Louisville basketball: Three takeaways from blowout of Syracuse
By Jacob Lane
Cards’ two losses were an exception, not the norm
After Louisville’s wire-to-wire destruction of the Orange, it feels safe to say that the Cardinals’ lackluster performances on the road at Georgia Tech and Clemson were the exception this season and not the norm.
Everything that fans grew accustomed to during Louisville’s month-plus winning streak- great hustle, good ball movement, stifling defense, senior leadership- was all on display on Wednesday.
Syracuse’s record was not indicative of the talent on its squad, nor the challenges that the Orange brought to the table entering the game. However, Louisville was not only able to keep their strengths at bay but they flexed their muscles as well in perhaps their best performance since a January win at Duke.
The problem with this Louisville team has never been about their talent. It’s been the consistency, or lack thereof, on the defensive end of the floor especially when shots aren’t falling. Against Syracuse, we saw a team come out with laser-like focus, following the game plan to a t and putting their foot on the pedal at the first sign of opportunity.
Remember the picture of Denny Crum sitting with Chris Mack with a clipboard drawing up plays? Mack was asked about that a few weeks back to which he told the story about coach Crum wanting to spend time with him to see a few extra ways to attack the 2-3 zone of Syracuse.
Whatever Coach Crum said worked. Whether that was putting DJ in the middle of the zone or putting Ryan McMahon up top so it stretched out the defense, opening up a world of real estate inside, it led to Louisville having a brilliant night and building confidence in themselves and their shot-making ability.
Defensively they essentially eliminated Elijah Hughes as an offensive threat, holding him to nearly 11 points below his season average, made things extremely difficult for their shooters, while challenging every shot around the rim.
The players-only meeting this week clearly led to a renewed focus for team 106 and it empowered the leaders of the group to re-establish themselves which was evident against Syracuse. Kudos to the team and staff for sticking together during a tough stretch.