BOZICH | Wake Forest routs Louisville 90-65 as Cards' defense no-shows | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — When Kenny Payne played for Denny Crum on the University of Louisville men’s basketball team, Crum made certain that a two-word message was ironed on to the rear end of the Cardinals’ practice shorts:

DEFENSE WINS.

In their six Atlantic Coast Conference defeats this season, Payne’s team has experienced the flip side of Crum’s signature message:

NO DEFENSE GETS BLOWN OUT.

The Cardinals lost for the sixth time in seven league games Saturday afternoon against Wake Forest at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. The final score was 90-65 -- and it did not seem that close. It certainly did not appear that both teams played with the same edge and urgency.

"There are no excuses," Payne said. "At the end of the day we've got to go out and perform. We've got to go out and play with a fight. Really we've got to go out and defend.

"The elephant in the room is if we allow a team to shoot the ball like that, you're not winning. And if they make 18 threes, you see what happens, you're going to lose by 20 or more."

When asked if he believed that his players lacked the competitive spirit that they showed against Miami, North Carolina State or North Carolina, Payne did not disagree.

"No question about it," he said. "I think sometimes young people feel like I don't have to do things early in the morning, 12 o'clock (noon) game.

"That's no excuse. I feel like when you step between those lines, you have to compete. You've got to fight. You've got to know who you're playing against. You've got to know this is a war and the team you're playing against is pretty good."

Somebody needs to dig out a pair of those old practice shorts and apply Denny Crum’s simple message. Wake did whatever it wanted to do whenever the Demon Deacons wanted to do it.

There was no mystery about Louisville’s struggle. The Cards' defensive effort was 40 Minutes of Oh, Well.

The Demon Deacons made back-to-back three-point shots four different times. In one stretch, as Wake extended its lead from 16-14 to 28-16, Wake made four consecutive shots from distance. The longest Wake went without making a three was a six-minute stretch late in the second half after the Demon Deacons were ahead, 78-52.

Mark it down as the fourth ACC loss where Louisville has allowed 83 or more points. In their six ACC defeats, the Cards have allowed an average of 83.3 points. That is a direct path to a 6-12 overall record and 1-6 in the ACC.

Tre White scored 17 while Mike James had 16 for the Cards.

In the first half the Cards could not have made it any easier for the Demon Deacons. They did not pressure ball-handlers. They over-helped on shooters. They could not rotate quickly enough to defend the extra pass.

They looked confused because they were confused.

Payne said the problem was that the Cards' defensive plan was to switch defenders when Wake performed dribble handoffs or used ball screens. Instead of following the plan, two U of L defenders consistently remained with the ball-handler, leaving another player open. Wake found the open man. The open man did not miss.

Can't happen. But it happened for 40 minutes. That needed to be fixed during a timeout not during a off-day film session.

This is what nearly perfect offense looks like: Wake averaged an absurd 1.6 points per possession in the first half and 1.32 ppp for the game. 1.0 is considered average. 1.2 is excellent. 1.6 is legitimately absurd, a pure statistical confirmation that the opposing team is not providing sufficient resistance.

Wake turned the ball over one time in 32 possessions in the first half and only 8 times in 69 possession for the game.

In the first 20 minutes, six Wake players made at least one shot from distance. As a group, Wake made 10 of 19 three-pointers. Louisville attempted three. It made zero. Getting outscored 30-to-0 from distance is (fill in the blank).

By game's end, the numbers from the three-point line were equally alarming:

Louisville made 2 of 11. Wake made 18 for 35, the most three-pointer made by any ACC team this season.

I apologize for repeating myself but one basketball truth is inescapable:

You have to make the three. Or defend the three.

Pick one. The really good teams do both. The teams that do neither struggle.

Louisville struggled terribly Saturday.

Louisville’s 5-day stay in North Carolina ended. They will return to the KFC Yum! Center for their next two — Tuesday at 7 against Duke and then next Saturday at noon against Virginia.

If the defense continues to no show, it won’t be pretty.