This was salting Carthage. This was sacking Rome. This was the Mongols sweeping down the plains and terrifying all the other teams nations in the land. Okay, the ACC. But still.
That’s how good Louisville was in Monday night’s win which could be summed up in two words:
He’s baaaaack.
Mikel Brown, who had not shot well at all since coming back from his back injury, had one of the great scoring nights in ACC history, racking up 45 while hitting 10-16/14-23 while leading Louisville to a 118-77 win. For the mathematically challenged, that’s a 41 point butt whooping.
At one point, we think he hit seven straight threes. And those shots were gorgeous. They barely rippled the rim. He was so good that Ryan Conwell hit for 31, shooting 5-6/10-14 – and was utterly overshadowed.
That guy had a great game too! But no one will care because of how Brown got down. Steph Curry will hear about this one and be curious too. It was a phenomenal performance and achieved Louisville’s main goal tonight, which was to win this game and re-enter the national conversation. They did that and then some.
If there is any criticism of Louisville, it’s a lack of offensive balance. Two guys hitting 76 points is not healthy…but who cares? Those two guys nearly beat State by themselves.
The Cards laid an all-time beatdown on NC State and no one is going to give it back.
NC State only had 10 turnovers but it seemed like a lot more. In the first half the Pack only had one offensive rebound, which didn’t help either. They finished with just 6 offensive and 22 defensive.
And while Louisville shot 60% on both threes and overall, State shot just 18% on threes and 41% overall.
What it really comes down to is this: Louisville scored 54 points from behind the line to 12 from State. That’s a 42 point advantage which is just one more point than Louisville’s final lead.
Just an amazing performance by the Cardinals. And by the way, Brown set an ACC freshman single-game scoring record.
It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the first time that State has been nuked from behind the line: Texas guard Jordan Pope scored 28 and hit 7-13 of his threes. Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall and Kevin Overton combined to hit 12-16 of theirs. Melvin Council racked up 36 and hit 9-15. Virginia hit 13-33. And now Louisville hit 18-30 for 60%, including Brown and Conwell combing for 15-22.
Expect it to be even more of a focus for practice this week for Will Wade and the Wolfpack. By the way, you’ve probably caught on that one of the most entertaining things in the ACC this year is Will Wade after a bad loss. Make sure to check this link.
Tuesday night should be fun: Notre Dame visits SMU, Virginia takes on a resurgent Florida State and UNC goes to Miami for what could be the best game of the night.
Tuesday’s ACC Action
- UNC at Miami || 7:00 || ESPN
- Virginia at Florida State || 7:00 || ESPNU
- Notre Dame at SMU || 7:00 || ACCN
- Duke at Pitt || 9:00 || ESPN
- Will Wade: “We Got Slaughtered” – NC State Coach Owns Embarrassing Loss at Louisville
- Brown’s historic performance highlights Cardinal blowout of NC State
- Louisville Drops the Hammer on NC State to Win Fourth-Straight
- Brown’s career-high 45 points power Cards to win over N.C. State
- NC State Has No Answers in Blowout Loss to Louisville
- Louisville routs NC State as Mikel Brown Jr. erupts for historic night
- Lenovo Center to Upgrade Lower Bowl Ahead of 2026-2027 NC State Men’s Basketball Season
- Louisville’s Brown scores 45 points. NC State basketball’s winning streak ends
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