The good news for the University of Louisville Cardinals is they got to play Notre Dame in their ACC tourney opener.

The Cards notched their 20th W of the campaign against the Irish, as woeful a league foe as U of L has faced since the strange days of the Metro. The 75-53 victory is the largest margin in the history of the series.

The bad news for the University of Louisville Cardinals is they won’t get to play Notre Dame again this season.

The potholed road for post-season success gets significantly more arduous, commencing tonight against North Carolina in the league tourney quarterfinals.

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Other than as a confidence booster, there’s not much to be gleaned about the future from Wednesday evening’s walkover.

The Cardinals took care of biz.

Which, given some recent inexplicably underwhelming efforts, is a good thing.

U of L committed only 6 turnovers, three in each half. The first, an unforced giveaway, didn’t come until the 2:42 mark before halftime, when the Cards lead was 14.

The Cardinals’ FT shooting eyes remain true. They hit 14 of 15 at the line, draining all nine after intermission.

The Cards again thwarted John Mooney. It’s telling how poor Mike Brey’s team is that the bulky F/C is the Irish’s best baller. Mooney’s more like the guy who dominates the Tuesday League at the Y, the guy who played a year at App State as a walk on before dropping out of school, not that good but way better than everybody else.

Mooney hit his and Notre Dame’s first two shots, then missed his next 14, before draining his third FG with 3:51 to go, long after the Irish had started packing  their swim shorts for spring break.

Credit effective U of L D.

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Dwayne Sutton, somewhat off his feed in recent weeks, didn’t grab his first rebound until there was 5:00 left before the break, when he snatched two off the offensive board on the same possession, keeping it alive for an eventual Steven Enoch follow.

Sutton didn’t score until he grabbed another offensive board and slammed it through with 16:06 left in the tilt.

But the Cards’ one and true glue guy finished with 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 points, after he tallied a trey to push the lead to 63-39. Sutton had ZERO turnovers.

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Jordan Nwora scored U of L’s first dozen points. (Oddly the only other starter to score in the 1st was Christen Cunningham with a triple.) Nwora finished with 24. And 9 rebounds.

I realize I’m more than a little inclined to pick on JN’s game. But not for last night’s performance, perhaps his best all around one of this break out season.

The only nit I can think of to pick is a decision he made with the ball during a 3 on 1 fastbreak. He fed Khwan Fore on his right, when Malik Williams, a far better scorer, was wide open for a trey to Nwora’s left. The infinitesimal gravity of that “transgression” is a sign of how well Nwora played.

After that early run, he didn’t force his hand. He was a big part of the Mooney shutdown.

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How much do Cardinal fans love it when Ryan McMahon has one of those blitkriegs that dazzle like an action sequence in “Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse”?

A lot.

Here’s how Wednesday evening’s 2:58 razzle dazzle bada bing went: Treys on consecutive possessions that put the Cards up 52-33. Three FTs when foolishly fouled beyond the arc for a 60-38 advantage. Then the coup de grace, a fallaway bomb with 12:00 left.

Really, a fallaway threeball.

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VJ King and Darius Perry continue to provide helpful minutes.

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Peripherals:

I love love love love love those warmups the Cards were wearing. The black block olde English L on the front. That cool red stripe down the outside of the long sleeve.

I want one.

I hate hate hate hate when the TV production crew feels compelled to show off.

Listen, I do not mind different viewing angles, something apart from the traditional. Those provide new perspective, and add to the enjoyment of the game.

Buuuuuuuuuuuut, a moving camera from an upper corner while there’s action on the court? No!!! Adds nothing to the viewing experience, and is dizzying to the point it might induce nausea.

And, enough already with shots of the benches and coaches and parents in the stands when the game is going on, pleeeeeeeeze.

— Seedy K