May 22, 2022; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Racing Louisville FC head coach Kim Bjorkegren looks on in the first half against the New Jersey/New York Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Read what forwards Kaleb Glenn and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, the head coach of the Cardinals, had to say following their defeat by the Orange.
LOUISVILLE, KY: In their rematch with Syracuse, the men’s basketball team at Louisville came dangerously close to mounting a comeback, but ultimately, the Cardinals lost 82-76, extending their losing run to five games.
Following the defeat, these are the comments made by head coach Kenny Payne, forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, and forward Kaleb Glenn.
Kenny Payne routinely scribbles on a whiteboard in the last few minutes before tipoff.
Nothing that Louisville’s second-year men’s basketball head coach created on Saturday night could stop this.
The 2023–24 Cardinals season was disastrous for a long time. However, after their 21st defeat, 82-76, to Syracuse at the KFC Yum! Center, it was formally recorded as the second-worst in the history of the current program.
Payne is currently ranked first and second on the list.
It’s “soul-searching” time for some team members, junior Brandon Huntley-Hatfield told reporters on Saturday. He said, “It’s not our staff.” “It’s on us.”
However, when U of L (8-21, 3-15 ACC) dropped five straight games with an average margin of 18.4 points to secure yet another last-place conference result, Payne publicly questioned his ability to motivate his team.
As he began his postgame news conference, he stated, “I look at this and I say, ‘All right, am I giving the message the wrong way?'” “Am I requesting anything from you that you cannot give up? Are I making a statement that doesn’t translate?
The Cards fell behind the Orange (20-10, 11-8 ACC) by as much as 19 points and for all but 3 minutes and 54 seconds.
The tension-filled match that the teams engaged in on February 7 at the JMA Wireless Dome seems a long way off after reading that statement. Both was and wasn’t it. There were glimmers of promise in Louisville.
Before the last 4:43 of the first half, it had reduced the lead from nine points to three, but Syracuse was able to close with a 10-2 run. At 12:58 of the second half, when it was within five points, 52-47, the Orange embarked on a 14-3 run to regain the lead.
With 39 seconds left in regulation, the game was down to two possessions, 78-74, as those stretches destroyed one last rally. They reminded me of something Payne said on Wednesday following a defeat over No. 10 Duke by 25 points.
He said to reporters, “We compounded whatever good we did by doing something bad.”
That’s problematic because, as Payne stated on Saturday night, he doesn’t “have a lot of guys who I can go to when something goes south on us.”
“Their words say, ‘I’m confident; I can do this, I can do this,'” he said afterwards. “Their body language says, ‘This is really hard; and these are really good (opposing) players.'”
Chris Bell, a sophomore forward, was Syracuse’s best player, just like he was in New York last month. Instead of scoring 30 points as he did in the past, he led all scorers with 23 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Judah Mintz, a fellow sophomore, contributed 21 points. His buzzer-beating slam that put the Orange ahead 39-28 at the half, which he scored coast to coast while remaining unguarded, was the highlight of the Cards’ defensive woes.
