Survive and advance, that is what March Madness is all about. Louisville basketball defeated USF yesterday, and the Cardinals' fans hopefully celebrated the win, especially after all the trash-talking from the Bulls fans leading up to the game. But if Louisville wants to move on to the Sweet Sixteen and upset Michigan State, Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals have to clean up a few things.
USF fans eating heaping helping of crow after Louisville basketball's big win
Louisville was up 14 in the first half and extended that to 23 in the second half. But after Louisville struggled against a full-court press and had a hard time taking care of the ball in the final ten minutes of the game, it is clear that if Louisville wants to upset Tom Izzo and Michigan State, Kelsey has to fix this turnover concern fast.
Louisville basketball must fix the turnover issue against Michigan State
Louisville will be without its 5-star freshman and starting point guard Mikel Brown Jr. for the sixth straight game. With Brown out, the Cardinals' backcourt has to step up and try to improve at taking care of the basketball, as against USF, especially in the final 10 minutes of the game, Louisville had way too many turnovers.
The Cardinals finished the game with 22 turnovers, which is by far the most they had this season and the most they have had in a game since 2022 against Florida A&M, when Louisville won just four games. If Louisville has any chance to beat Michigan State, the Cards have to fix these turnovers, as the Spartans average 12.9 points off turnovers per game.
Against USF, while Ryan Conwell, J’Vonne Hadley, and Isaac McKneely all stepped up big-time and were major reasons why Louisville won, Conwell had a game-high six turnovers, Hadley added four, McKneely had two, and Adrian Wooley had three. Louisville had 12 turnovers in the second half, and 11 of them came in the final 12 minutes, seven in the final six minutes, and five in the final five minutes.
The Cardinals were able to survive and advance and beat a USF squad in round one and take a lot of pressure off Kelsey’s back as he earned his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach, and earned Louisville’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2017. But, if Louisville wants to earn its biggest win of the season, and punch its ticket to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2015, then Louisville has to fix yesterday’s turnover problem.
Related: Ryan Conwell's postgame Pat Kelsey comments show why he's bound to win big at Louisville
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