In Lexington, Kentucky, Louisville’s Reyne Smith faced a difficult challenge as he attempted to play through a right ankle injury that had previously sidelined him for the Cardinals’ last four outings.
During the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, with 11 minutes and 37 seconds remaining, Smith’s ankle failed him, causing him to collapse in distress and potentially cutting his March Madness journey short.
At that point in the game, Louisville was trailing the 9th-seeded Creighton 65-52 in their South Region battle. Smith’s injury had already forced him to miss Louisville’s last regular-season game along with all matches in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, including their first title game appearance that resulted in a loss to Duke.
After Smith went down in pain and disappointment in front of the Louisville bench, his teammates gathered to offer comfort and support, embracing one another around him. Pat Kelsey, in his debut season as head coach, knelt beside Smith and called for assistance.
Smith draped a towel over his head and, with limited ability to bear weight on his injured foot, exited the court with help. The senior player from Australia managed to play for 20 minutes before exacerbating his ankle injury and had scored five points prior to leaving the game.