5. Turnover/Assist ratio give insight into offensive struggles
Look at the box score, and you can see how mightily the turnover-to-assist ratio drove the struggles on the offensive end. Louisville finished the game losing the turnover battle with 16 turnovers to Tennessee’s 11 turnovers. Louisville also had fewer assists (8) when compared to Tennessee’s assist total (19). The 16-8 turnover-to-assist ratio is nowhere near the recipe for success for the Louisville offense, a system that thrives on fast play and ball movement, which, in turn, should theoretically open up plenty of assist opportunities.
The eight assists are a season low for the Cardinals, and a stat Pat Kelsey will look to improve during ACC play. Louisville will definitely get back on track as the ACC does not have many teams with the talent and physicality of a Tennessee or an Arkansas. However, Kelsey and the offense have to find a way to be efficient and find open shots against similarly built opponents; it's a must. If Louisville wants to be a true national championship contender, a solution has to be found to increase assist totals and make open shots. Additionally, the turnovers have to be cleaned up; the Cardinals can’t expect to win by posting 16 turnovers in one game.
4. Tennessee dominated in the front court, bullied the Louisville bigs
Tennessee’s big men could do whatever they wanted in and around the basket against the Cards. Time after time, the ball was fed to the interior, where a Tennessee center/forward had the better position, sealed off the defender, and put the ball into the basket for an easy layup. The Volunteers absolutely dominated the paint points, outscoring Louisville 42-30. Tennessee also had a strong showing protecting the basket against the Cardinals, winning the shot-blocking battle 5 to 1, as an additional sign of dominance in the paint.
The Louisville bigs did not seem strong or talented enough to stay with the Volunteer frontcourt, raising further questions about whether Louisville’s frontcourt can stand up to similarly sized opponents when tournament time rolls around. Louisville needed big-time performances from Sananda Fru, Khani Rooths, and Kasean Pryor in this game, and none were able to properly step up to the plate. Additionally, Aly Khalifa is unfortunately a major liability for Pat Kelsey in these types of games and cannot play major minutes, as seen tonight with only 3 minutes on the court. Louisville has to find a way to play with better strength in the post, especially with teams of Tennessee’s caliber of post players.
3. Louisville missed Mikel Brown Jr.’s playmaking ability
Although Mikel Brown Jr. may not have had the most stat-popping past few games, his presence on the court opens up so many more options for the Cardinals on offense. His ability to get to the basket at will makes the defense respect that aspect of the offense and opens up shooting opportunities for Conwell, McKneely, and Wooley. The Cardinals desperately missed Brown on the floor tonight and could not find the next player who could be that aggressive, a get-to-the-basket threat. The offense was stagnant because of this, leading to many contested or ill-advised shots on the offensive end.
One thing is clear, the Cardinals cannot make a deep run against physical, talented teams without their star point guard. He has continually gotten better game by game at running the offense and finding his place within the flow for coach Pat Kelsey. All of Cardinal Nation hopes that the injuries associated with Brown heal up fast before ACC play begins. Louisville needs its star healthy as it steps into the next section of its schedule, one that will make or break its tournament seeding at season’s end.
2. Cardinals bench was nowhere to be found on offense
One of the major positives of this Louisville team to this point in the schedule has been their incredible depth and the production from their bench players. This strength was nowhere to be found tonight, especially on the offensive end. Sure, typical bench scoring threat Adrian Wooley was forced into a starting role due to the Mikel Brown Jr. injury, but getting absolutely nothing on the offensive end from players like Khani Rooths, Kasean Pryor, and Kobe Rodgers puts extra and avoidable pressure on the starters to score.
The Louisville bench was outscored by the Tennessee bench 34-3 in this game, a stat that shows how little production the Cardinals got from their reserves. If it weren’t for the performance of elite scorers Ryan Conwell (22 points) and Adrian Wooley (19 points), this loss would have been much more embarrassing. Since there was no other production available, these two had to shoot far more than expected. It was pretty evident that even though they had plenty of hands in their face, a Wooley or Conwell contested shot was a better option than just about any other look tonight.
1. Louisville has a problem with physical teams with length
One game with these struggles is a random occurrence. Two games with the same struggle become a trend. The latter has happened to the Louisville Cardinals, who struggled in a tough, physical game against an opponent with elite length and physicality. It was a test for the Cardinals after they played a similarly constructed team in the Arkansas Razorbacks just 3 games prior. The Cardinals struggled mightily with the length of the Razorbacks. The same can be said about this game against the Volunteers.
This trend is startling to Cardinal fans who had Final Four or bust on their minds at the start of the season. These expectations may need to be revisited, as Louisville once again fails to secure a signature win against a quality, Sweet Sixteen-caliber team. There is no doubt that Louisville will face similar teams not only in Duke in ACC play, but in the NCAA tournament as well. It's an aspect of this undersized team that Pat Kelsey will need to address and resolve when these mismatches arise, especially if the Cardinals want to make a run this March.