SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Making the trek to upstate New York for a matchup at Syracuse, the Louisville men’s basketball program’s midseason momentum kept on rolling in authoritative fashion, leaving the JMA Wireless Dome with a 85-61 blowout win on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals (13-5, 6-1 ACC) not only snap a four-game losing streak against the Orange (8-9, 2-4 ACC), but secure their first win at the Dome since Feb. 13, 2017, and also extend their current winning streak to seven in a row. It’s the longest for Louisville since going on a 10-game winning streak from Jan. 7, 2020 to Feb. 8, 2020.

It was a three-and-D night for Louisville. The Cardinals shot a blazing 12-for-28 from deep, on top of 50.0 percent from the field overall, and held the Orange to 40.0 percent shooting as well. This included an 8-of-25 mark on threes by SU, and a 8-of-16 showing on layups.

Louisville’s ball control on offense and their ball pressure on defense stood out as well. They assisted on 17 of their 31 made shots, and forced 14 Syracuse turnovers on the other end for 17 points.

It was their most assists since they had 18 vs. Florida State to start their winning streak, and their most forced turnovers since posting 15 against UTEP on Dec. 11.

Chucky Hepburn was the straw that stirred the drink for the Cards, pouring in 24 points while dishing out seven assists, both of which led the game. J’Vonne Hadley chipped in a 13-point/10-rebound double-double, Terrence Edwards Jr. added 16 points, while James Scott and Reyne Smith both finished with

J.J. Starling, Syracuse’s leading scorer, was held to just four points. In fact, the starting five for the Orange (sans star freshman Donnie Freeman, who missed the game due to injury) scored only 25 points

Louisville struggled to shoot the ball right out of the gates, only connecting on five of their first 16 tries of the game. But they eventually found their stroke, hitting 11 of their last 20 shots of the half, including going a blazing 8-of-16 on three-point attempts in the period.

On the defensive end, they also were a bit streaky to open up the contest. But as the game went on, they settled in and held Syracuse to just 11-of-32 in the first half. In fact, the Orange didn’t score in the final 4:57 of the half, allowing the Cardinals to go on a 12-0 run heading into halftime and lead 43-27 at the break.

Louisville defense lagged a bit in the second half, but their offense certainly didn’t. While Syracuse shot 46.4 percent in the second half compared to 34.4 in the first, the Cardinals shot 57.7 after halftime, leading by as much as 26 points.

Next up, Louisville returns home for their first rematch of the season, and try for the season sweep over Virginia. Tip-off against the Cavaliers is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

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