UNC vs. Louisville: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

Another Top Five men's college basketball team went down Monday night as the No. 19 Louisville Cardinals defeated the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels, 71-65, at the KFC Yum! Center.

ESPN College Basketball shared a graphic that summed up the night for Louisville:

"

Down go the Tar Heels! Louisville spoils UNC's 12-game win streak. pic.twitter.com/NcM296W5Ix

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 2, 2016"

Although the Cardinals were at home and favored in the game, per Odds Shark, it was another feather in the cap for head coach Rick Pitino, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Damion Lee was one of three Cardinals in double figures, notching 24 points and five rebounds. Chinanu Onuaku had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Donovan Mitchell chipped in with 10 points and five boards. Lee connected on eight of 12 shots, including four of seven from three-point range, and wasn't afraid to drive to the rim, either, per ESPN College Basketball:

"

Damion Lee gets swarmed by all 5 UNC jerseys and STILL gets the basket. Unreal. https://t.co/1FqppcSHvn

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 2, 2016"

He wasn't afraid to do anything else, either, per ESPN College Basketball:

"

Damion Lee hit 67% from the field.  https://t.co/djkcwHFeF0

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 2, 2016"

ESPN announcer Dick Vitale remarked on the strong bounce-back game for the Cardinals after a 16-point home loss to the then-No. 11 Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday:

North Carolina kept the game close for most of the night, only trailing by one at the half. However, a basket by Mitchell gave Louisville a 41-40 lead with 15:57 remaining in the game, and the Tar Heels never regained the lead.

They cut the deficit to two with 35 seconds left, but the Cardinals went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line to ice the game. Brice Johnson scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for North Carolina, and Justin Jackson added 16 points.

While Lee scored more than one-third of the Cardinals' points, it was clear Louisville was more successful when multiple players touched the ball on a possession, per ESPN Stats & Info:

The senior Lee, who was averaging 16.7 points per game heading into the contest, punctuated the victory, per Louisville Athletics:

Although this would have been a great win for the 19-3 Tar Heels, a road loss to a ranked team is not going to hurt in the long run. The game meant more for Louisville, which had dropped to a No. 5 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest ESPN Bracketology.

The Cardinals avoided a second straight home loss and earned their third top-50 RPI win. Louisville is safely in the NCAA tournament picture, and if it ends up with a high seed, this game will be a huge reason why.

Postgame Reaction

As noted, this was a signature win for Louisville, per Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com:

Lee was the obvious player of the game, but in a postgame interview on ESPN, he acknowledged it was a team effort: “I think really, you know, just got to give all the credit to my team and all the credit to coach," he said.

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams kept his praise of Lee simple and to the point, per Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal. 

Louisville should be able to handle the Boston College Eagles at home in its next game, before heading to Durham, North Carolina Feb. 8 to take on a Duke Blue Devils team that’s unranked for the first time in nearly nine years, on ESPN Big Monday. Duke should be hungry, considering another home loss will do damage to its NCAA tournament seed.

North Carolina is on the road the next two games against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Boston College, before welcoming the Pitt Panthers to Chapel Hill on Feb. 14. The way this season is going for top teams, two out of three wins during that stretch should be considered a success for the Tar Heels.