Louisville vs Indiana basketball: Revisiting Cards’ most memorable wins in rivalry series

For the first time since 2017-18, we’re getting back-to-back seasons with cross-state rivals Louisville and Indiana squaring off on the basketball court.

The 22nd installment of the Cardinals vs. the Hoosiers will tip off at noon Wednesday in the opening game of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, an eight-team tournament at Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas. First-year U of L head coach Pat Kelsey will go for win No. 1 against a high-major opponent at the helm; while IU’s Mike Woodson will try to notch his alma mater’s third consecutive victory in a series it leads 12-9 going back to 1921.

The past two times Louisville and Indiana played were missed opportunities for the Cards.

On Nov. 20, 2023, they were up 64-61 entering the final 4:23 of regulation at Madison Square Garden, in the Empire Classic’s third-place game, but allowed the Hoosiers to score 13 unanswered points en route to a 74-66 win. Kelsey’s predecessor, Kenny Payne, went viral afterward for saying Woodson, a former colleague of his on the New York Knicks staff, “tricked” him by using a zone defense to spark IU’s late surge.

On Dec. 8, 2018, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, U of L got what was at that time a career-high 24 points from Jordan Nwora but had a game it controlled until the 8:36 mark of the second half slip away, 68-67. The loss snapped the Cards’ longest stretch of dominance in the series: a four-game winning streak that started in 2003.

As Louisville looks to regain momentum in the series, here’s a look back at five of its most memorable wins against Indiana:

Louisville’s first, and only, win in Bloomington (Nov. 24, 1984)

Louisville forward Billy Thompson (55) in action against the Indiana Hoosiers on Nov. 24, 1984, at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

No. 17 Louisville entered the 1984-85 season opener at No. 4 Indiana with an 0-3 all-time record against the Hoosiers in their home state.

That changed when Hall of Famer Denny Crum’s team, using a 1-3-1 press defense,…

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Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2024-11-24 10:10:00

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