Louisville was in position to pull off a huge upset against Duke on Tuesday night before blowing a 23-point lead, and head coach Chris Mack is asking fans to stick with the team in the wake of the disastrous collapse.
The Cardinals, who are currently ranked 16th in the nation, were completely in control late in the second half before Mike Krzyzewski’s team came storming back to win 71-69. Mack told reporters after the game that he was “stunned” by the result, and he later took to Twitter to address the brutal loss.
Tough night. Love this group. We will get better. Stay with us #CardNation.
— Chris Mack (@CoachChrisMack) February 13, 2019
Mack’s first season at Louisville has had some ups and downs, which was to be expected after the team moved on from Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. The Cardinals have played four straight games against ranked opponents and lost three of them. While we already saw a glimpse of Mack’s temper during that stretch, few losses in his career will sting more than Tuesday night’s.
Louisville is now 5th in the ACC with an overall record of 17-8 and a conference record of 8-3, and two of those losses came against Duke and UNC. They’re still in solid shape going forward, but the way they bounce back after such a deflating loss will say a lot about what the team is made of.
