College basketball is less than two months away from March Madness, and the Louisville Cardinals are miles away from showing they are a contender for a Final Four and NCAA title. Louisville basketball took on the Duke Blue Devils last night, and the game was anything but memorable for the Cardinals as they fell to the Duke Blue Devils 83-52 in an absolutely infuriating fashion.
Louisville held their own with Duke for most of the first half, even taking the lead from the Blue Devils after their hot shooting start. The game shifted (and was lost) in the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. The Blue Devils pulled away from the Cardinals, getting to a 10-point lead by halftime. The start of the second half saw no fight from Louisville as the Blue Devils extended their lead. It’s a night that has crushed Cardinals fans and given way to major doubts on just how far this team can go in March.
All that said, here are 5 crushing realities from Louisville's loss to the Blue Devils.
5. Have to hit shots to win games
Another loss, another absolutely horrendous scoring night. Louisville shot on par with Duke from 3-point land (32 percent compared to the Blue Devils’ 35 percent). However, Duke absolutely dominated Louisville in the paint. The Cardinals shot only 30 percent, compared to the Blue Devils’ 51%. To add to this fact, the Blue Devils scored 42 points in the paint. Louisville, just 10 points.
Duke’s size and length gave Louisville fits all night long down low. Louisville had to revert to taking contested 3-pointers because it just could not finish around the basket. Mikel Brown Jr. seemed to get the basket at will, but the few times he put up his shots, they just did not fall. Louisville won’t win its games by scoring around the basket, but it sure will lose them if it fails to do so consistently.
4. Louisville once again has no answer for Cam Boozer and Isaiah Evans
The second time around was just the same as the first meeting for Duke stars Cam Boozer and Isaiah Evans. Cam Boozer did whatever he wanted to on the floor tonight, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. This performance follows up on a 27-point performance at the YUM! Center earlier this month for Boozer. One of the national player of the year favorites, Boozer has lived up to all of the hype, especially when he has played the likes of Louisville.
Cam Boozer, however, wasn’t the only Duke star that Louisville had trouble with in both of their meetings. Isaiah Evans has been a thorn in Louisville’s side for both matchups, hitting key 3’s and finding ways to get the bucket through the Louisville defense. Evans had 15 points in this game to go along with his 23-point outing earlier this month. If Louisville and Duke meet once again in the ACC tournament, best believe Pat Kelsey will know which two Blue Devils to target.
3. Louisville loses the rebounding battle…badly
The Cardinals did not have their best night on the boards as a team, losing the battle to Duke 47-26. Part of the reason was Louisville’s inability to make shots, which created more rebounding opportunities on Duke’s end. However, Duke did get more offensive rebounds (15 compared to Louisville’s 9) and took advantage of these opportunities in the way of second-chance points.
Louisville has been better when it comes to the rebounding department as of late. However, when the Cardinals face a team of length and size like Duke, they fail to overcome their shortcomings and fall short of what it takes to win. It will be on Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals coaching staff to devise a plan to combat these issues if the Cardinals and the Blue Devils were to meet again later this season.
2. The front court will continue to hold this team back against top teams
If Louisville’s season is to end earlier than anticipated, a likely reason is the players the Cardinals have in the front court. When faced with a challenge against impressive size, length, and physicality, the Cardinals' frontcourt gets dominated. Sananda Fru plays with a finesse that works against the likes of a Virginia Tech, but brings in a team as dominant as Duke, and the same style of play just doesn’t work out.
It is also very hard to play a player like Aly Khalifa in these types of games for long stretches. He is a defensive liability down low against the far superior athleticism of teams like Duke. Louisville's best hope is that the matchups they receive come tournament time are favorable to them, because if they come against a team with length and size, Cards fans have a few blueprints from this season of what the outcome will be.
1. The “can’t win the big one” argument has another entry
It’s hard not to hear the outside noise of this topic after another disappointing entry to the “Louisville can’t win big games” column. Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals have had plenty of opportunities this season to step up in big games. Yet time and time again (Arkansas, Tennessee, Duke twice), they have not just fallen short but been beaten pretty handily.
To this point in the season, Louisville’s best win is against a Kentucky squad that has underachieved as well. The season is winding down, and the opportunities for statement wins are disappearing quickly. It’s a scary trend for Cardinals fans that Louisville can take care of business against mid-level Power Four opponents, but crumbles in major fashion against the top levels of talent.