You didn’t want to say it out loud, but as #12 UVA built a 21-point lead at #6 Louisville, you couldn’t help but think: Elite 8.
And then the Cardinals started to rally, and the Cavs, like you watching at home, seemed to start to panic.
A turnover by London Perrantes. An offensive foul on Darius Thompson after DT beat the press and was called for a charge in the lane.
Two empty UVA possessions, and Louisville took advantage, with a quick 7-0 run over a 1:03 stretch, and that 21-point lead was suddenly 14.
Coach Tony Bennett did what he didn’t do with his veteran squad last March in Chicago, calling a timeout with 7:42 to go to try to settle his young team down.
Not that it worked, at least to spur the offense, which only produced one made field goal in the final 9:03 in what turned out to be a 61-53 win.
But at least things didn’t escalate the way they did in that painful Elite 8 loss to Syracuse last March, in which a run of empty offensive possessions led to defensive breakdowns that fueled that historic Orange comeback.
After the initial 7-0 run over 1:03 Wednesday night, Louisville would only score six points over the next 6:09, so while UVA only scored five points in the final nine minutes, with one field goal, an 18-foot jumper by Kyle Guy with 2:02 to go, the margin never got closer than eight.
Louisville went 4-for-11 from the field in the final 7:46, and was 3-of-5 at the free-throw line, including missing the front end of a 1-and-1.
If your offense is going to go into an extended slump, and there’s no shame in doing so at Louisville, which had come into the game ranked #1 in defensive efficiency by the KenPom.com metric, it helps to be able to rely on your defense to bail you out.
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