Clutch Cardinals

Good morning! Hope your 2025 started off as well as Chucky Hepburn’s. Let’s dive into Wednesday’s news.

1. Louisville stymies UNC down the stretch

Know what’s nice? When you hit free throws.

Chucky Hepburn scored 26 points — including 16-of-20 from the line, and all seven attempts in the final three minutes — as Louisville beat North Carolina 83-70 on Wednesday. The Cardinals (9-5, 2-1 in ACC) closed out the game on a 13-1 run for their third-straight win, and first against a top 50 KenPom team since Nov. 28.

North Carolina had cut the Cardinals’ lead to 1 point, but Hepburn was fouled on a 3-pointer, which sparked a series of open looks and free throws, while UNC (8-6, 1-1) couldn’t muster any consistent play. RJ Davis (12 points) was hounded by Terrence Edwards, and that sapped UNC’s flow. They ended up with just .93 points per possession.

“At the 11 or 12 minute mark, a lot of things were going wrong. We missed two front ends, missed a layup and a wide-open three that didn’t go in. The energy came out of the building a little bit, guys were walking to the huddle, but they responded and rebounded,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. “I thought they were terrific down the stretch. To beat a really good team, you have to close out the game with stops and rebounds and that is what we were able to do.”

Ian Jackson (23 points) was the only consistent scorer for the Heels, who also missed having Drake Powell at the end of the game due to fouling out. Guard Seth Trimble also missed the game due to an injury. He likely would’ve been guarding Hepburn.

It’s a result that’ll help Louisville’s NCAA tourney prospects, especially without any remaining games against Duke or UNC the rest of the season.

Carolina has its two games against Duke, two against Pitt and one vs. Clemson, which means there’s still opportunities to build out a tourney profile.

But there isn’t much room for error, which might raise questions about Hubert Davis’ future.

2. Drake drops from unbeaten ranks

Given the SEC gauntlet that’s about to start, some thought Drake might be the last unbeaten team standing this season. UIC thought otherwise.

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