Louisville basketball defense “about that smoke” in dominant victory over No. 4 Michigan

No. 1 ranked Louisville basketball goes wire-to-wire, never trailing, as they dominate fourth-ranked Michigan with their defense in a 58-43 statement win to the entire nation.

With the entire nation watching, two top-five basketball teams went to battle in front of a sold-out crowd in the KFC Yum! Center. It wasn’t a superb offensive performance for Louisville basketball, but they overpowered the Michigan Wolverines with their hustle, tenacity, and stellar performance on the defensive end of the floor.

The Cards took the first lead of the game and never looked back. With the win, Louisville improved to an 8-0 record, and they proved that the number one ranking they received yesterday was deserved. If they can beat Pittsburgh on Friday night, the Cards will remain at the top spot.

Heading into their first real test of the season, many were doubting Louisville because of the competition they’ve played. They showed that they can win even when the offense doesn’t play particularly well. Louisville shot 36.7 percent from the field, which is by far the worst shooting performance of their season to date. They only connected on four three-pointers, hitting them at an abysmal 21.1 percent rate.

It was an uncharacteristic performance from the Cards offense and it was one that I can’t see them replicating often. Heck, the Cards left eight points on the board in free throws, as they shot 55.6 percent from the charity stripe in the game. I’m not really concerned about the offense right now, and the offense will continue to grow and improve with more time on the floor.

Jordan Nwora didn’t shy away from the moment, despite his field goal efficiency possibly indicating a rough night. He scored 22 points and he shot nine for 23 from the field, but he played extremely tough basketball against the tight Wolverine defense. The refs did not give Nwora nearly any calls, and he was continuously looking to get a shot up.

He continues to hit tough shots, and there aren’t many players in the country who can score like he can. He also played a big role with his rebounding, leading the game with his 12 boards. The junior certainly is making a strong case to be in the running for National Player of the Year.

Outside of Nwora, only one Cardinal scored more than 5 points. Steven Enoch made a huge impact in this game, and he silenced many Cardinals fans who were doubting his effort. The senior center scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and he knocked down two three-pointers. Enoch and Malik Williams both did good jobs in hedging off screens, and they both caused problems for the Wolverines pick and roll offensive game.

Fresh Kimble scored 5 points and could’ve had more if he didn’t miss out on some easy scoring opportunities. But the graduate transfer made a major impact in this one, playing phenomenal defense on Michigan’s guards. He was able to force multiple turnovers by the Wolverines and he saw 23 minutes of action because of his strong play defensively. The same can be said for fellow guards Darius Perry and Ryan McMahon, who helped lock down the perimeter. McMahon, not known for his defense, definitely just played the best defensive game of his career.

Samuell Williamson played a lot better in this one, scoring 5 points on 2 for 3 shooting in only nine minutes of action. The freshman is looking a lot better on the defensive end, and his rebounding efforts are severely underappreciated. Malik Williams continues to hustle on the defensive end, but he’s still clearly rusty in some aspects of his game. I expect Chris Mack to try to create more opportunities for Dwayne Sutton within the offense, as the veteran only attempted three shots against Michigan.

As I’ve mentioned multiple times already, the story of this game was the defensive success for Louisville. The Cardinals forced Michigan into a terrible game offensively, as Juwan Howard’s team shot 25.9 percent from the field, 15.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. Those numbers are eye-opening and certainly uncharacteristic of this Michigan team, as the Wolverines had shot the lights out of the basketball prior to this game.

The referees officiated a pretty sloppy game, calling a lot of cheap ticky-tack fouls, and that’s become expected in Louisville home games. The Cards did a great job of rebounding, both offensively and defensively, as they outrebounded the Wolverines 48-41. They also forced 10 turnovers by Michigan, and only turned it over 8 times themselves. All of these numbers should help you understand why the fourth-ranked team in the nation could only manage 43 points and 15 baskets.

Jon Teske was the only reason Michigan scored more than 30 points in this game, as the massive senior center scored 18 points on a rough six for 18 shooting night. Jordan Nwora made Isaiah Livers have a horrifying night on offense, holding the Wolverines leading scorer to 3 points on 1 for 9 shooting. His only basket was on a phenomenal screen by Teske that sent Nwora to the floor.

Eli Brooks only scored two points for Michigan and he was zero for nine from the field, and the Wolverines only had six points off the bench. Zavier Simpson had a really tough game, and he was practically nonexistent in the first half. The Michigan point guard finished with nine points on 4 for 11 shooting. Michigan is better than this, and I’m sure Juwan Howard’s team knows that. They’ll get better and certainly learn from the game, but they missed out on an opportunity to be the unanimous number one team. Louisville, however, didn’t fold with that number one ranking besides their name.

There are obviously still some things to improve upon for the Cards, but this team is 8-0 and they’re going to continue to get better with more time on the floor. There’s not much negativity swirling around Card Nation at the moment and hopefully, it stays that way. The men’s basketball team is on top of the nation and the women’s basketball team is the second-best team in the nation, and they both look extremely promising.

Next, the Cards are set to host their first ACC game of the season, as they welcome the Pittsburgh Panthers on Friday night at 9 pm at the Yum! Center.