If Louisville basketball is to walk out of Rupp Arena a winner over archrival Kentucky on Saturday, the Cardinals (6-4) must play with poise.
UTEP (6-3), on paper, looked like an opponent capable of putting that to the test Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center. And the Miners did.
Trailing 43-36 with 17:26 to play in regulation, U of L rallied for a 77-74 victory that snapped a three-game losing streak. Terrence Edwards Jr. led the comeback by scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points during the second half.
A win’s a win, but this was a little too close for comfort — and won’t inspire much confidence in head coach Pat Kelsey’s short-handed team entering this weekend’s showdown with the No. 5 Wildcats.
Kelsey certainly wasn’t overlooking UTEP, though. Not with the Miners boasting Division I’s most opportunistic defense — forcing turnovers on 28.3% of opponents’ possessions with 12.1 steals per game.
“They like to wreak havoc,” Kelsey told Cardinal Sports Network play-by-play announcer Paul Rogers during his radio show Monday night. “They pressure; they deny; they trap; they hard hedge; they switch. They are a very, very unique defense and a unique team that we have to be ready for.”
Louisville got a heavy dose of that early, committing eight first-half turnovers leading to as many points for UTEP. It also went 0 for 9 from the field with only seven points coming via the free-throw line during the final 7:18 before the intermission. When play resumed, it went 1 for its first 6.
Then, Edwards got going — scoring five points of a 7-0 run for the Cards that tied the game at 43 at the 15:38 mark of the second half. A handful of lead changes later, he accounted for five points of a 9-0 run that gave U of L its largest advantage of the night, 63-55, with 7:38 remaining.
In their first matchup against a high-major opponent this season, the Miners did not go down quietly. This was a two-point game, 72-70, entering the final 1:53 of regulation.
Here’s a difference-maker: Louisville had 34 shots at the charity stripe (making 25); while UTEP had only 11 (making seven).
J’Vonne Hadley, Chucky Hepburn and James Scott joined Edwards in double digits with 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively. Hadley pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, followed by Scott with 11.
U of L and UK tip off at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
