Louisville-Syracuse Recap: Cardinals 78, No. 1 Orange 68

Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Kyle Kuric had a career-high 22 points, as Louisville closed out Freedom Hall in style, knocking off top-ranked Syracuse, 78-68, in front of a raucous crowd.

Playing in its 54th and final season at the facility, Louisville (20-11, 11-7 Big East) got its fourth win ever against a No. 1-ranked team and bolstered its resume for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cardinals will move into a new 22,000-seat arena in downtown Louisville next season, but notched one last Freedom Hall win Saturday thanks to an unlikely source, Kuric.

The sophomore guard was averaging 3.5 points in a little more than 13 minutes per contest, but keyed the Louisville victory in the second half, when he scored all of his points. Kuric shot 9-of-11, including 4-of-6 from three- point range, and threw down several emphatic dunks down the stretch to punctuate the victory.

“I have an understanding, but I don’t think I can completely grasp how meaningful it was to everybody in the stands, the last game at Freedom Hall,” Kuric said.

Samardo Samuels added 12 points and nine rebounds for Louisville, which swept the season series with Syracuse.

Scoop Jardine had 20 points and six assists to pace the Orange (28-3, 15-3), who hadn’t lost on the road all season before Saturday. Wesley Johnson added 18 points and Arinze Onuaku had 14 for Syracuse.

“We did a pretty good job of forcing them into tough shots and did a pretty good job inside, but we gave them too many second opportunities,” said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim.

The Orange achieved their biggest lead with 1:17 left in the first half, when a Jardine layup put them up by eight. But Edgar Sosa closed the period with a three-pointer to get Louisville within 35-30 at the break, and he opened the second half with another make from beyond the arc.

It continued to be close as the teams traded the lead, and Kuric entered with just over 16 minutes to play, as senior guard Jerry Smith was sitting with an injury.

Kuric got his first points on a dunk shortly after entering, and after a Samuels jumper, Kuric converted a steal into a layup to put Louisville ahead 45-42 with 13:36 to play. The Cardinals never trailed again, gradually stretching out their lead.

With just over eight minutes left, Kuric drained a three, and after Jardine quickly answered with a trey of his own, Kuric connected again from beyond the arc for a 63-54 lead with 7:46 left.

After Syracuse had drawn within five a few minutes later, Kuric drained another three for a 67-59 lead. Onuaku’s layup at the other end had the Orange within two possessions, but Jared Swopshire deposited a layup before Kuric threw down a fastbreak dunk, making it a 71-61 game with 3:49 left.

Syracuse never recovered, and the home crowd grew louder and louder with each Kuric slam. His last came with 44 seconds left, pushing Louisville’s lead to 77-64 and putting an exclamation point on the win.

Louisville’s last win against a top-ranked team came last January against Pittsburgh. All the Cardinals’ wins against No. 1 teams have come at home...The Cardinals ended with an all-time record of 682-141 at Freedom Hall...Sosa finished with nine points and 10 assists, while Swopshire scored 10 points for the Cardinals...Rick Jackson ended with 10 points and 10 boards for the Orange...Members of the Cardinals’ 1980 and 1986 NCAA Championship teams and all former Louisville All-Americas were honored at halftime...The crowd of 20,135 set a Freedom Hall record.