Okorafor Debuts as Cards Drop Road Contest at Notre Dame

Saturday, January 28

South Bend, Ind.

12 p.m.

University of Louisville

2-19,0-10ACC

Notre Dame

10-12,2-9ACC

Louisville

Notre Dame

Okorafor Debuts as Cards Drop Road Contest at Notre Dame

January 28, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO: Kenny Payne/Mike James Press Conference

By: Zach Greenwell

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Louisville men's basketball fell into an early hole Saturday at Notre Dame and couldn't fully recover on its way to a 76-62 road loss.

The Cardinals (2-19, 0-10 ACC) eventually trailed by 30 with 17:12 to play, then pulled back within 14 on multiple occasions, but the Fighting Irish were able to keep them at bay.

"Notre Dame did a good job of being what they are, a good offensive team," UofL head coach Kenny Payne said. "They put us on our heels, they moved the ball – all the things that I tried to explain and the staff tried to explain would happen if we weren't disruptive defensively. We played with a lack of energy, which is disappointing. We played with a lack of pride for what Louisville is, very upset about that. I want more."

Louisville led 9-7 early after a basket by junior forward JJ Traynor, but Notre Dame (10-12, 2-9) went on a 13-0 run with three 3-pointers to open a 20-9 advantage at the 13:18 mark.

JJ Starling scored the final six points of the half for the Irish, including a steal and dunk just before the buzzer to make it 46-24 at the break.

Notre Dame had another 8-0 run early in the second half, but redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James started Louisville's comeback effort with a 3.

The UofL run reached 14-0 after a steal and dunk by James and another shot by the freshman in the lane.

The Fighting Irish halted the spurt with a pair of free throws, and the Cardinals never came any closer.

Notre Dame made 10 3-pointers in the game and turned it over just three times compared to 12 by Louisville, which became a 16-4 advantage for the Fighting Irish off turnovers. Starling paced Notre Dame with 22 points and six rebounds.

"Our energy, including myself, on the defensive end wasn't good enough," James said. "We made some mistakes, and a lot of effort plays that we didn't make. We weren't running them off the line. Obviously they're a good shooting team, and they got a lot of good looks and made them. We didn't pressure the ball enough. In the first half, they had zero turnovers, so that meant we didn't have enough defensive pressure on them and were just letting them run offense."

James had 14 points to lead Louisville, which also got 10 points from redshirt junior forward Jae'Lyn Withers.

A bright spot of the day came in the debut of freshman forward/center Emmanuel Okorafor, who joined the team just last week from NBA Academy Africa. Okorafor finished with eight points, five rebounds and a block in 18 minutes, and also started the second half.

"Loved what he gave us," Payne said. "… Love how he sets the screens and runs to the rim, loved that he caught some passes that weren't great passes and finished. Love the fact that he's vocal. For his first game and a kid a week ago had no idea what plays we were running, for him to come in and help us and play with energy and be a positive out there on the court meant a lot. You could feel his presence right away."

Senior guard El Ellis chipped in eight points and six assists for UofL, and freshman forward Kamari Lands also had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting.

The Cardinals are back home next week for two games, starting against Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will air on Regional Sports Networks.