LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A reserve guard that Louisville coach Rick Pitino considers so bashful, he sounds shy even when he yells, made sure to send venerable Freedom Hall out with one more memorable game.

Kyle Kuric scored all of his career-high 22 points in the second half, and the Cardinals stunned No. 1 Syracuse 78-68 on Saturday before a record crowd of 20,135 at the 54-year-old venue.

It was the final game there before Louisville moves into a new downtown arena.

"It's an unbelievable moment," Kuric said. "It's what every kid dreams of."

Kuric may have also assured Louisville (20-11, 11-7 Big East) a return trip to the NCAA tournament by sweeping the regular-season series from the Orange (28-3, 15-3), whose only other loss came against Pittsburgh (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP).

"These seniors have never gone to [an NIT]," Pitino said. "And now they never will."

Although Syracuse led by eight points late in the first half, Kuric was a one-man wrecking crew in the second. He made 9 of 11 shots -- including four 3-pointers -- to make for another happy ending at Freedom Hall, which has seen its share of historic games.

"There have been 54 years of great basketball, and for us to come out and beat the No. 1 team is a great going away present for all our fans," senior Edgar Sosa said.

Trailing 42-39 early in the second half, the Cardinals found their inside game with three straight baskets in the paint that gave them the lead for good. Kuric had two of them, a fastbreak dunk and layup.

In a span of just over five minutes, Kuric also had all four of his 3-pointers. After his second one, Syracuse's Scoop Jardine immediately answered with a 3, so Kuric simply answered right back with another one. Jardine finished with 20 points.

With under four minutes left, it was Kuric's dunk that pushed the Louisville lead to 10, and he got another one on a break that buried the Orange with under two minutes left.

"Everybody that comes off their bench is capable of hitting three or four 3s," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "He might be the best at doing that."