That Louisville even had a legitimate chance to eek out a sweep of their West Coast trip is a testament to . . .
. . . I dunno . . . grit.
????????
Louisville 76, Stanford 80.
The Cardinals never held a lead for the last 15:01 of the 1st.
But trailed by only one at the half, 34-35.
U of L tallied on 5 of their first six possessions of the 2d.
But Stanford kept answering.
U of L inched ahead 48-45 at 15:51. The Cardinal scooted back ahead 52-51 with 12:52 to go.
The Cardinals never held an advantage after that.
A Khani Rooths corner triple tied it at 65 with 4:49 to play.
Stanford responded with their own three seconds later and kept Louisville measured the rest of the way.
* * * * *
The second game of a road trip is always tough.
Especially on the other side of the country.
Especially against conference foes.
Louisville’s reputed depth turns into an illusion when Mikel Brown and Kasean Pryor don’t suit up. When the team’s leading scorer misses his first nine shots then fouls out with 1:51 left after scratching out 18 points (6/21, 2/14).
Three other mainstays were hampered with four fouls each. J’Vonne Hadley, Khani Rooths, and Adrian Wooley who was essentially not available, committing his third with nine to play in the 1st and his fourth four minutes into the 2d.
Yada yada yada.
Stanford was quicker to the ball. Took the Cards off the bounce way too often. Played truly destructive defense. And hit 47% of their treys (9/19) vs. U of L’s 6/27. 22%.
Stanford was clearly the better team Friday night.
The Cardinal deserved the win.
The Cardinal got the win.
— c d kaplan
We had zero respect for this team. Definitely the players and I suspect the staff.
Fru isn’t going to beat the top of the league but he could have carried this win. There was not a single offensive set for him.
I was very disappointed that there wasn’t a single halftime adjustment. That’s enough for tonight. I need another drink.
Lack of adjustment. Absolutely. Thought it. Should have written that. Disturbing.
That’s a team we should have beaten by 15 no matter the place or time. Not having Brown puts more pressure on Conwell to score. The disturbing pattern: we can’t cope with physicality and adjustments are not being made, or if they are, they are not apparent. If you can’t make 3s, go to the rim! Fru was underutilized. Refs were terrible, as usual, but that was not decisive. A win versus Duke is more essential than ever. Oy vey.
Got schooled by a freshman is also a reason
Duke will definitely be a bigger challenge.
Pryor , how injured is he really?
That makes two freshmen guards that have owned us this year. The guy from Arkansas and now this kid
Don’t forget Peterson for Kansas.
One adjustment- though too little too late – was utilizing Hadley in post ups. He showed he could do that last season and we haven’t used it enough this year
He was noticeably lame in his last 2 home games. Especially in the 2nd half.
Yeh, ADJUSTMENT was the critical factor. Too often the idea of “dance with the one who brung ya” displaces better judgment.
If you are firing blanks, change amunition cuz the incoming arrows will find their mark. Go to the frigin rim. Use your bigs. Better % and more likely to draw the “and one”.
Our bigs often play the high post and make some dandy passes, but then don’t go towards the basket to rebound! Ugh!