3. Points in the paint
The Cards have seven ACC losses this year, five of which have come by 10 points or fewer. Even more telling, three of those five have been decided by five points or less. The point is simple: most of these losses are close games that slip away in the final 10 minutes.
A major reason lies in their style of play. Louisville loves to live and die by the three. Almost every game, they are willing to outshoot their opponent from beyond the arc. Because of that approach, they are vulnerable to giving up points inside while also failing to consistently score in the paint themselves.
In their seven ACC losses, they are allowing an average of 33.7 points in the paint per game while scoring just 26.8. That seven-point gap may not seem massive, but when you’re losing most games by fewer than 10 points, it becomes significant. Against Duke Blue Devils men's basketball alone, Louisville was outscored 82-34 in the paint across their two matchups.
If the Cards want to make a run in March, they have to close that interior gap and perhaps shift toward a more inside-out offensive approach.