What’s a rival to Louisville basketball? The Cards continue to take down old foes, this time it was Memphis State.
When the starting lineup for the Memphis Tigers was announced on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center, I found myself immediately filled with trepidation. Following Louisville basketball struggling against the athletic size of the Arkansas Razorbacks, I prepared myself for the worst when I found out that the visiting Tigers featured multiple seven footers: surely height of that magnitude would be, at the very least, disruptive on the glass and difficult to defend…right?
The first two offensive possessions for Penny Hardaway’s alma mater seemed to confirm my suspicions: Hasan Abdul-Hakim knocked down a turnaround from the free throw line, after which Aaron Bradshaw, one of the Tigers’ twin towers, grabbed an offensive rebound from his own miss and slammed it home.
Sananda Fru responded with five paint points of his own: it seemed we were in for another grueling, physical matchup that would play to the Tigers’ strengths. The Cards made it clear, however, that this game would be decided on the other side of the three point line.
Let the storm begin
At the 16:07 mark, Ryan Conwell knocked down Louisville’s first triple of the afternoon. This gave Louisville basketball an 8-7 lead and began an offensive onslaught that simply overwhelmed the visiting Tigers.
Conwell hit another three on the following possession, which was soon matched by Adrian Wooley. Khani Rooths got in on the barrage halfway through the first half, as did Mikel Brown, Jr. on the following possession, giving Louisville a double digit lead at 25-15.
Pryor on fire
The Cardinals held their lead at ten points for most of the first half, until Kasean Pryor came alive.
With six minutes remaining before halftime, Pryor hit his first of what would be three triples. Adrian Wooley added another pair from behind the line, giving Louisville a twenty point lead they would carry into the locker room: 57-37.
Rain on
J’Vonne Hadley knocked down three threes in the first three minutes of the second half, which was largely much of the same kind of pain for the visitors.
Coach Hardaway tried to apply full court pressure in order to generate some easy baskets, which it did: for Louisville, however. Fru got six more paint points off of quick penetration and crafty passing by the Cardinal back court. Another three from Rooths made the score 91-64 with four minutes remaining.
When the clock expired, ending one of the most impressive and comprehensive team shooting performances in school history, the score was 99-73.
Louisville vs. Memphis Photography – Taken by Jared Anderson
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Rainy day concerns
I found the game to be both impressive, and concerning. For a good portion of the contest, Louisville had more points from beyond the arc than Memphis did altogether. Six different Cardinals had two or more three point field goals, and the team collectively connected on eighteen of an attempted thirty five. It was known, from the instant this roster was compiled, that shooting would be their strength, and it’s undeniably fun to watch this kind of clinic…if you’re a Cardinal fan, of course.
But I couldn’t help but wonder if, had the team’s shots not been falling…had they shot like they did against Arkansas, for example…what the game would have looked like. Let’s be clear: Memphis is not a bad team. They have players that can straight up knock down shots, and they often did. The Tigers completely failed to take advantage of their size, though, allowing the Cards to control the game with their shooting.
I’m not sure that many teams would have success when their opponent shoots like Louisville did, especially in the first half, but Memphis has cards that, against the Cards, they simply did not play. For example, Penny Hardaway completely failed to utilize the fact that he had one of his seven footers defended by J’Vonne Hadley, listed as a full half foot shorter than both Aaron Bradshaw and Simon Majok. I couldn’t help but wonder if, had a John Calipari been calling the plays, the Tigers would have been able to impose their will a bit more?
When Louisville, or anybody, for that matter, makes eighteen threes, it’s as demoralizing as it is insurmountable. But how the ball falls isn’t something that can be controlled. How far Pat Kelsey takes his team this year will likely depend on their effectiveness in all the other aspects of the game.
Keep shooting, keep improving
I’m not a pessimist, and I love this team. I love watching them, and I love how well they shoot: especially the deep ball. And I know that Kelsey only sees the next practice, the next play, the next game. But, as a fan, it’s impossible to not look back to what happened in Arkansas, and wonder when it will happen again.
We can take comfort in the fact that Louisville shoots by committee, and didn’t even need production from three point specialist Isaac McKneely against Memphis. Adrian Wooley and Kasean Pryor had arguably their best offensive games in Cardinal red, and neither were in the team’s top two scorers Saturday: the chances of everybody having another off night is unlikely. It happened last week, however, so it could happen again.
How Louisville handles business when the ball won’t fall will likely be the defining factor in the story of their season.
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