Louisville basketball: Cards throw back Clemson with massive first half

Behind a free-wheeling, well-balanced attack in the first 20 minutes, Louisville basketball was able to put away an overmatched and out-hustled Clemson squad.

On a day when the university honored the historic 1974-75 Louisville basketball Final Four squad, the Cardinals jumped all over the Clemson Tigers from tip to buzzer, eventually cruising to an 80-62 win. They got things going early, at one point going on a 20-0 run, jumping out to a 31-9 lead. They would ultimately capitalize off of that run by building a 47-26 halftime cushion. The Tigers would never get closer than 15 the rest of the way.

U of L honored the 1975 team with a halftime ceremony while giving the players some pretty slick throwback uniforms to don. Today, the Cards flexed their depth and showed the nation their championship-contention pedigree.

Louisville seemed to have benefitted from their woes in the Georgia Tech game, where they struggled mightily, being out-rebounded and out-shot in field goal percentage. They were pushed around for the entire game before clawing to a 68-64 victory. Those same trends did not hold up against Clemson. In this game, the Cards won the battle of the boards convincingly 43-32, while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and holding the Tigers to a lackluster 34.4 percent.

It’s becoming more and more apparent that Louisville is at it’s best when they are getting open looks that stem from great distribution. The passing this afternoon was far better than what we have witnessed from the Cards lately. On one possession, they were able to get a touch from every player as the ball swung around the perimeter, eventually ending up in the hands of Jordan Nwora for an open three-pointer. Beautiful.

Defensively, the Cardinals were able to bother Clemson’s passing lanes and push cutters out of
their trajectories, embodying the basic principles of the Pack Line Defense. Louisville played with a blue collar edge, which I imagine pleased those who miss the Coach Pitino days of old.

MVP: No one on the Louisville can set the tone with a solid start quite like Darius Perry. The junior guard exploded for 19 points and buried 5 threes. Once he got going, the energy of the entire team seemed to trend in a confident direction.

Perry’s season to this point had been average, as other players at his position had begun to have breakout games. He really needed today’s performance to show his worth, and earn his keep for playing time.

Keys to the victory: Coach Chris Mack’s squad was able to exploit Clemson’s over-aggression defensively at the top of the key, opening up a plethora of passing lanes for potential cutters. They were able to control the spacing by doing so, and push the pace by attacking in the lane.

Clemson never really looked comfortable moving the ball on offense, as Louisville was able to bring help defense and hedged screens with ease. It made for a slew of rushed shots. Also, on many occasions, the Cards brought 3 or 4 defenders to the glass.

X-factor(s): The Tigers, who were twelve days removed from a victory over Duke 79-72, had trouble with Louisville’s young talent today. Samuell Williamson piled on 14 points, his second-highest scoring effort of the season, and the first time he’s dropped double-digits since November.

Meanwhile, emerging as the team’s most-reliable threat from the point guard position, David Johnson and his mediocre stat line won’t paint an accurate picture of his mark on the flow of the game. He was able to change the whole make-up of the offense while on the floor. Johnson, with his favorable length at the 1 spot, was able to spread the Clemson defense to the point where they overcorrected on several occasions, leaving Cardinal shooters wide open.

Defining moments: Amidst Louisville’s big run in the first half, they were able to get out and run in transition. On one trip down the floor after a steal, Jordan Nwora was fed a pass while streaming down the court, where he was able to cram one home, bringing an appreciative YUM! Center to it’s feet.

The defense-to-offense transition, especially in the first half, was a tell-tale sign that Mack’s players showed up with the intention to impose their will. The outcome of the game never really felt in doubt after that Nwora dunk.

After 20 games: Louisville’s record is 17-3 and is off to it’s best ACC start (8-1) since joining the conference. We’re beginning to see a team begin to balance out in several facets. At the beginning of the year, outside of Jordan Nwora and Steven Enoch, the Cards didn’t really have too many scoring threats to turn to in a pinch. However, I see a more complete team as of late, that has some solid scoring options moving forward. Even though Mack and staff will lean heavily on Nwora and Enoch as go-to bucket getters, he can begin to turn to other guys.

The Cards have now won their last six games straight, and look ahead to a late-night road matchup at Boston College on Wednesday night.