LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Louisville basketball team’s game at Wisconsin on Saturday figured to be ugly. Turns out, it was historically ugly.
It was, as they once voiced in "Seinfeld," which is where I often turn in important situations, "a write-off." Louisville hadn’t played in 18 days, the longest regular-season stretch without a game in 65 years, thanks to a COVID-19 pause. It was without team captain and point guard Carlik Jones. Half of that break, it had no team practices, with only partial-squad practices after that.
So it wasn’t going to be good, considering that Wisconsin is a veteran team ranked No. 12 in the nation. But it also didn’t have to be this bad, in the opinion of head coach Chris Mack, who spent a bit of extra time with his players in the locker room after Saturday’s 85-49 loss.
Wisconsin did whatever it wanted – especially from the 3-point line, where it went 16 for 25 and outscored No. 23 Louisville by 33.
Louisville never punched the ignition button. It had only 4 points after the game’s first 11 minutes and found itself down by 21.
But it wasn’t just about hot shooting. The Cardinals turned it over 18 times and were outscored 19-7 off turnovers. They were outscored 28-18 in the paint. They dished out only eight assists for the game and allowed Wisconsin to shoot 54% from the field.
"We were thoroughly outplayed," Mack said. "Outmanned, out-toughed, outcoached. Wisconsin’s got a veteran crew, and they looked like it. They played like a million bucks, didn’t miss a shot from the field, and we never really offered resistance the entire way. It is what it is. We’ve got to move on, we’ve got a game against Pittsburgh (on Tuesday), but we’ve got to learn some lessons from this one."
In other words, Louisville might’ve had some excuses for losing, but not for losing like this. Its 44-18 halftime deficit was the largest in program history. The final margin matched the 10th largest in program history. It can’t be a total write-off, because Mack is going to have to do some teaching from this.
First on the docket will be addressing Louisville’s Simon & Garfunkel defense. What is the Simon & Garfunkel defense, most young people are likely asking at this point? It’s the sounds of silence. Nobody is talking defensively. Louisville opened in man-to-man, and its poor defense on ball screens led to four early 3s by Wisconsin until Mack went a 2-3 zone, which he couldn’t have been thrilled to do.
On both ends, while Wisconsin players’ voices filled the empty arena, Mack said his own team was "eerily silent." And that can’t be.
"Had we fought and done the things early in the game to give ourselves a chance going into halftime, then maybe things would’ve gone differently in the game," Mack said. "... We’ve got some growing up to do at certain positions, that’s for sure."
He also was displeased with Wisconsin’s ability to bully the Cardinals in the past, to get deep position and then to be able to get the ball with little difficulty.
And, with the game out of reach, Mack said his team "let a lot of things slip." He didn’t say they quit. But he didn’t like what he saw.
"I don’t think you can burn the tape," he said. "Two things we need to worry about are why things happened the way they did, but also with the quick turnaround we’ve got to figure out some glaring –and there were a lot of them – areas to improve on, no matter who we play."
Clearly the return of Jones – both for his leadership and his ball-handling – will be important. Sophomore David Johnson had a difficult day running the team, with 7 turnovers to go with 12 points and 4 assists. Jones was able to travel with the team and warm up, but school protocols didn’t allow him to compete. Mack said he will play Tuesday at Pittsburgh.
Of Johnson, Mack said, "He has to run his team. On the offensive end, you’re not going to be able to be effective against a team like Wisconsin just dribbling, dribbling, dribbling and trying to score off a ball screen. And that’s what our offense resembled for the better part of the day. Things that we work on every day from posting up different players to getting ball movement, all the things we have to execute in order to be efficient on offense, we’ve got to be able to execute them on game day. Again, Dave is playing heavy minutes. He’s a better player than he played today. He certainly has to take way better care of the basketball with his decision making, and we’re playing one of the best teams in the country. It’ll be a learning lesson not just for Dave but for all of us."
Back into the lineup after going out with a toe injury, sophomore Samuell Williamson finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds in 40 minutes.
"Sam has to be better," Mack said. "He just does. I don’t think his toe has anything to do with his lack of voice on the floor, defensively and offensively. He’s got to be able to help Dave as one of the more experienced players on our team to start the game. Settle us down, get us to run our offense and not have just one guy dribble the ball. Defensively, Sam’s got a ways to go. He’s got to go over ball screens instead of under, call switches, be able to front the post without fouling, got to guard back-door cuts without holding, and again, grow up and be a veteran guy as a sophomore for us."
Quinn Slazinski had 11 points and 5 rebounds for the Cardinals, while freshman Gabe Wiznitzer came off the bench and earned Mack’s praise for his defensive communication late. He finished with 4 points.
"It’s the cards we’re dealt. We’re not the only team that comes off a pause and then has to turn around and compete," Mack said. "But with a young team and guys trying to catch their wind and playing extended minutes because we don’t have 12 scholarship guys right now, it just is what it is, and we’re going to have to learn some valuable lessons despite all the barriers that our team is facing. And today, we’re going to learn a lot of lessons."
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