By Derek DeBurger
The Louisville men’s basketball team survives in a tough opener versus UMBC.
In a game where all-time great coach Denny Crum was honored, the Cards used the extra enthusiasm from the rather bare crowd to their advantage in a game that went down to the wire.
From tipoff, the Cards and the Retrievers would go shot for shot until five minutes left in the first half when UMBC would go on a run to take an eight-point lead into halftime. Last season, the Cards would’ve folded the moment there was any adversity, but transfers Skyy Clark and Tre White provided a calming veteran presence despite their sophomore status.
Out of the half, Louisville strung together a 10-0 run that was predicated on a strong defensive spurt from White. After the Cards took the lead 50-48, they found themselves clawing their way back into the mix. The star of the game was returning sophomore Mike James, who had a career-high 25 points with 10 rebounds to complete the double-double performance. James was the one who stepped up nearly every time the Cards needed a big play, going 13-for-14 from the free-throw line.
James wasn’t the only returning player who took massive strides forward; forwards Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Emmanuel Okorafor looked almost like completely different players from a year ago. Huntley-Hatfield showed off his high motor skillset that made him a former five-star recruit. Okorafor was the same ball of energy from the year before, but under more control; his movements were far more purposeful in playing the role of a traditional big with eight points and two blocks in just 10 minutes.
The roster construction was also a noticeable area of improvement. There was a minimal drop in efficiency when Clark was subbed out for point guard Ty-Laur Johnson. Head coach Kenny Payne was even able to play a more modern lineup with both point guards on the court simultaneously, and the results speak for themselves.
After taking a five-point lead late in the game, the Cards found themselves tied with just 18 seconds left. After a missed layup by White, and a UMBC rebound, White ripped the ball out of the hands of the UMBC player and threw the game-winning ally-oop to forward JJ Traynor while falling out of bounds.
On the ensuing possession, Skyy Clark fouled Khydarius Smith, giving the big a chance to tie the game up at the line. After making the first free throw, Smith would miss the second and UMBC would fail to get a shot off before time expired. The Cards would win 94-93.
Post-game thoughts
With everything positive you can say about Louisville offensively, there are as many negatives about the defensively.
Louisville gave up 93 points on 50.7% shooting from the field and 52.4% from three. The team only forced 11 turnovers, and many of those were flat-out mistakes from UMBC — not the result of good Cardinal defense.
This was an exciting game with what might already be the best ending of the season, but an exciting game is a terrible sign. UMBC is very bad, and the fact that Louisville needed a miraculous play to get the win says that the Cards aren’t too much better.
There’s a lot to be happy (and concerned) about, but for now, let’s all appreciate that the Cards are 1-0 to start Payne’s second year.
