DePaul lost their first conference game of the season on January 3 by the score of 64-53 at St. John's.  In that game they missed 12 free throws. 

Earlier this afternoon, in front of 13,022 fans at the Allstate Arena, DePaul lost their first home game of the season 59-50 to the University.  They missed 9 free throws in this loss. of Louisville Cardinals

It's worth noting once again what a poor team the Blue Demons are when it comes to one of the game's easiest and most fundamental areas; shooting free throws.  DePaul has shot only 64 percent from behind the stripe, making only 180 of 282 free throw attempts this season.  That's second to last in the Big East.  Their 50 percent free throw shooting today (9 of 18) was their lowest percentage of the season.

In addition to the aforementioned 12 botched attempts against St. John's, DePaul has also missed 12 free throws against Villanova, 7 against Chicago, 8 against Rhode Island, and 9 against Wake.  DePaul's inability to hit these very basic shots has cost them two victories this season.  Even worse, both of the losses came against fellow Big East teams. Forest State

The Blue Demons came out fired up to start the game.  They were able to penetrate and create high percentage shots.  Forward Wilson Chandler dunked back a missed Sammy Mejia layup within the first 40 seconds of the game.  Chandler led DePaul with 19 points and ten rebounds.

Chandler's numbers helped offset Sammy Mejia's poor performance.  Mejia tied his season low for points at 4 on 2 of 11 shooting from the field (0 for 4 from three-point range).

Mejia was especially useless in the second half.  Consider this line: 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 2 personal fouls in 18 second half minutes of playing time.  He also missed two free throws with only 4:25 remaining in the game and his team down 6.

The DePaul defense as always was strong.  They held the Cardinals to a field goal percentage of only 30 percent on 10-33 shooting. 

Forward Juan Palacios single-handedly kept Louisville afloat in the first half.  He put up an impressive 15 points on perfect shooting from the floor and scored 10 straight at one point to keep the Cardinals in the game.  The junior went 6 of 6 from the floor (3 for 3 from behind the arc) while the rest of his team went an embarrassing 15 percent from the floor on 4 of 27 shooting.  Palacios' play helped Louisville battle back from a 13-5 deficit early on to a 26-26 tie at the half.  He finished with a game high 21 points.

Senior center Keith Butler came up big down the stretch for DePaul but not big enough.  He finished with 8 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in only 19 minutes of play. 

After a 9-0 run, Louisville took the lead 41-31 with just over 11 minutes left to play.  Butler put DePaul back in the game with two critical offensive rebounds.  His tip-in of a missed Chandler jumper with 9:30 to play was part of an 11-2 DePaul run that kept the Demons within 1 (43-42) with 5:28 remaining in the game. 

But DePaul shot poorly the rest of the way, missing 5 free throws and several easy layups and tips.  During that same stretch, Louisville made 11 free throws and outscored DePaul 17-7 in the final five and a half minutes.

Coach Rick Pitino's Cardinals simply played smarter basketball down the stretch, repeatedly sending DePaul to the line where they were completely incapable of winning the game.  Louisville didn't win it, DePaul lost it.

With the win, the unranked University of Louisville Cardinals improved to 13-6 on the season, their 3-2 conference record good enough to tie them for third in the Big East. 

DePaul dropped to 12-7 and 3-3 in conference.  They're now tied with Seton Hall for fifth in the Big East. 

The Blue Demons head back on the road for a Wednesday night match up with the Georgetown University Hoyas on January 24 in Washington, D.C.