By Derek DeBurger
No. 22 Louisville escaped with a win at home against the Colorado Buffaloes.
Again…
The Cards started Wednesday’s game with a hitch in their step.
After forcing a shot-clock violation on Colorado’s first possession, Louisville couldn’t get any offense going themselves.
Colorado finally broke the seal with a putback, and the two teams briefly went blow-for-blow.
However, the Buffaloes slowly took the lead that inched into nine points by the middle of the quarter.
After falling down 21-10, Jeff Walz opted not to call a timeout but instead let his team play on. The result was an 8-0 run and a Colorado timeout.
With just one more basket scored, the first ended with a 23-18 Colorado lead.
The Cards kept their momentum for the early goings of the second, but quickly fell apart.
Colorado used a 10-2 run over four minutes to take control back.
But just like the first, Louisville came storming back. The Cards put together a great performance to cut the lead back down to three after a triple from Tajianna Robert to beat the buzzer.
Going into the half, Louisville only trailed 37-34.
Just wait until the end
Where halftime is usually a time for adjustments, not much looked like it had changed.
The Buffs looked like their hair was on fire, racing out to a 45-39 lead.
But again, like clockwork, Louisville got right back into the game.
A three from Elif Istanbulluoglu got the ball rolling, and Skyler Jones hit a jumper to take the lead.
In spite of their best efforts, Louisville still trailed 58-55 at the end of the quarter.
The game for three quarters had already been a defensive showcase, but the fourth quarter ticked that up a could notches.
There were only a handful of field goals made in the first eight minutes of the period, all of them were by Louisville. The Cards didn’t get up a field goal until the 1:07 mark.
After jones tied the game at 62-62 on a pair of free throws, Colorado seemed to tighten up.
Roberts gave the Cards the lead on a layup, and everything was Louisville from that point on.
After the foul fest began, Colorado didn’t have enough team fouls and were forced to foul Louisville multiple times to put them at the line, wasting precious seconds.
What should have been the opening the Buffaloes needed was actually the nail in the coffin.
Laura Ziegler missed the second of two free throws with only a three-point lead. After a Colorado rebound, Reyna Scott put herself in excellent position to draw a charge, but forced a travel instead.
From there, the game was all but over.
Louisville won 74-68.
Learning
What was fairly transparent became obvious Wednesday: Louisville has a tight rotation.
Only eight players saw the court against Colorado, with four of them playing over 30 minutes. This is with Walz being notorious for shortening his bench the later the season gets.
While this could cause a problem at some point this season, it was crucial for the Cards finding a groove.
Jones played amazing, scoring a game-high 21 points and really keeping Louisville in it during the early stretches.
The team as a whole played fantastic defense, especially inside where they racked up seven blocks.
But the slows starts continue to be an issue for Louisville. It’s only come back to bite them once so far, but the Cards are playing with fire.
For now, Louisville advances to 2-1 on the season.
Photo Courtesy / Taris Smith / Louisville Athletics
