Chucky Hepburn posted his first career double-double to lead Louisville to its biggest victory in years on Wednesday as it demolished No. 14 Indiana 89-61 in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
The senior guard, who transferred from Wisconsin, scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added career highs of 10 assists and seven steals. He was one of four to score in double figures for the Cardinals (4-1).
Despite fielding the smaller lineup, Louisville dominated the Hoosiers (4-1) throughout.
The Cardinals held the Hoosiers to just 31 percent shooting, including 2-for-10 on layups, in the first half. On the other end of the court, they shot 41.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, which allowed the Cardinals’ lead to balloon to 10 points three times in the half.
The second half started nearly the same way.
Louisville used an 11-0 run to take a 48-31 lead just three minutes in and did not take its foot off the pedal. The lead grew to 78-40 with 7:08 remaining as the Cardinals shot 66.7 percent in the half, eschewing 3-pointers to take advantage of open spaces in the lane.
The Cardinals scored their first victory over a ranked team since beating then-No. 19 Virginia Tech at home on Jan. 6, 2021, a winless streak of 16 games. The last win over a ranked team away from Louisville took place on Jan. 18, 2020, at No. 3 Duke.
By getting their fourth win in his fifth game as Louisville’s coach, Pat Kelsey matched Kenny Payne’s win total in his first campaign, 2022-23, when the Cardinals finished 4-28.
Noah Waterman also scored 16 points in the win as he hit 4 of 8 3-pointers. Kasean Pryor added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Reyne Smith finished with 12.
Malik Reneau led the Hoosiers with 21 points. However, Indiana’s two leading scorers struggled. Mackenzie Mgbako had just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting, and Myles Rice made only 1 of 11 from the field to finish with three.
–Field Level Media
