Louisville basketball's 2024-25 season can't be overlooked, as the Cardinals etched their names into many program record books. The season didn't end how the fans planned it, as the Cardinals fell to the Creighton Bluejays in the 2025 NCAA Tournament first round in Lexington, Kent.
Many signs pointed to the Cardinals' season ending against Creighton, whether it was their poor ability to guard the pick-and-roll, their height difference, or any of several other factors. The Cardinals had some glaring weaknesses entering this NCAA Tournament, and Creighton blatantly exposed the Cardinals in the first round.
While the Cardinals' season was spectacular and overachieved all preseason predictions, this one glaring x-factor was a key reason why they fell too short to Creighton in March Madness.
1 Big reason why Louisville basketball's season ended to Creighton
Louisville basketball had the strength to catch fire from beyond the arc and go on game-changing runs, often leading to blowing their opponents out of the water. However, the Cardinals usually shoot cold from downtown against top-tier opponents, especially toward the end of their season.
Louisville shot poorly in their first-round matchup against the Bluejays. The Cardinals connected on eight threes on 29 tries, which is an abysmal 27.6 percent. The Cardinals' defense didn't help themselves, as the Bluejays shot 45.8 percent from downtown, connecting on 11 threes of their 24 tries.
This drastic difference isn't the first time the Cardinals couldn't shoot consistently from beyond the arc. In Louisville's last five games of their season, they shot 27.8 from beyond the arc and averaged nearly 30 shots from the three-point line.
These was a recurring theme to the season for Louisville, with the Cards going up against eight eventual NCAA Tournament teams in 10 different games and shooting just 27 percent from beyond the arc in those games. The Cardinals played against eight teams this season that would go on to make the NCAA Tournament and a total of 10 games vs. NCAA Tournament teams. In these 10 games, Louisville basketball shot 27 percent from beyond the arc.
The Cardinals showed this season that they have the ability to catch fire, and multiple players stepped up. Louisville basketball was the only program this season to have four players score 30 points or more in four games.
Reyne Smith led the Cardinals in shooting, averaging 3.5 threes a game and shooting around 38 percent from the 3-point line. However, Smith hit a mini-slump towards the end of the season, and elite programs will know how to guard a catch-and-shoot player.
Louisville basketball took a massive step forward this season, but it is clear that their inconsistency in shooting from beyond the arc was a glaring weakness of theirs. The ACC had a down year, and it is clear that, as they started 0-2 in March Madness, the Cardinals dominated the weaker opponents. However, the next step for this program is to compete with elite SEC programs like Tennessee.
Creighton exploited the Cardinals' three-point struggles, which is a big reason Louisville is heading home as the Bluejays move on to the next round.