Limitations caught up to Louisville basketball in disappointing finish

Louisville basketball’s season came to an end in a disappointing first round loss to Minnesota. Should we have been surprised?

When the clock hit zero in the opening game of the round of 64, Louisville basketball stood on the wrong side of defeat watching their season officially come to an end against Minnesota.

The Cardinals losing to Minnesota shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The way the end of season played out, it showed that Louisville was heading towards a short stint in the NCAA tournament.

What went wrong for the Cardinals? Louisville ran into a Gophers team that played above their capabilities. This loss in the tournament was a microcosm for struggles Louisville had during last two months of the season. Whenever the Cardinals corrected an issue, another issue exposed.

Louisville had been on a downward spiral since February 2nd, when the Cards lost 79-69 against North Carolina. They lost nine of their last 13 games by an average of 10.4 ppg. None of their wins post-January, were impressive. The four wins included two against Notre Dame, Clemson, (where Louisville almost squandered a seven point lead in 17 seconds), and a win over an injured VT team.

Louisville had some ugly losses during this downward trend.

The Cards lost to Tarheels 79-69 at home and 70-83 in the ACC tournament. Louisville lost to Syracuse 49-59 and lost to Boston College.

I stated after the Boston College lost, the season was finished and I received push back. However, in the end, I was right. The Cardinals went into the NCAA tournament on a downward trend and some believed Louisville could flip a switch and get back to being a team that once beat the likes of Michigan State and North Carolina.

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There was an questionable belief that Louisville got a great draw with being placed in the East region. They were a five point favorite against Minnesota, which setup a possibly a rematch with Michigan State, whom Louisville beat in November.

Minnesota was a 10 seed and dominated Louisville as if Louisville belonged in the NIT. The Golden Gophers were up by as much as 19 in the second half. Minnesota was an average Big Ten team that had losses to Rutgers, Illinois, Nebraska, and Boston College. None of those teams made the tournament.

Against Minnesota, Louisville had balance on offense while scoring 76 points. The Cardinals provided 28 paint points, made 15 free throws, and made nine 3-pointers. Louisville had 16 assists, only turned the ball over five times and grabbed 35 rebounds.

Christen Cunningham scored 22 points while going perfect from the free throw line on 13 attempts and provided four assists. Jordan Nwora didn’t provide a standout performance but he contributed with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Steven Enoch and Darius Perry provided a great production off the bench. Perry scored 12 points while making three 3-pointers in 26 minutes and Enoch scored 14 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes.

This should have been a recipe for victory in the tournament. Except, Louisville hasn’t been a well rounded team for two months.

So with Louisville offense playing well, it was only natural for their defense to play porous because Louisville hasn’t played a complete game against a good opponent in months.

Louisville’s defense was abhorrent from a execution and effort standpoint. Louisville allowed Minnesota to make 11 3-pointers.

Minnesota was 338th in made 3-pointers in the NCAA. The Golden Gophers made 178 total 3-pointers. Minnesota controlled the paint scoring 30 points and was in consistent attack mood that led to 26 free throw attempts.

Amir Coffey scored 18 points on 6-14 shooting but the alarming stat was, he never left the game as he logged 40 minutes. Gabe Kalscheur scored 24 points, made five 3-pointers, grabbed eight rebounds, and logged 38 minutes.

Minnesota’s bench player didn’t log many minutes as those players logged 18 total minutes. Louisville didn’t capitalize on possible fatigue factor and Minnesota dominated with five players.

Wins against North Carolina and Michigan State are just footnotes to the disappointing end to the season which resulted in a quick postseason for the Louisville Cardinals.

All in all, it’s bitter end to a season that without question exceeded expectations. A season where Louisville defeated multiple national contenders and at one time looked like a potential Sweet 16 team couldn’t sustain that momentum as the free fall continued.

This however, is just the beginning of Chris Mack’s era as head coach of Louisville basketball.