Two thoughts crossed Steve Forbes’ mind when the Wake Forest basketball coach learned that Louisville was hiring Pat Kelsey.
That makes sense. That program will get woken up really quick.
“Louisville needed some hope; they needed a spark,” Forbes said Monday, during a conference call with reporters. “He’s all that and more.”
A day later, after Forbes said all those nice things, his Demon Deacons (15-6, 7-3 ACC) felt the wrath of Kelsey’s revival in front of a rambunctious crowd of 14,533 at the KFC Yum! Center. The energy was, as he predicted, “off the charts.”
The No. 22 Cardinals (16-5, 9-1) led for all but 2 minutes, 35 seconds and by as many as 29 points en route to their 10th consecutive win, 72-59.
This one got out of hand when Terrence Edwards Jr. found his shot.
After going 0 for 5 during the game’s opening 10:39, the fifth-year wing closed the first half scoring 13 of Louisville’s final 26 points on 5-for-6 shooting. He, Reyne Smith and Aboubacar Traore contributed baskets to a 12-0 run that turned a 14-11 lead at the 12:03 mark of the period into a 26-11 advantage with 8:26 remaining before the break.
Per statistician Kelly Dickey, U of L’s 45-21 halftime edge marked the first time since the 2003-04 season that it has been up by 20 or more points at the intermission in consecutive conference games.
The closest Wake Forest got from there was 13 points with 32 seconds on the clock.
Edwards finished with a game-high 18 points, followed by Smith with 16. They combined for eight of the Cards’ 11 made 3s.
Chucky Hepburn rounded out the team’s double-digit scorers with 14 points and accounted for eight of its 17 assists on 23 made field goals — making this the 10th game in a row he’s had seven or more.
U of L also scored 17 points off 15 forced turnovers.
Louisville hits the road for its next game: a 3:45 p.m. tipoff Saturday at Georgia Tech. If it emerges from McCamish Pavilion victorious, it will be on its longest winning streak since an 11-0 start to the 2014-15 season.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals win 10th game in row
