LOUISVILLE — There were 5 minutes and 26 seconds Saturday that belonged to Western Kentucky.
The Hilltoppers outscored No. 19 Louisville 19-8 from the beginning of the second half to the 14:32 mark. Trailing 34-16 at halftime, WKU got stops, got out in transition and put the ball in the basket to trim the margin to 42-35.
But the Toppers couldn’t sustain that momentum against coach Rick Pitino’s U of L squad.
After smothering WKU in the first half, the Cardinals eventually pulled away in the second and cruised to a 78-56 home victory against the Hilltoppers.