Although the adage “defence wins championships” may have been used in relation to football, Louisville is still learning how important defence is in basketball, despite it looking like a tough lesson. Host Wake Forest won easily 90-65 on Saturday afternoon because of their utilization of the three-point line, which saw them make 18 of 35 shots from behind the arc.
Louisville’s record drops to 1-6 in the ACC and 6-12 overall.
During his press conference following the game, UofL head coach Kenny Payne stated, “There are no excuses.”
The Cardinals’ persistent lack of defensive presence against the Demon Deacons is evident. In terms of field goal defence (45.9) and three-point defence (33.5), UofL was ranked No. 308 in the country coming into the contest. After its most recent bad performance that let Wake Forest hit on 50% of its field goal attempts and 51.4% of its three-point attempts, UofL is sure to fall much further in both statistical rankings.
Payne declared, “We have to go out and perform.” “We must go battle outside. We truly need to go forward and defend. The obvious fact is that you cannot win if we permit a side to shoot the ball in such a manner. You can already predict what will happen if they make 18 threes: you will lose by 20 points or more. The last time a team made eighteen threes in a game is beyond my memory. That is truly unique.
Wake Forest finished just one basket short of the school record with their 18 three-pointers, which is the most made by an ACC club this season. The Demon Deacons had at least one three-pointer made by seven different players.
Hunter Sallis scored a team-high 19 points in the game, leading Wake Forest with five three-pointers. For the Deacs, four more players scored in double digits, led by Damari Monsanto, who finished with four of six points from three in his first game in eleven months.
Tre White scored the most points for the Cardinals (17 points), followed by Mike James (16 points) and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (12 points).
Payne kept changing his starting eleven. Tre White, who has been battling an injury, and Zan Payne were back in the starting lineup.
“I knew we had to play defence, and I believed that Zan could step in and provide me with quality defensive minutes, just like he did with Danilo Jovanovich, Hercy Miller, and anybody else I started in the lineup. I felt he did a respectable job. “If you got a jersey on your back, I’m not afraid to let you in there and let you,” is a statement I make frequently. Once more, I don’t need guys to do exceptionally well. I need players who can play strong defence, shoot well, converse and interact with one another, and respond quickly to actions on the court.
At this point, Louisville has lost three straight games. The next Tuesday at 7 p.m. is a home game against Duke.
See a rerun of Payne’s post-match remarks in the player below.
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