I’ve seen enough. Louisville basketball is finally trending in the right direction and primed to win some games that nobody expects.
Though it was a losing effort, there was a lot for fans to like about what they saw from Louisville basketball in a one-point loss to Syracuse on Tuesday night.
And while the Cardinals hold a painful 2-13 record, including 0 wins in 4 tries in ACC play, I feel like we are seeing enough to think UofL is on the right track to start securing some wins in the near future.
There were a number of things in the last three games that have been improving, but I noticed a distinct difference in these areas for the Cards on Tuesday.
Effort. Overall intensity and effort were up for the entire game. Again, this isn’t something we could say in a lot of games this season
Rebounding. Louisville crashed the boards hard on Tuesday, owning the offensive glass, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds, and creating 19 second-chance points
Defensive Intensity. Active hands on defense led to 7 steals and 4 blocked shots. Louisville trapped aggressively- something that it really hasn’t shown the awareness to do in previous games- and its 3/4 court press led to some easy buckets.
Legitimate runs. The Cards went on a 13-0 and 17-2 run midway through the first half. That was a gut punch to a Syracuse team that looked like it expected them to lay down.
Responding to adversity well. We have seen Louisville take hits and kind of lay down for teams. That was definitely not the case against the Orange. It felt like Louisville staved off Syracuse’s attempts at major runs by locking down on defense and continuing to try to get into its offensive sets on the other end
Finally, Louisville basketball did all of this against a Syracuse team that presents a unique challenge that they haven’t faced before. One that tends to disorient teams with the reputation Louisville has built this year. Syracuse is incredibly long and fundamentally sound on defense and its smallest player, Joseph Girard III, is an absolute pest on both ends of the floor.
Louisville managed to do a lot of what we have been clamoring for this season. They found passing lanes and got paint touches, and those led to open looks. The ball reversed a ton and there seem to be less of El Ellis getting too deep into the defense and forcing up a wild shot or pass.
Most importantly, Louisville was active, free-flowing, and moved well- Especially on that offensive end.
Ultimately, I feel that this team is headed in the right direction for the first time this season, and once its first conference foe falls, there will be more wins to come.
I dive into this and much more on the Starting Five02 Podcast right here.
You can listen to the Starting Five02 Podcast after each Louisville basketball game anywhere podcasts are found.
