This story will be updated.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As quickly as it started, the Louisville men’s basketball alumni team’s third run in The Basketball Tournament is already in the books.
Facing Sideline Cancer in the second round of The Basketball Tournament, The Ville could not pull off a highly improbable comeback after falling into a massive early hole, getting dealt a stunning 73-63 upset loss on Sunday night at Freedom Hall.
It’s the earliest that The Ville has been bounced from the TBT, who are the No. 1 seed in the Louisville Regional. They made it to the Round of 16 in 2023 in what was their TBT debut, then advanced to the quarterfinals last summer. Sideline Cancer, the fourth-seed in the regional, got revenge after getting eliminated by The Ville in last year’s TBT.
Like in their opener against Boston vs. Cancer the day before, The Ville had a very slow start against Sideline Cancer on both ends of the floor. They dug themselves into a nine-point hole just over four minutes into the game, and did not make their first field goal until the 4:13 mark of the first quarter.
Already trailing 23-12 after the first quarter, the shooting discrepancies between the two teams carried into the second period, and blew the game wide open. The Ville finished the first half shooting just 8-of-24 from the field and 8-of-15 at the free throw line, while Sideline Cancer shot 18-of-30 from the floor and a blazing 8-of-12 on threes. Put it all together, and The Ville went into halftime down 47-26, and had trailed by as much as 25.
While cold shooting from The Ville persisted into the third quarter, as they shot just 6-of-19 in this period, they were able to turn up the defensive pressure some. Sideline Cancer still went 6-of-13 in the period, but committed six turnovers. This helped fuel a 10-0 run by the team of former Cards towards the end of the period, trimming their deficit to just 60-44 entering the fourth quarter.
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(Photo of Chane Behanan: Scott Utterback – Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/louisville as The Ville Starts Slow, Upset by Sideline Cancer in TBT’s Second Round.
