From: November 2, 2022
Allow me to preface this article by saying it was an exhibition game, so the results don’t really matter as it doesn’t affect anyone’s record. However, there was a shocking result from this weekend’s college basketball exhibition games, as division two school Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Louisville 57–47. Let’s take a look at how the Cardinals lost what should have been a sure-fire win to start their season.
Credit to Lenoir-Rhyne, they came out swinging and were not afraid of Louisville. They were confident in their abilities, and played to themselves even when the going got tough. The game’s result was not because of Lenoir-Rhyne’s ability, but it was a matter of Louisville and Kenny Payne failing to execute on both the offensive and defensive end.
Offensively, the Cards really weren’t that bad, but they definitely weren’t good enough. They got enough open looks to win a game, but failed to convert. Taking a look at the post-game press conference, it is clear that head coach Kenny Payne did not expect his team to play the way he did. He preaches pushing the ball up the court, and attacking hard closeouts for layups or kick out threes. Louisville rarely pushed the ball, walking the ball up the court for most of the game. The problem is, when they ran in transition and looked ahead, they got easy buckets on the Lenoir-Rhyne defense. The Louisville offense looked stagnant, something Payne is going to have to try to get his players to avoid if he wants to be successful in his first full-season in control.
Defensively, this team looked lazy. The Cardinals should be a team that can be pesky on defense, with plenty of length and athleticism on the perimeter to disrupt passing lanes and affect shots. Lenoir-Rhyne got to their spots offensively, and numerous contributors were able to knock down shots from behind the three-point line. Louisville seemed like they were constantly in a state of flux on defense, regularly scrambling to close out on perimeter shooters. This seemed to be exactly what the opponent wanted, as Lenoir-Rhyne attacked these weak closeouts for easy layups.
Look, it was a preseason exhibition. This loss isn’t the end of the world for the Cardinals, and it doesn’t mean anything for their chances in March. It is extremely concerning though, that Payne wasn’t able to get his players ready for the game last Saturday. It is going to be interesting to see how the birds can bounce back from this, and to see what they do on opening night against Bellarmine.