Louisville basketball: Three positives from loss to Georgia Tech

Mack is still tinkering with the roster, and that’s a good thing

Many will argue that if Louisville doesn’t know who the starters are at this point in the season then it could spell trouble.

However, it’s extremely encouraging to know that the Cardinals are not even close to where they are supposed to be yet.

Louisville has notched some big-time wins under its belt this season, but games against lesser opponents have often felt way too close for comfort. That has to change. Great teams put away teams with less talent and experience, and the Cards are instead just finding ways to get out with a win.

There’s no magic combination of players that is going to make this team head and shoulders better than it is right now. However, it couldn’t hurt to find which lineups start the best, which finish the best, and which match up better with specific opponent skillsets.

For instance, Louisville struggled in January and again on Wednesday playing straight man against Georgia Tech’s guards. Mack wasn’t afraid to change things up.

Louisville went big and opted for a 2-3 zone that stifled the penetration of the Yellow Jackets and forced them to become more perimeter-oriented. The Cards played Williams and Enoch together for nearly three minutes during some crucial late-game possessions. Louisville also experimented with more three-guard lineups. Fresh Kimble, Johnson, and McMahon were often on the floor together and Samuell Williamson saw a lot more clock in place of Nwora.

Those are the kind of things that Cards fans can be hopeful for going forward. Mack and his assistants see their players every day in practice and they watch them for hours in film study. The coaching staff knows how this team operates, who meshes well with who, and what risks to take.

Tonight, the risk-taking didn’t work, but the Cards are going to continue shuffling the lineups until things start to click.

Look for players like Johnson, Williamson, and Williams to begin vying for starting spots as early as this Saturday in Clemson.