History in the Ville

On Monday night in Louisville KY, history was made. 

The No. 24 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team took down NC State 118-77 in a near perfect game. This is Louisville’s highest point total since 1995.

In a packed white out game, freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr had himself a night. Brown knocked down 10 three pointers and totaled up 45 points with ease. 

With this performance, Brown shattered multiple records including the most points in a single game in the ACC by a freshman breaking Cooper Flagg’s 42 points at Duke last season.

Brown also tied Louisville legend Wes Unseld’s single game scoring record with his 1967 game against Georgetown College.

Senior Ryan Conwell also contributed to this historic night by scoring 31 points, Conwell and Brown became the first Louisville players to score 30 plus points in the same game.

In a game that was projected to be a lot closer, Louisville widely exceeded expectations. After a few disappointing losses and injuries, fans were starting to worry but this win felt different and it may just be the turning point into something very special.

As a journalist, I try to leave my opinion out of my articles as much as I can unless I’m doing an opinion piece. However, I feel the need to share a few things.

As a senior student at the University of Louisville, I’ve rarely missed a game in my past four years despite our record. Even when the program was struggling, I sat in the same seat every game decked out in Cards gear cheering, rolling my eyes at questionable calls, and locked in every second because I always believed in our teams. 

However, this past year and half has been special to witness and Monday night added to that feeling. Besides the game itself, leaving the arena was the best part as CARDS cheers echoed through the concourse and highfives were exchanged with strangers.

 It was a night of joy and pride mixed with watery eyes as the city got to witness something very special.