Louisville basketball rides record-setting performances to rout vs SMU, wins 9th in row

Posted by author January 22, 2025 Basketball

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DALLAS — Reyne Smith watched his second 3-pointer touch nothing but net and turned to his Louisville basketball teammates and coaches going crazy on the bench.

Then, a quick smile and shrug from the Australian marksman — as if to say, “That’s all they’ve got?”

In what was billed as a Lone Star State shootout between two of the ACC’s best, the No. 25 Cardinals (15-5, 8-1) were the only ones who brought ammunition to SMU’s Moody Coliseum on Tuesday night. Behind a season-high 50 points during the first half, U of L cruised to its ninth consecutive win, 98-73, in what could be its final Quad 1 opportunity of the campaign.

If that is indeed the case, what a statement Pat Kelsey’s team made.

That Mustangs (14-5, 5-3) offense he described as “very, very, very dangerous” on Monday? The one that entered the week leading the conference in points per game (84.8) and field-goal percentage (48.6%)? It took them until the 13:17 mark of the second half to make their 10th basket.

By that point, though, Louisville had built a 28-point cushion. And it did not let up on the gas.

Where to begin? How about with the Cards tallying assists on their first 17 buckets? That’s a big reason why they shot 42.4% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc during the first half to take a 50-27 lead into the locker room and stretch it to as many as 32 points when play resumed.

Chucky Hepburn set a U of L record for most assists in a game (16), passing a mark set by Francisco Garcia on Jan. 3, 2004, against Murray State. The basket that put him over the hump: James Scott’s first 3 of the season.

That was one of a season-high 19 triples the Cards rained down Tuesday night.

Smith accounted for 10 of them on 17 attempts — passing Taquan Dean’s previous single-game high of nine against VMI on Dec. 23, 2003. He led all scorers with 30 points, two off his career best.

Louisville has a week off before its next game: a 7 p.m. tipoff Jan. 28 against Wake Forest at the KFC Yum! Center.

This story will be updated.

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.