeping the Deacs off the line. (WF whiffed on its only two attempts down the stretch.)
The home team, which was prior to their late skid draining well over 50% from the field, misfired on their last 11 attempts.
Come to think about it, the escape was akin to an Elam ending, U of L outscoring WF by the requisite 8 after it was knotted at the 4:00 minute mark.
* * * * *
It was also of consequence that the Cards never relinquished the lead which they held onto — by the hair on their chinny chin chin — from a 7-1 start.
Kasean Pryor somehow netted a prayer of a 35 foot triple at the shot clock for a 78-75 margin.
It was HUGE.
Except that Wake ran off five in a row to tie the battle at 78.
FTs were traded for the last even Steven at 80.
* * * * *
Though I understand what Coach Kelsey’s strategy was at the end — put the ball in Kel’s hands, run clock, assume he’s going to make a play — doesn’t mean Smarts and I weren’t yelling at the screen, “Move the fucking ball!!!”
U of L’s escape was from a prison of its own construction.
As the lead dissipated, I told my watchin’ podner, “I got a premonition.”
Thankfully, I was wrong.
But oh those inopportune turnovers.
Oh those ill advised, nay BAD passes.
How many times did Wake tally with just seconds left on the shot clock?
And how many of Wake’s 8 treys were uncontested?
* * * * *
Brown offset his four giveaways with 8 dimes.
Sananda Fru led the Cardinals with 17 points.
K9 went for 13 and 4.
Adrian Wooley toughed his way for five rebounds.
Isaac McKneely was 4/5 from the field.
Playing with a bad back, J’Vonne Hadley yet again proved his indispensability. While donning a back brace during his pine time.
Again, the final: 88-80.
Next: NC State.
— c d kaplan
Category: General Sports
