How it happened: No. 16 Louisville dropped at Stanford
University of Louisville men’s basketball and Pat Kelsey knew that going on a week-long trip on the West Coast and coming back with two wins was going to be a tall task.
And while Tuesday night’s 90-70 win at California was no indication of that, the Cardinals followed it up with their third road loss of the season, an 80-76 loss at Stanford. It’s 16th-ranked Louisville’s first loss in ACC play this season.
Without freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. (back) for the fourth consecutive game, Louisville was set to rely heavily on Adrian Wooley and Ryan Conwell, who combined for 47 points at Cal. The two struggled mightily on Friday, with Conwell fouling out and shooting 6-of-21 from the floor and 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. Wooley had four fouls in his first nine minutes of play and finished with just three points.
Off the bench, backup point guard Kobe Rodgers only played 13 minutes and provided two points. Sixth-year forward Kasean Pryor was available to play against Stanford after being ruled out at Cal, but was a healthy scratch.
Louisville struggled from beyond the arc, going a season-worst 6-of-27 (22.2 percent), but still managed to outrebound Stanford 39-31. The Cardinals also turned it over 12 times, but totaled five more assists than Stanford. It was an odd game in that kind of way, one where Louisville didn’t play poorly, but also didn’t do enough to win the game.
Cards ball-handlers (Conwell, Wooley, and Rodgers) combined for seven turnovers and four assists, which won’t cut it in conference play. Louisville also committed 23 personal fouls, leading to 31 Stanford free throw attempts. The Cardinals’ inability to guard without fouling has continued to be a major issue, as over the two games against Cal and Stanford, Louisville committed a total of 48 personal fouls.
Stanford freshman guard Ebuka Okorie and veteran forward Chisom Okpara combined for 19 of those free throw attempts and scored 45 of the team’s 80 points. Their constant threat of dribble-drive and physicality was difficult for Louisville’s guards. The Tree scored at 1.21 points per possession and shot 47.4 percent from 3, plus 46.4 percent overall.
Several bright spots on Louisville’s side include members of the frontcourt like Sananda Fru, Khani Rooths, and J’Vonne Hadley. Fru had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Rooths played 27 minutes and tallied seven points, four rebounds, a block, and a steal. Hadley, the senior from Minneapolis, was steady and made 5-of-9 shots for 14 points and seven rebounds.
Louisville now awaits answers regarding the health of its starting point guard and prepares for one of the nation’s best teams, Duke, which visits the Yum! Center on Tuesday.
