Louisville earned a huge win over North Carolina in an exciting ACC men’s basketball matchup. The Cardinals took down UNC 83-70 in one of their best performances of the season.

First-year Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey spoke to the media after his team’s win, expressing pride in the Cardinals’ performance and how they executed on both ends of the floor.

“I’m proud of our guys, it was a heck of a win,” Kelsey said. “Obviously, Carolina is extremely talented. They are as good of a downhill, transition-attacking team as there is in America, maybe the best … It was probably our best defensive effort of the year.”

Louisville’s defensive effort led to UNC shooting 25.0% from the 3-point line and going 24/60 (40.0%) from the field. The Tar Heels only hit one three as a team in the second half. UNC superstar RJ Davis has averaged 18.8 points this season, but he only scored 12 on 4/16 shooting against the Cardinals’ defense.

Louisville senior Chucky Hepburn dominated the Tar Heels

Cardinals senior Chucky Hepburn, who leads his team in scoring this season, dominated against a talented Tar Heels squad littered with future NBA prospects and first-round picks. Hepburn finished the game with 26 points and seven assists on 16/20 shooting from the free throw line.

Despite Hepburn’s heroic efforts, the star guard focused more on his team’s win than his individual performance. Hepburn talked about how much the victory meant to the Cardinals and their fans.

“It is huge for our program,” Hepburn said in his postgame presser. “We are taking strides forward every time we step on the floor. It means a lot to us, to the fans, to the city of Louisville that we come out and beat a top-notch program like that. They have a really good team and really good players.”

Louisville is knocking on the door of ACC contention, but Duke still leads the pack. The Cardinals already played Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils tough this season. They will need to keep performing well in conference play to have a shot at their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2019.