Louisville puts on an absolute CLINIC on how to lose a basketball game

“Who needs basketball when you can kill yourself instead?” – /u/a_truther

If you’re a Louisville fan that watched the game versus Virginia, truer words have never been spoken. Let’s take a deeper dive (off a cliff, if you’re a Cardinals fan) to examine what went so, so, so wrong for Louisville and what went so, so, so hilariously luckily right for the Cavaliers.

  • Louisville led by 13 with only 12+ mins left in the 2nd half – The Cards led by 6 at HT and opened up that lead to double digits for much of the 2nd half. In fact, they were still up by 9 with less that 4 mins left in the game.
  • Virginia led with 18:09 left in the 1st half. They didn’t lead again until the clock read all zeroes and Cardinals fans were throwing up in their mouths.
  • Here was the final play-by-play sequence, after the Cards’ Ray Spalding hit a layup to put Louisville up 2 with 1:09 to play:
    • Offensive foul on the Cavs’ De’Andre Hunter (turnover) (:38)
    • Foul on Virginia’s Kyle Guy (:37)
    • The Cards’ Ryan McMahon, a 91.3% FT shooter, obviously only makes 1 of 2
    • Ray Spalding fouls the Cavs’ Ty Jerome (:30)
    • Jerome, a 90.3% FT shooter, obviously only makes 1 of 2
    • McMahon is fouled again, and again obviously only makes 1 of 2, putting the Cards up 3 (:29)
    • Virginia’s Kyle Guy is blocked by Spalding, gets the rebound, misses a layup, Spalding grabs the rebound and is fouled (:11)
    • Spalding, a 62.6% FT shooter, obviously makes both FTs, putting the Cards up 5 with only :11 to play. Time to party at the KFC Yum! Center! (that’s the real name of their arena, lol). Game over…or is it?
    • Jerome hits a 3 for the Cavs (:07)
    • Darius Perry for the Cards is fouled and hits both FTs. Cards up 4. Game over…or is it??
    • Perry celebrates hitting the FTs by fouling Jerome shooting a 3 with only (:00.9) left. Hurray!
    • Jerome hits 2 FTs to cut it to a 2-pt game
    • But Virginia is called for a lane violation. Game over…or is it???
    • The Cards travel on the in-bounds play to give the ball back to Virginia.
    • Then this happens:

  • The Cavs’ De’Andre Hunter only hit two shots all game. One was the miracle game winner from 3. Send them home crying, De’Andre!

And that’s the story of how the entire city of Louisville all died on the same night. #Tragic The Cards had a chance for a signature win and all but guarantee themselves a spot in the Dance. But why guarantee yourself a spot in the Dance when you could lose in heartbreaking fashion and make things more difficult on yourself? To quote the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt:

Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.

Teddy R: big time Louisville fan.

PS- dat win probability chart tho. O.O