Louisville's defensive woes lead to road loss at SMU
Louisville’s turnover issues and defensive woes led to what Pat Kelsey phrased as “a recipe for losing a conference game on the road.” Louisville fell short, losing on the road to the Mustangs 95-85.
Louisville struggled throughout the night defensively, as SMU’s guard play imposed its will. SMU’s perimeter trio of Corey Washington, Jaron Pierre Jr., and Boopie Miller combined for 66 points in total. The Cardinals also had 17 turnovers on the night.
WATCH: Pat Kelsey post-SMU press conference
Halfcourt defense
The Mustangs found success at every level of Louisville’s defense in the halfcourt. Their guards led the charge as their primary shot creators and scorers. Louisville’s initial line of defense had issues staying in front, as Isaac McKneely, Ryan Conwell, and Mikel Brown Jr. all had their fair share of issues defensively. The point-of-attack defense from Louisville’s guards must improve, especially since they lack rim-protection.
A lot of their issues defensively came at the point-of-attack, as SMU’s guards were able to break them down to generate paint touches. Their guards are dynamic offensively, and Kelsey referenced that they “struggled to guard them one-on-one.”
This is what makes SMU deadly offensively, as their two main guards create space to get to the rim, knock down jumpers from distance, or use their array of moves to knock down jumpers in the mid-range. On the night, they were 21-for-33 on mid-range pull-ups.
Ball-Screen issues
On the night, Louisville spent a lot of possessions switching defensively in ball-screen scenarios. This led their bigs to have to switch onto SMU’s guards, which was not ideal with how dynamic their guards are offensively.
Louisville’s guards struggled to get over screens, too, which led to switching actions. Additionally, there were also sequences where they were lackadaisical and not urgent to get over the screens, which led to unnecessary switches, too. These issues led to constant breakdowns defensively, where SMU’s guards got to the rim or sprayed out to open shooters on the perimeter. Boopie Miller thrived in ball-screens, as he finished with 23 points and nine assists.
SMU’s efficiency from the field
Overall, SMU was very efficient offensively and took advantage of defensive breakdowns, as Kelsey mentioned that his team “didn’t play with a lot of poise defensively.”
The Mustangs converted 38 of their 65 field goal attempts, while knocking down 47.4 percent of their three-point attempts. They also outscored Louisville 46-30 in terms of points in the paint. They averaged 1.301 points per possession for the game, as well.
Bad in transition
Another issue was that Louisville was allowing SMU to get out in transition. SMU finished the game with 11 fast-break points, but also surrendered 21 points off turnovers. Louisville turned the ball over 17 times, which allowed the Mustangs to play with pace, which is when they are at their best. This also led to cross-matches in transition, where SMU’s perimeter firepower could attack Louisville’s forwards/bigs in space.
The Cardinals will now turn their sights to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, as they will face off with them on Saturday, February 21st at 2:15 PM ET.
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