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The KFC Yum! Center erupted when J’Vonne Hadley rose up to tip the ball into the net after Ryan Conwell misfired from 3 as the final seconds of the first half ticked away Tuesday night.
The bucket gave Louisville basketball a 47-38 lead over No. 6 Duke at the break, capping off a joyous opening 20 minutes for Pat Kelsey’s No. 18 Cardinals that featured everything from an Aly Khalifa heat check to Kasean Pryor playing head games with Patrick Ngongba II and Khani Rooths swatting an Isaiah Evans layup attempt into the not-so-cheap seats.
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The only thing left to do? Exorcise the demons from last season’s losses to the Blue Devils, who rallied from behind in both a Dec. 8, 2024, victory at the Yum! Center and the ACC Tournament championship.
"Whether we're in the same situation or not," Hadley told reporters Monday, "we just have to realize that the game is two halves. We have to be able to put two halves together."
That didn’t happen. Duke (14-1, 3-0 ACC) dominated the final 20 minutes en route to its eighth consecutive win over UofL (11-4, 1-2), 84-73, in front of a crowd of 17, 656 — most of which left before the final buzzer sounded.
Louisville managed only 26 points during the second half on 32.3% shooting and a 2-for-17 clip from beyond the arc. To make matters worse, it committed eight of its 14 turnovers leading to 16 points for the visitors after the break.
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Up next for Louisville: a noon tipoff against Boston College on Saturday at the Yum! Center. The Eagles ranked dead last among ACC members in the NET at 190th entering their game Tuesday against N.C. State.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball shows potential but drops ACC home game vs Duke
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