The ACC suffered another notable nonconference defeat early in the college basketball season Friday, when Louisville lost 80-72 at home to Furman in overtime. The Cardinals were only 9-point favorites and were playing without coach Chris Mack, who is suspended for the season's first six games, but the defeat at the hands of a Southern Conference foe was still a surprise.
The loss snaps a 59-game winning streak for Louisville in November home games, a streak that dated back 29 years. Mike Bothwell led the visiting Paladins with 30 points as they clawed back from a 5-point deficit with under three minutes to play in regulation. Noah Locke, a Florida transfer, led Louisville with 20 points, but he took 19 shots from the field as the Cardinals shot just 36% from the floor. Louisville made just 7-of-29 attempts from 3-point range (24.1%) in the loss while Furman hit 12-of-28 (42.9%).
The Cardinals were coached by assistant Mike Pegues as Mack serves a suspension following the university's finding that he "failed to follow university guidelines, policies, and procedures" in connection with former assistant Dino Gaudio's extortion attempt.
The Cardinals were picked by media to finish sixth in the ACC this season after they finished 13-7 (8-5 ACC) last season and narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. They are now 1-1 and in the company of three other ACC schools with embarrassing losses. In addition to No. 25 Virginia's loss to Navy on Tuesday, Georgia Tech fell against Miami (Ohio) of the MAC on Tuesday, while Pittsburgh lost 78-63 at home against The Citadel, which is in the SoCon with Furman.
DINS WIN! pic.twitter.com/OBJL6R2X6W
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanHoops) November 13, 2021
