Louisville basketball game grades: Cards score more points but still lose
By Jacob Lane
A. CC was aggressive on offense taking more free throws in this game then he did in any other game. he did a brillant job of getting to the rim and making plays for himself and his guys. Finished with. PG. Louisville Cardinals. CHRISTEN CUNNINGHAM
Coming off the bench for the first time this season, Perry was not much of a factor in this one. He finished the game with 2-5 from the field with 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 4 points.. PG. Louisville Cardinals. DARIUS PERRY. C
Ugh. I don’t even know what to say when it comes to VJ. He had the poster of a dunk but missed the wide open game winning tip in. He was nowhere near aggressive on offense throughout the game and really provided no impact. He has to figure this out and has to do so FAST.. SF. Louisville Cardinals. V.J. KING
Louisville Cardinals. DWAYNE SUTTON. B. Sutton did what he does best. Made the dirty plays and knocked down big shots when he got the chance. He is never going to be a leading scorer or rebounder, but his impact on games can sometimes be just as important as the Cards leading scorers.. SF
C. Louisville Cardinals. STEVEN ENOCH. C+. The refs in Brooklyn were horrible and played a huge part of taking Enoch out of his game. He played well, but left a lot to be desired. He went 3-8 from the field, missing a lot of easy baskets near the hoop, and grabbed five rebounds.
Louisville Cardinals. JORDAN NWORA. A. Once again Nwora was Louisville’s best offensive player throughout the game. He took several bad shots, something we’ll get used to seeing this year, but he also made a lot of big buckets and did other things well. He finished with 15 points, going 5-12 from the field, and 7 rebounds. He also had zero turnovers, after a game against UT in which he had 8.. PF
C. Malik Williams against UT and Marquette isn’t the same Malik Williams we saw against the Cards first three opponents. He rebounded okay, but finished with no made field goals and struggled to guard Marquette’s Ed Morrow and Theo John.. PF. Louisville Cardinals. MALIK WILLIAMS
B. No one showed more toughness in this game than Ryan McMahon. Whether it was getting elbowed in the face, getting shoved on the ground, or making a big play in the waning minutes of overtime, McMahon showed why he is capable of making an impact for this Cards team.. PG. Louisville Cardinals. RYAN MCMAHON
A. <p>Once again I walked away from a Louisville game extremely impressed with Akoy Agau. Not only did Akoy play great throughout the game, he made a crucial block in the closing minutes – playing crunch time minutes. Love what he brings to this team. </p>. PF. Louisville Cardinals. AKOY AGAU
C+. Didn’t do much in this one on the offensive end, but defensively he did an okay job of staying with Markus Howard and forcing bad shots. The problem was, Howard was hitting everything in the second half. Fore finished with 1 point, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in 7 minutes.. SG. Louisville Cardinals. KHWAN FORE
Two losses in Brooklyn isn’t a season killer by any means, but it is definitely not good. Thought the Cards showed a lot of positives in their two games in the NIT Preseason tip-off, they also didn’t do enough to win two games that they easily could have. Their defensive toughness was better in game two then it was against Tennessee, but their inability to get stops when it mattered really hurt.
We can not and should not display the ineptitude of the refs in Brooklyn. I get that you can blame losses on them, but in both games Chris Mack and the Louisville Cardinals have every reason to demand answers. The crew looked lost and had no consistency doing anything. Whether it was calling fouls inside, getting charge/block, or just simple replay matters – they literally got everything wrong.
Now the Cards will have to go home and regroup over the next few days as the schedule doesn’t get easier. Their next matchup will be Tuesday night in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge when the 11th ranked Michigan State Spartans come to town.
The Louisville Cardinals have given us all so much to be thankful for. dark. Next
Louisville simply can’t afford to go 0-3 in this stretch, but it is certainty a real possibility. I look forward to seeing how much this tournament can help the team grow as they prepare for more tough games.
As always, Go Cards!