Louisville Basketball: Cardinals survive upset minded UC Irvine

With so many upsets this tournament, the ending of this game just looked like the Cardinals were going home early. However, fate would have it that a UC Irvine would occur on the final possession, giving Louisville the remaining seconds to run the other way, signifying there would be no upset in the round of 64 for the boys in red.

The Anteaters gave the Cardinals everything they could handle, on the offensive and defensive end. UCI shot an astounding 46 percent from the floor, despite the prestige of the Louisville defense. The two main guys leading the offensive front for the Anteaters were Will Davis II (14 points, 9 rebounds) and seven foot six center Mamadou Ndiaye (12 points, 5 rebounds).

On the other end, UC Irvine allowed a not so great UofL offense to shoot 41 percent, and allowed the Cards to find nine offensive boards.

The front runner for the Cardinals assault was senior Wayne Blackshear, as the guard totaled 19 points (game high), and seven rebounds (team high). Despite the potential of it being Montrezl Harrell’s final game, the forward didn’t have that great of an outing, only attaining eight points and four rebounds. Of course, that could also result from having a seven foot six guy roaming around down in the post.

Despite the Anteaters bringing everything they have, their tourney appearance was short lived, and their season has come to a close. Now the Cardinals will move on to face Missouri Valley’s Northern Iowa, who will also have an upset on their mind. (If you would even call it an upset) The boys in red will gear up for that outing to fight for a trip to the sweet 16 on Sunday.