3. Their style of play is unreliable
This may be the most troubling issue of all. Louisville burst out of the gates with an explosive offense, a superstar freshman, a highly touted transfer class, and a convincing win over Kentucky. Nationally, it looked like Louisville was officially “back” after last season’s ReviVille tour. That was nearly two months ago.
Now, with losses in three of their last five games—and already matching last year’s ACC loss total—it is fair to question just how good this team ever really was. A deeper dive into the numbers suggests Louisville is flawed by design. This team is built to shoot threes, outscore opponents, and avoid grinding out wins. They want to play fast, get up shots, and overwhelm teams with volume rather than efficiency. The more they shoot, the more chances they believe they will have to score.
The numbers back that up. Louisville ranks 345th in the country in two-point shot rate, with just 45.2% of their field-goal attempts coming from inside the arc. That also means they rank first nationally in three-point attempt rate, as 54.8% of their shots come from beyond the arc. In theory, that philosophy can work. In practice, it hasn’t.
Louisville ranks just 121st nationally in three-point field-goal percentage at 35%. Meanwhile, they convert a staggering 60% of their two-point attempts—good for 12th in the country. Logic would suggest that this might prompt a philosophical shift toward higher-quality shots inside the arc.
Instead, the Cards continue to live and die by the three. McKneely entered the season as a career 42% three-point shooter and is currently at 38.9%. Conwell came in shooting 39.3% for his career and is now at 37%. Those numbers aren’t bad—but they aren’t elite enough to justify the volume Louisville is taking.
There are still a lot of games left, and Louisville fans are hopeful Kelsey can turn this season around. The Cardinals are hoping Brown can return to action sooner rather than later, and their shooting can improve immediatley.
Related: 5 Cardinals who must step up for Louisville after Mikel Brown Jr.'s injury update
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.