3. Elite 3-point shooting finally makes another appearance
When you shoot 58% from 3-point land and make 11 3’s by halftime, there’s a decent chance you will walk away with a victory. Louisville did just that as they ran away from Pitt early in this game by their absolutely electric 3-point shooting. The onslaught was a team effort, with 4 Cardinals making multiple 3-pointers. It was a night that was reminiscent of the many wins earlier in the season, where Louisville simply appeared to be unable to miss at times on the offensive end. The Cardinals finished the night with 15 made 3’s on 52% shooting.
Louisville has been a “ride or die” with the 3-point shot all season. Nights like these, where no one can appear to miss, have led to major blowouts and given many in college basketball a glimpse of what they could be seeing when they see Louisville on the schedule. It ultimately comes down to finding quality, open shots on the perimeter.
When Louisville gets open, in-sync shots like the ones in this game against Pitt, they have hit them at an elite level. When the Cardinals are unable to do so, the shooting turns ugly, and they more often than not leave the arena with a loss. It will continue to be Pat Kelsey's responsibility to set these guys up for success with schemes that give them the open shots they need to play at an elite level.
2. The defensive intensity has been raised
This performance feels eerily similar to the change Cards fans saw in Pat Kelsey’s first team last season after their near-season crushing loss to Eastern Kentucky. The defensive buy-in and efficiency were the sole reasons that the team went from middle of the pack to elite in the ACC. The same effort and intensity were evident on the defensive end the whole night. Quite simply, every single player worked their tail off while they were on the court. The Cardinals held Pitt to only 8 points through the first 12 minutes and 22 points at halftime.
Pittsburgh is by no means the standard for the ACC opponents Louisville has left on its schedule. However, Louisville showed up against a team they should have handily beaten and did just that. The Cardinals dominated the rebounding battle 35 to 24 while also providing for 6 steals on the defensive end. It was a major shift from the lack of effort and the defense's inefficiency in Louisville’s last few games. Each player knew where they needed to be and appeared to be playing with a purpose, a welcome sign to all of Card Nation.