Louisville backs up No. 1 ranking with defensive dominance vs. Michigan

There won’t be a new number one team in the country next week as the Louisville Cardinals took care of business against the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

At times, it seems like being ranked as the best team in the nation has been more of a curse than a gift this season. The Louisville Cardinals began their stint as the latest No. 1 team with a home game against the blazing hot Michigan Wolverines.

The premier game of Big Ten/ACC Challenge turned out to be a defensive battle. Both teams entered the game in the top 15 of kenpom.com’s defensive rankings.

Louisville was able to completely shut off everything that Michigan attempted to do. They allowed 43 points, held the Wolverines to a ghastly 25.9 percent shooting from the field, and even more importantly kept them cold from the perimeter as they made just three of their 19 3-point attempts.

The Wolverines have eviscerated teams from behind-the-arc to start the year but their hot streak came to an end at the KFC Yum! Center.

Jon Teske was the only player for Michigan to score double-digits (18 points) but it took him 18 shot attempts to tally that amount.

The Cardinals’ length and athleticism allowed them to corral the Wolverines’ pick-and-roll attack and hurry shooters off the 3-point line when closing out. Despite Michigan facing two top-10 teams at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, no previous opponent was able to make Michigan work this hard for points.

Jordan Nwora put up a 22-point and 12-rebound performance to power Louisville’s offense. The returning junior, and third-team All-ACC selection a year ago, has lived up to the preseason hype and looks the part of a future ACC Player of the Year — he’s averaging 21.9 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, and shooting 50.5 percent from the field.

Steven Enoch added 13 points, and in a 15-point win, each was crucial for the Cardinals.

Chris Mack has hit the ground running since coming over from Xavier to replace Rick Pitino.

Next up for Louisville is an ACC game against Pittsburgh, a visit from the defensive-minded Texas Tech Red Raiders at the Jimmy V Classic and they finish off the month with a trip to Big Blue Nation to face in-state rival, Kentucky.

If their defense continues to be at the level they displayed tonight then there’s a very good chance that they could finish off the calendar year undefeated.

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