Louisville basketball enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed and will play the No. 9 seed in the Creighton Bluejays. The Cardinals are a 2.5-point favorite and will look to have a massive home-court advantage in Lexington, Kent.
Both teams were last seen in their respected conference tournament championship games, but both would fall short and enter the NCAA Tournament with a recent loss. The Cardinals have not lost in consecutive games since early December and will look to keep it that way. Louisville basketball will try and secure their first March Madness win since 2017.
We asked Louisville basketball fans who the major X-factor for the Cardinals is and many pointed their fingers at J'Vonne Hadley. The Cardinals' 6-foot-6 guard is a fan favorite but is being challenged by the fans to attack the rim and be more aggressive.
1 decision Pat Kelsey must make will make or break Louisville basketball's season
The glaring question for J'Vonne Hadley entering the Cardinal's postseason run was if he could step up and be the third scoring option for Louisville. Hadley has shown flashes of being an excellent scorer, especially in his two games against Clemson.
The Cardinal's 6-foot-6 guard secured a career-high 32 points in their win over Clemson earlier this season, where he went 10-12 from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc. The guard scored 15 or more 10 times, 20 or more three times, and 30 points or more once.
Pat Kelsey must give J'vonne Hadley the ball more this NCAA Tournament and let his guard go to work. Louisville basketball season will rely heavily on Hadley, as when he scores 15 points or more, the Cardinals are 9-1.
Hadley averages just about 8.5 shots a game, and the Cardinals fans need more from him in this postseason run. Some are labeling him as Kelsey's glaring X-factor. So, while a lot is on Hadley to be more aggressive and play confidently, it is also on Kelsey to draw a play for Hadley and utilize his size on the smaller guards.
Hadley is a big guard who likes to play physically. One way to utilize his skill set is to get him involved more in the pick-and-roll. If the Cardinals can get a favorable switch, Louisville can feed Hadley on the post and let him go to work. Hadley then can back his defender down and score with his soft touch around the rim, swing the ball to a shooter beyond the arc, or even float a lob to James Scott if the center pinches over to help out.
J'Vonne Hadley has shown glimpses of being able to take over games. It is on Kelsey to decide to make him the Cardinal's third scoring option. Reyne Smith is returning from an injury and struggled before his ankle injury. Smith is a reliable shooter, but he can be streaky sometimes. It will be crucial for Hadley to step up from his ACC Tournament production and to be the next scoring option for Kelsey.
Kelsey must challenge Hadley to remain a focal point for this team and elevate his offensive production. Hadley scored six points against Duke and four against Stanford in the ACC Tournament. Kelsey needs to get his X-factor involved more and play with much more confidence. Hadley is too good a player to get only five shots in a game, as the Cardinals' postseason run relies heavily on their role player.
Everyone knows what Terrence Edwards Jr. and Chucky Hepburn will give the Cardinals, but J'Vonne Hadley is that diamond in the rough for Kelsey. Pat Kelsey must find a way to get Hadley to score around 15 points a game if the Cardinals want to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.