CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WDRB) – Two years ago, I watched the Louisville men’s basketball team play an ACC Tournament game against a team without its leading scorer. The Cardinals played like they just wanted to get out of there.

My column after the game described the effort like this: “No defense. No connectivity. No grit. No chance.”

It is remarkable that two years later, Louisville would again show up at the ACC Tournament – this time in the championship game, against another team missing its best player, but this time against Duke, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

And the very phrases that come to mind after watching Louisville’s 73-62 loss to Duke in its first-ever appearance in the ACC Tournament championship game are these — hard-nosed defense, consummate connectivity, and Grade A grit. The Cardinals did not, however, give themselves much of a chance in the end.

Duke (31-3) was too good. Too crisp. Too sharp from three-point range. Too strong and physical defensively. For 28 minutes, Louisville (27-7) played stride-for-stride with the Blue Devils. Then things started to unravel. And Louisville wore down.

The Cardinals made some threes in the first half and were solid defensively. After an evenly played half, a short spurt at the end of the period left Louisville up 38-33 at the break.

Pat Kelsey instructs his team in the huddle during the second half of Louisville’s ACC Tournament championship loss to Duke.

ERIC CRAWFORD

Louisville still led 47-45 after six minutes of the second half, but Duke went on a 10-0 run, and 13-2 overall, to take a 60-49 lead, and the Cardinals were struggling to answer.

The Cards made just five of their first 21 second-half shots and wound up shooting just 24 percent for the half.

The difference was Khaman Maluach, a 7-2, 250-pound freshman from South Sudan, who at the top of Duke’s defense kept Louisville from generating much offensive movement. He was brilliant, blitzing ballhandlers, then dropping back to defend in the lane and get to shot-blocking position.

His second-half defensive activity clearly bothered the Cardinals, altering shots in the lane that Louisville has generally made.

Defensively, the Cardinals weren’t faring much better. Duke found open looks from three-point range and made 5 of its first 8 to open the half — and began to get to the line.

Louisville looked frustrated, though not flustered, but still was in the game. With 7:26 to play, Duke’s lead was just 10. And after a Terrence Edwards three with 5:26 left, Duke’s lead was only nine, and Kelsey called timeout to allow his team to catch a breather.

Terrence Edwards Jr. reacts to a second half three in Louisville’s ACC Tournament championship game loss to Duke.

ERIC CRAWFORD

But there was no final push. Even without ACC player of the year Cooper Flagg and key contributor Maliq Brown, both out with injuries, Duke had more than enough to capture its 23rd ACC Tournament title.

Edwards made himself some money. He was the game’s high scorer with 29 points and pulled down six rebounds. Hepburn finished with 14 points but went just 5 of 16 from the field, 1 of 8 from three-point range. Duke did a superior job of running two defenders at Hepburn and simply wore him down.

They were the only Cardinals in double-figures. Duke was led by Tyrese Proctor, who played in the same basketball academy as injured Louisville guard Reyne Smith in Australia, with 19 points. Kon Knueppel added 17 points.

Louisville did not play like a team that was in a hurry to end matters this time around in the ACC Tournament. But they could be forgiven if they’re eager to get to the next thing – because two short years later, and less than one year after Pat Kelsey arrived as coach and this group of Cardinals signed on to play for the program – Louisville will get home in the early hours of Selection Sunday and await their NCAA Tournament seed for a return to March Madness.

These conference championship games are funny. They seem so big when you win them. They seem, of course, deflating when you lose them. But either way, they cease to be the big story once the brackets come out.

The big story is still to come.

Saturday’s loss ended Louisville’s 11 game winning streak, but the run began a new era of hope for Louisville’s program.

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