UL DUKE Tre White

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Halfway through the Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season, the University of Louisville is looking up at 14 teams.

There was an encouraging 10-point victory at Miami 23 days ago. There has been mostly indigestion since the Cardinals left South Florida. They are sitting behind lowly Notre Dame as well as powerful North Carolina.

Of the Cards' nine ACC losses, three were by 7 points or less, two by 24 or more and the other four by 13, 14, 16 or 17.

It's impossible to put deoderant around those numbers.

It's better than last season when Louisville lost its first 10 ACC games by an average of 14.9 points per game.

But not by much. This season the average margin of defeat is 14.2.

The primary reason to wonder if things can get better for Kenny Payne's team is that the schedule will be better for Payne's team, starting at 8 p.m. Saturday when Florida State and coach Leonard Hamilton visit the KFC Yum! Center.

The metrics at Ken Pomeroy's analytics site have not changed over the two weeks ago. The Cards have played the toughest schedule of in-league games.

That's about to change.

The combined ACC record of Louisville's first 10 opponents is 59-38 (winning percentage .608). The combined ACC record of Louisville next 10 opponents is 45-53 (.459).

In its first 10 ACC games, Louisville played six opponents with winning league records and only two with losing records.

In its next 10 ACC games, Louisville will play two opponents (FSU, Duke) with winning records and five with losing records.

It's not much, but it's the most the Cards have to build on.

There's a chance Payne will have to game plan with only seven scholarship players again, the way he did during the second half of Louisville's 70-64 loss at Clemson on Tuesday.

Point guard Skyy Clark (hip) and back-up Ty-Laur Johnson (ankle) were expected to practice Friday, Johnson with contact, Clark without.

Payne said their availability would not be determined until after they warmed up Saturday night. One U of L observer said he expected both to attempt to play.

Hercy Miller, the No. 3 point guard, remains in California. A team spokesman said Miller was receiving medical advice for a hip injury.

The most encouraging development for Louisville at Clemson was the play of Tre White. He scored 29 points, seven more than his previous season high. He grabbed 14 rebounds, nearly triple his season average of 5.6.

Over Louisville's last six games since he returned from an injury, White has been Louisville's most efficient offensive player, especially inside the three-point line. He's made 27 of 39 of his two-point field goal attempts (69.2%).

"I think he went north and south (toward the basket) more than east and west (sideways)," Payne said. "When Tre White plays within the flow of the game and he catches the ball and attacks right away, he's tough to deal with …

"He's one of our best passers. I want him to attack defenses. I want him to get downhill and go attack and make plays, whether that's to score or to get assists.

"And I want him rebounding. I don't want to look at the stat sheet at the end of the game and see him have two or three rebounds. That kid is capable of getting an averaging 10 rebounds.

"That's a mindset. I have to make sure I stay on him and challenge him to make sure that his mindset is where it needs to be to play his best."

"Carrying that forward is what I plan to do," White said.

This record — 6-15 overall and 1-9 in the ACC — is far from the record that White expected this team to have before the season began.

I asked White if this group has re-set its goals and identified its No. 1 priority over the next 10 games.

"I feel like our main thing is just getting better day by day," White said. "Just learning and getting better and stronger together.

"I feel like we have been doing that. We just got to just lock in on the little things and keep it rolling. But I feel like we have gotten better, offensively and defensively, we've just got to just do it for whole 40 minutes, honestly."

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