Louisville basketball: 2019-2020 season review and 2020-2021 first-look preview

LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 19: David Johnson #13 of the Louisville Cardinals listens to head coach Chris Mack during a game against the Syracuse Orange at KFC YUM! Center on February 19, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Syracuse 90-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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David Johnson #13 of the Louisville Cardinals (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Memorable Moments

Louisville topples Duke at Cameron

Look, even in a year when Coach K’s squad isn’t as consistent as it normally is, going to Durham and emerging with a win in front of the Crazies is an accomplishment. Louisville did exactly that on January 18, riding 19 points and seven assists from freshman David Johnson to upset then-No. 3 Duke. Even more impressive was the fact that Nwora struggled on the night, scoring only six points on 3-for-12 shooting.

The Cards take down the Wolverines early

Already on top of the college hoops world at the time, Louisville upheld the honor of its conference with a not super pretty but still satisfying 58-43 rout of the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines in early December. It was the first big test for Mack and company and one they passed with flying colors (red and white, naturally) thanks to a double-double by Nwora and a stifling defense that held Michigan to 26 percent shooting as a team.

Florida State finds Louisville wanting … twice

Pick a loss, either loss to FSU. Neither game was close by the end, which isn’t something to be ashamed of considering how good the Seminoles were this season but also doesn’t inspire confidence that the Cardinals could have won the ACC Tournament. It’s interesting to use these contests as signposts of where the two teams were in relation to each other, as the January meeting was an upset with FSU ranked only 18th at the time (Louisville was No. 7), while the ‘Noles entered the rematch as the higher seed. Bonus misery points are awarded for the latter game as the Cardinals blew a double-digit lead and ended up losing by 15.

Louisville falls short in Battle for the Bluegrass OT thriller

It’s never fun to lose to your most heated non-conference rival, so Louisville fans won’t look back fondly on the Dec. 28 78-70 OT defeat to Kentucky. But at least it was a roller coaster ride for neutral observers, with the Cardinals twice fighting back from decent deficits to force overtime, and the Wildcats coolly sealing the deal with eight consecutive points to close it out.