1. Three-point shooting percentage
The final stat Louisville must improve heading into March is three-point shooting percentage. This has been echoed all season. Fans, analysts, coaches — everyone agrees that Louisville must shoot the three better to have sustained success. They currently rank 79th nationally, hitting 35.8% from beyond the arc.
When they reach or exceed that percentage, they typically win. The issue is that they rarely shoot that well against quality competition. In their seven ACC losses, they have shot a higher percentage than their opponent only once. If you consider yourself a “three-point shooting team,” you need to outperform your opponent from deep more often than that to be considered elite.
In those seven losses, Louisville averages 10.8 makes on 35.1 attempts — just 30.1%. Meanwhile, their opponents are hitting 9 of 23 from three, good for 39.1%. That percentage would rank as the 8th best in Division I this season. Louisville’s 30.1% in those losses would rank 340th out of 365 teams nationally.
If Louisville is going to fix this at this stage of the season, it may take a near-miracle. As hard as it is for some Card fans to believe, shooting can be streaky. Teams can get hot, stay hot, and make a run. If Louisville is going to do anything this March, it starts with knocking down the three at a much higher clip.