The Louisville Cardinals were defeated by Chattanooga last night, 81-71, a blowout loss by ten points. Not much more can be stated than what was said during the entire previous season
Prior to the game, the Cardinals were favored by -3.5, and all Cardinal supporters realized this would be a difficult game as soon as the first media timeout aired. The truth is that Louisville shouldn’t have a difficult time winning at home against Chattanooga. Things weren’t that horrible, not even in the final year of the Chris Mack administration. Mack handled these smaller colleges with ease, and he never had any trouble with teams like Chattanooga. That is precisely the kind of team the Cardinals are; it is obvious that Kenny Payne is not receiving the kind of results that fans want or perhaps demand. Prior to this season, Louisville had not dropped a home game in November since 1972.
The Cardinals trailed Chattanooga by 21 at one point in the second half. The difficulty lies in the fact that the phrase “being down to Chattanooga by 21 in the 2nd half” is used at all.
The Cardinals were favored by -3.5 going into the game, and as soon as the first media timeout aired, all Cardinal fans knew this would be a tough one. In actuality, Louisville shouldn’t have any trouble defeating Chattanooga at home. Not even in the last year of the Chris Mack presidency were things all that bad. Mack had no issue playing teams like Chattanooga, and he had no trouble handling these smaller universities. The Cardinals are exactly that kind of squad; it’s clear that Kenny Payne isn’t getting the kind of outcomes that supporters desire, if not demand. Louisville had not lost a home game in November since 1972 before this season.
Despite being a considerably larger squad, Louisville tied Chattanooga with 41 total rebounds, which is quite disappointing. Additionally, the Cardinals made 65% of their free throws and shot 33% from beyond the field. This is no better than the 61% from Monday’s game against UMBC.
The Cardinals were led by Mike James and Tre White, who each scored 17 points. Skyy Clark was the only other Louisville player to reach double digits, scoring 12 points. JJ Traynor was the next player with the most points (7). Also, the bench scored a staggering 17 points in unison.
The second half saw Louisville give up 48 points, and things are not looking good for Kenny Payne at all. I told him right away that he needed to start 3-0 if he wanted to keep his job. They might have a chance to enter the ACC with at least a respectable record and possibly even a bid for the March tournament if they get out to a 3-0 start.
After two games, that does not seem at all conceivable.
With Louisville down 1-0, Kenny Payne’s position is quite hot. The Cardinals’ season is going to be lengthy.
