WKU Basketball: Tops Humbled by #2 Louisville 71–54.
A much-anticipated showdown with #2 Louisville quickly turned into a mismatch as the Cardinals led the whole way and WKU left Nashville…
A much-anticipated showdown with #2 Louisville quickly turned into a mismatch as the Cardinals led the whole way and WKU left Nashville with a 71–54 defeat.
The game started off in horrible fashion as WKU looked out of control early missing multiple close-range shots and UofL quickly jumped out to a 9–0 lead in the first three and a half minutes. That wouldn’t improve as they fell behind as much as 19 points in the first half as Louisville shot 43% and WKU turned the ball over 10 times as they took a 37–23 lead into the locker room.
WKU played much more competently for much of the second half. The 14 point halftime lead was trimmed to 9 points on a Charles Bassey free throw with 9:35 remaining. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Hilltoppers would get as Louisville would quickly go on a 14–2 run over the next five minutes blowing the game wide open and handing the Hilltoppers a humbling 71–54 defeat moving them to 6–2 on the season.
Here are a few quick thoughts from today’s loss:
WKU went 1–17 from three-point range which is a recipe for disaster. There were tons of jacked-up shots with little ball movement contributing to that number
WKU committed only 11 turnovers on the game which is usually a good number for them. Unfortunately, 10 of those were in the first half which more than helped to dig a giant hole that the Tops couldn’t climb out of
WKU’s bread and butter of free-throw margin was also a negative 6 on takes (20 to 14) and negative 5 on makes (18 to 13). All those free throws were in second half when WKU somewhat held their own. When the Tops aren’t dominating in the statistic it’s going to be a long day
Charles Bassey had a solid night with 14 points, 9 rebounds and a block. He tried to impress scouts too much on the perimeter attempting four or five deep shots (including one three). He’s at his best when he dominates inside and tonight was a good example of that.
Taveion Hollinsworth had an ok night with 16 points & 4 rebounds. He played his best mainly off the ball as he also had 3 turnovers and no assists. Stansbury needs to figure out his role like almost every position except Bassey.
Carson Williams was a no show for the second game in a row finishing with just 2 points and 1 rebound while battling foul trouble. Against athletic teams, he struggles. Let’s hope the two sub-par performances wake him up.
Josh Anderson provided a spark in the second half and was one of the few players that could match UofL’s athleticism. Stansbury needs to find ways to get Anderson more than 18 minutes a game if the Tops are to take off the rest of the season.
Jordan Rawls had a solid game for a freshman (6 points, 1 turnover), he’s yet another player that Stansbury needs to find a place for
Jared Savage & Camron Justice combined for 10 points five turnovers while only shooting 2–14 combined. Stansbury can’t afford to keep playing them together when they’re not hitting shots.
WKU played so bad today, most people forgot that Louisville will be the #1 team in the country come Monday. The Cardinals have the skill, size, and depth that WKU won’t see the rest of the season (unless they make the NCAA tournament). Every time WKU made a run they answered and kept WKU from ever getting back into the game. Credit where credit is due.
WKU has very little time to lick their wounds as they travel to Dayton to take on Wright State (6–2) on Tuesday night. The Raiders were predicted to win the Horizon League in the preseason so if WKU doesn’t wake up we could be staring down the barrell of a losing streak with a vastly improved Arkansas team coming to town on Saturday. Let’s hope tonight’s game is the wake up call the
Here are your final stats from today’s disheartening result:
