By Dalton Ray–

For the first time in nearly two years, Quentin Snider didn’t start for coach Rick Pitino’s team. Expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a hip injury, U of L played their first game during the Snider-less stretch.

Tough start

In the opening minutes of the Clemson game, Louisville’s offense struggled mightily. The ball movement simply wasn’t there and Louisville trailed 11-4 as a result. Pitino inserted David Levitch, looking for a facilitator for his offense.

The Cardinals tried to find their identity on the offensive end by going to different players. Donovan Mitchell created most of the opportunities himself early by driving the lane. While it gave Louisville half of their points, the one-man system isn’t the most efficient way to run an offense.

Louisville then looked to the post to get shots near the rim. On three straight possessions, Mangok Mathiang got the ball on the block but only converted on attempt.

Louisville seemed to be passing the ball just to pass the ball. No one was looking to score and the offense looked stagnant.

Mitchell to the rescue

Halfway through the first half and Louisville trailed by nine. U of L simply looked lost on the court without their floor general Snider. Then Mitchell took over.

After trailing 21-12, Louisville finished the half on a 29-10 run. Mitchell finished the half 8-for-8 with 18 points. His ability to get to the rim put defenders on their heels and allowed him to have space for his jump shot. Mitchell capped the half with a contested buzzer-beating three.

The sophomore not only took the place of Snider in running the offense, but vocally.

Throughout the game Mitchell directed traffic in Louisville’s press and guided the U of L offense. His hot start rubbed off on his teammates as four other Cardinals finished the game in double figures.

Roll with the punches

Because Louisville lacked a point guard, the Cardinals were forced to use the pick-and-roll more offensively. Beating defenders off the dribble isn’t something this Louisville team is known for, but they adjusted due to their circumstances.

Pitino acknowledged how happy he is with his team to be flexible.

“I’m really proud of our guys because I hate when things get in the way of preparation. We didn’t expect anything to be wrong with Quentin Snider. Now, we don’t have a true point guard … the guys responded in a big way,” Pitino said.

Pitino knows how much not having Snider changes his team.

“It’s a different game with Quentin being out. You don’t get as many baskets. You’ve got to really work hard for it,” Pitino said.

With Snider being out, the offense takes a hit. The best way to counter lack of offense is to play strong defense, and that’s what Pitino chose to do by starting Mitchell, Deng Adel, VJ King, Jaylen Johnson and Anas Mahmoud.

“I went with the best group defensively. We were going to go with Tony Hicks as the first guy off the bench. I’m glad he played well tonight. That’s a big lift for us,” Pitino said. “I tried a bunch of different lineups but we’re going to go with that one.”

Photo by Laurel Slaughter / The Louisville Cardinal