LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It was only an exhibition game. It was only an exhibition game. It was only an exhibition game.

Let me make this perfectly clear: The University of Louisville's 106-59 victory over Young Harris on Monday night was merely an exhibition game.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will not request video from what unfolded over 40 minutes of the introduction by Pat Kelsey's first team to more than 10,000 fans at the KFC Yum! Center.

But ...

The more I considered the 56 three-point field goals that the Cardinals attempted as well as the 24 that Kelsey's team made, the more I was inspired to dive into the silly numbers.

Here are some items that I uncovered:

  • The most three-pointers attempted by any DI men's program during the entire 2023-24 regular season was 52 by Kennesaw State
  • The most taken by a power conference program was 48 by Alabama against Mississippi State in early February
  • The most three-pointers made by any DI men's team last season was 21. Three teams did that — Arkansas Pine Bluff, Penn and High Point
  • The most threes made by a power conference program was 19. Alabama did it twice, Baylor and Stanford did it once
  • In 2022-23, the season highs were 54 attempts (Alabama() and 23 makes (Eastern Kentucky and Alabama)

I rolled the numbers back one more season. There it was. Wyoming made 28 threes in a game on 54 attempts.

Only an exhibition game. But different. And certainly no accident. Nearly every position featured four players spaced around the perimeter. When the ball went inside, it typically returned back outside.

Ten guys attempted at least one three. Eight made at least one. Six made at least a pair, led by Terrence Edwards Jr. (6 for 11) and Reyne Smith (6 for 8).

I'm not predicting Louisville will launch 50 threes against Morehead State, Tennessee or Kentucky. I'm curious how it will work against teams with powerful inside attacks like Tennessee or Duke. But there was no doubt Kelsey was at ease letting this guys get comfortable taking three-pointers.

Of Louisville's 78 shots, 56 were scored as three-point attempts, five were dunks, 12 were layups and five were mid-range jump shots.

That's another number to remember: five mid-range jump shots.

The best and the brightest coaches in the game preach that a contested mid-range jump shot is the worst shot in basketball. 

"We always say we are hunting great shots," Kelsey said. "That is getting to the free throw line, finishing at the rim and kicking for threes."

The numbers from Kelsey's College of Charleston team last season show a season best of 17 threes made on 43 attempts against Coastal Carolina in a November game.

Kelsey's last two teams there both attempted about 47% of their shots from distance.

So this, taking 72% of their attempts from three, was an anomaly. But Kelsey's last two Charleston teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation in percentage of shots taken from distance. Mark Pope's BYU team was on that list last season. Nate Oats of Alabama has been on the list five-straight seasons.

Kelsey started his head coaching career at Winthrop in 2013, with a team that took 37% of its shots behind the three-point line. The number stayed under 40% through his first three seasons. But in 2019, when Winthrop finished 18-12, Kelsey's team took nearly 53% of its attempts from distance.

Over his entire career, Kelsey has never coached a team that look less than 37% of its shots from deep.

How does that compare to Louisville?

The numbers for Kenny Payne's two teams were 31% last season and 36% one year earlier. The high mark in the four seasons of Chris Mack was 43.7% during his first year with Jordan Nwora, Dwayne Sutton and Ryan McMahon leading the way.

David Padgett's one U of L team took nearly 36% of its shots from three. And only one of Rick Pitino's final 11 Louisville teams took more than 40% of its shots from distance. That was the 2011 Preston Knowles, Peyton Siva, Mike Marra, Chris Smith team that lost to Morehead State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prepare for a different kind of basketball experience.

"I believe, it could kind of be a trend," U of L guard Reyne Smith said. " We don't really talk about how many threes we're going to go out there and shoot. We just want to generate the best shot possible each possession, whether that's a shot at the rim or a three-pointer.

"All the guys work really hard on shooting and shooting every single day, so someone's open and catching in rhythm and letting them fly all the time. So, there's a lot of confidence between everyone to shoot a lot of threes, but it's not something we really talk about."

But when a team attempts 56 threes and makes 24, other people will talk about it, especially as U of L works toward delivering its first winning season since 2021.

It was only an exhibition game. But Pat Kelsey's team has already given people something to talk about.

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