Louisville basketball, to prep for NCAA Tournament, must challenge itself | C.L. Brown

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Louisville basketball’s run through the ACC is great for the team’s confidence, great for returning the program to elite status nationally and great for restoring pride in the city.

But these double-digit wins are doing little to prepare them for the tight, one-possession games decided in the final minute that are sure to confront the Cardinals when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

Georgia Tech caught them flat-footed in their first game of the month, a 77-70 loss in Atlanta. But that’s been the exception as the Cards’ first road loss in conference play.

U of L breezed through the first half of the ACC schedule with its nine wins coming by an average of 15.2 points. Only its win at Pitt has come down to the final minutes and, even then, the Panthers never had possession with a chance to tie or lead in the last 90 seconds.

A play that wasn’t drawn up essentially saved the game. J’Vonne Hadley missed a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left, but he chased down his own rebound. That allowed the Cards to run more clock as Chucky Hepburn’s layup with eight seconds left sealed the 82-78 win.

In the four games that followed Pitt, the Cards led their opponents by more than 20 points (Syracuse 26, Virginia 21, SMU 32, Wake Forest 29) in the second half of all four games.

It surely beats the results of the past three seasons, when the Cards were, far too often, on the wrong side of those blowouts.

But it begs the question, how will U of L react when it is tested late?

It helps to have Hepburn.

March is won by point guards who remain steady, and the Wisconsin transfer is proving to be as steady as they come for the Cards.

Hepburn ranked 11th nationally entering the Georgia Tech loss, averaging 6.4 assists per game. He’d been even better in ACC play, ranking first with an 8.0 average and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.3 through the first 10 conference games.

Aside from just having faith in Hepburn to make the right play, there’s no telling how the Cards will react in a tight game now.

The…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/louisville-basketball-prep-ncaa-tournament-101656425.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-03 10:16:00

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