Indiana University Athletics
GRAHAM: Much Has Changed At Louisville. Winning Has Not.
12/7/2018 7:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Louisville men's basketball is not accustomed to new coaching eras.
But the Cardinals sure are used to winning.
That hasn't changed under Chris Mack.
Mack, just U of L's third coach since 1971, built his considerable reputation over nine seasons at his alma mater Xavier, where he also previously served as an assistant coach for Sean Miller.
Archie Miller's brother (who now helms Arizona.)
And it is Archie's second Indiana team that now hosts Mack's first Louisville squad for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday that has all the makings for a delectable border war.
Mack's Cardinals, after about as bad an off-season as a program can have, are an impressive 6-2. They most recently posted wins over Michigan State (82-78 in overtime) and at Seton Hall (70-65) before pulverizing Central Arkansas (86-41).
"Louisville is a really good team," Miller said Friday. "Chris has done a good job taking over, and you can really tell the identity over the last three, four games, how they've improved with the competition level … they're playing very confident right now.
"They're a physical offensive team inside, do a great job with their pace and execution, and defensively you can tell they're getting better. They play hard, play a lot of guys. And to me, this is going to be a game (by) March that both teams will look back at and say that was a heck of an opportunity for us to play a quality non-conference game."
It's also the sort of game that galvanizes fan bases from two tradition-rich programs for another entry in a competitive series that sees IU holding an edge by the barest of margins, 10-9, all-time.
Mack's two coaching predecessors are Hall of Famers.
Denny Crum won 70 percent of his games during a 30-season run at U of L, one season longer than Bob Knight's tenure at IU. Then Rick Pitino proceeded to win 75 percent of his games over a 16-season stretch.
But there wasn't much sweet about Pitino's 16th.
A sequence of scandals rocked U of L over the past couple of years, including sex-for-pay allegations that ultimately resulted in NCAA rulings stripping the Cardinals of 123 wins from 2011 through 2015, along with vacating their 2013 national title. Pitino was fired Oct. 26, 2017.
But even amidst the chaotic conclusion of Pitino's U of L career and the departure of the team's top three scorers, is wasn't as if Louisville was left bereft of talent.
There were still six returnees who averaged double-digit minutes last season – including former McDonald's All-American V.J. King, a 6-foot-6 junior who started all 36 games.
And while Mack had zero scholarship freshmen coming in to help for his inaugural U of L campaign, he did well enlisting graduate transfers. (Mack knows about transfers. His first Xavier team was sparked by IU transfer Jordan Crawford,)
The result is a deep and balanced Louisville squad that resembles Indiana's in some respects. Both teams have several mid-sized players with long wingspans, for example, and both can defend.
U of L has nine players averaging more than five points, led by 6-7 sophomore Jordan Nwora's 17.0 average. Nwora also is the top rebounder at 7.0, though he has started just three of the Cardinals' eight contests.
"He's just been real efficient," IU stalwart 6-8 senior Juwan Morgan said of Nwora. "He's getting to his spots. He's a great player, and I just think it's going to be a team approach (to him defensively).
"I don't think it'll be as simple as putting one guy on him and making sure that guy stops (him). I think just being in gaps, making every catch, every shot, every pass tough for him, I just think doing those thing (will help)."
Louisville can deploy serious size with 6-10, 260-pound junior Steven Enoch (averaging 9.9. points), 6-11, 245-pound sophomore Malik Williams (the former Indiana All-Star from Ft. Wayne Snider, who averages 6.4 points) and 6-8, 240-pound SMU transfer Akoy Agau (5.2 points).
Ryan McMahon, whose 3-point barrage helped sink Michigan State, is shooting 39 percent from behind the arc for the season – and foes won't want to foul him. He's hit 22 of 23 free throws (.957).
Free throws are where Louisville might hold a decisive edge over IU in a close game.
The top seven Cardinal scorers have all hit at least three-fourths of their free throws, and their team percentage is a robust .765. Indiana comparatively shoots just .635, though an improved 11 of 14 performance at the line helped the Hoosiers prevail Tuesday at Penn State.
Pitino's teams were known for high-pressure defense whereas Mack prefers a pack-line approach akin to that favored by the Millers.
The pack-line D has proven effective thus far for both teams this season.
U of L has held opponents to just .414 shooting from the field (including .331 from 3-point range), but Indiana is even stingier (.409, .270).
And the Hoosiers have shot better from the field (.517 to U of L's .466). That IU field goal percentage ranks first in the Big Ten and seventh nationally.
So Indiana tends to make shots when it gets shots. The problem that sometimes arises is not getting shots.
Turnovers, wasted possessions, are an abiding issue for IU so far this season. They average 15.6 per game. They had just five by halftime at Penn State but finished with 16.
The Hoosiers haven't handled pressing defenses well. Pressure was a problem in road losses as Arkansas and Duke, and nearly cost IU the Penn State game, too. So while Louisville might not full-court press much, expect the Cardinals to extend their defense and get into IU ballhandlers.
But IU freshmen guards Romeo Langford and Rob Phinisee have played well, overall, alongside sophomore Al Durham in the Hoosiers' three-guard starting set.
That was certainly true at Penn State. Langford poured in 15 first-half points and Phinisee scoring seven straight during one stretch of the second half to finish with 12.
It isn't the freshmen making the errors, either, generally. Phinisee, who had five assists and one turnover Tuesday, now has a 35-16 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Hoosiers could use that sort of ratio from more players Saturday.
Louisville hasn't played men's basketball in Bloomington since 2002. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was also Indiana's last win in the series.
Louisville has beaten IU four straight times, including the first two games of the three-year contract that concludes Saturday.
And as Miller alluded, Saturday's result could loom large in March, when the NCAA tournament selection committee convenes.
"Louisville is a very important game because it's the next one up (but also) it's at home, and it's a great marquee non-conference game for both programs," Miller said. "I think the intensity level of last week (in Big Ten wins over Northwestern and Penn State) will prepare us to play at the intensity level that it's going to be needed …(but), like I told our guys, this game is going to require a lot more than we've been doing.
"It's going to require a lot more physicality. It's going to require a lot more attention to detail, a lot less mistakes, cleaning some things up, because this is -- in my opinion just in watching them, this may be one of the best teams we've played."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Louisville men's basketball is not accustomed to new coaching eras.
But the Cardinals sure are used to winning.
That hasn't changed under Chris Mack.
Mack, just U of L's third coach since 1971, built his considerable reputation over nine seasons at his alma mater Xavier, where he also previously served as an assistant coach for Sean Miller.
Archie Miller's brother (who now helms Arizona.)
And it is Archie's second Indiana team that now hosts Mack's first Louisville squad for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday that has all the makings for a delectable border war.
Mack's Cardinals, after about as bad an off-season as a program can have, are an impressive 6-2. They most recently posted wins over Michigan State (82-78 in overtime) and at Seton Hall (70-65) before pulverizing Central Arkansas (86-41).
"Louisville is a really good team," Miller said Friday. "Chris has done a good job taking over, and you can really tell the identity over the last three, four games, how they've improved with the competition level … they're playing very confident right now.
"They're a physical offensive team inside, do a great job with their pace and execution, and defensively you can tell they're getting better. They play hard, play a lot of guys. And to me, this is going to be a game (by) March that both teams will look back at and say that was a heck of an opportunity for us to play a quality non-conference game."
It's also the sort of game that galvanizes fan bases from two tradition-rich programs for another entry in a competitive series that sees IU holding an edge by the barest of margins, 10-9, all-time.
Mack's two coaching predecessors are Hall of Famers.
Denny Crum won 70 percent of his games during a 30-season run at U of L, one season longer than Bob Knight's tenure at IU. Then Rick Pitino proceeded to win 75 percent of his games over a 16-season stretch.
But there wasn't much sweet about Pitino's 16th.
A sequence of scandals rocked U of L over the past couple of years, including sex-for-pay allegations that ultimately resulted in NCAA rulings stripping the Cardinals of 123 wins from 2011 through 2015, along with vacating their 2013 national title. Pitino was fired Oct. 26, 2017.
But even amidst the chaotic conclusion of Pitino's U of L career and the departure of the team's top three scorers, is wasn't as if Louisville was left bereft of talent.
There were still six returnees who averaged double-digit minutes last season – including former McDonald's All-American V.J. King, a 6-foot-6 junior who started all 36 games.
And while Mack had zero scholarship freshmen coming in to help for his inaugural U of L campaign, he did well enlisting graduate transfers. (Mack knows about transfers. His first Xavier team was sparked by IU transfer Jordan Crawford,)
The result is a deep and balanced Louisville squad that resembles Indiana's in some respects. Both teams have several mid-sized players with long wingspans, for example, and both can defend.
U of L has nine players averaging more than five points, led by 6-7 sophomore Jordan Nwora's 17.0 average. Nwora also is the top rebounder at 7.0, though he has started just three of the Cardinals' eight contests.
"He's just been real efficient," IU stalwart 6-8 senior Juwan Morgan said of Nwora. "He's getting to his spots. He's a great player, and I just think it's going to be a team approach (to him defensively).
"I don't think it'll be as simple as putting one guy on him and making sure that guy stops (him). I think just being in gaps, making every catch, every shot, every pass tough for him, I just think doing those thing (will help)."
Louisville can deploy serious size with 6-10, 260-pound junior Steven Enoch (averaging 9.9. points), 6-11, 245-pound sophomore Malik Williams (the former Indiana All-Star from Ft. Wayne Snider, who averages 6.4 points) and 6-8, 240-pound SMU transfer Akoy Agau (5.2 points).
Ryan McMahon, whose 3-point barrage helped sink Michigan State, is shooting 39 percent from behind the arc for the season – and foes won't want to foul him. He's hit 22 of 23 free throws (.957).
Free throws are where Louisville might hold a decisive edge over IU in a close game.
The top seven Cardinal scorers have all hit at least three-fourths of their free throws, and their team percentage is a robust .765. Indiana comparatively shoots just .635, though an improved 11 of 14 performance at the line helped the Hoosiers prevail Tuesday at Penn State.
Pitino's teams were known for high-pressure defense whereas Mack prefers a pack-line approach akin to that favored by the Millers.
The pack-line D has proven effective thus far for both teams this season.
U of L has held opponents to just .414 shooting from the field (including .331 from 3-point range), but Indiana is even stingier (.409, .270).
And the Hoosiers have shot better from the field (.517 to U of L's .466). That IU field goal percentage ranks first in the Big Ten and seventh nationally.
So Indiana tends to make shots when it gets shots. The problem that sometimes arises is not getting shots.
Turnovers, wasted possessions, are an abiding issue for IU so far this season. They average 15.6 per game. They had just five by halftime at Penn State but finished with 16.
The Hoosiers haven't handled pressing defenses well. Pressure was a problem in road losses as Arkansas and Duke, and nearly cost IU the Penn State game, too. So while Louisville might not full-court press much, expect the Cardinals to extend their defense and get into IU ballhandlers.
But IU freshmen guards Romeo Langford and Rob Phinisee have played well, overall, alongside sophomore Al Durham in the Hoosiers' three-guard starting set.
That was certainly true at Penn State. Langford poured in 15 first-half points and Phinisee scoring seven straight during one stretch of the second half to finish with 12.
It isn't the freshmen making the errors, either, generally. Phinisee, who had five assists and one turnover Tuesday, now has a 35-16 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Hoosiers could use that sort of ratio from more players Saturday.
Louisville hasn't played men's basketball in Bloomington since 2002. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was also Indiana's last win in the series.
Louisville has beaten IU four straight times, including the first two games of the three-year contract that concludes Saturday.
And as Miller alluded, Saturday's result could loom large in March, when the NCAA tournament selection committee convenes.
"Louisville is a very important game because it's the next one up (but also) it's at home, and it's a great marquee non-conference game for both programs," Miller said. "I think the intensity level of last week (in Big Ten wins over Northwestern and Penn State) will prepare us to play at the intensity level that it's going to be needed …(but), like I told our guys, this game is going to require a lot more than we've been doing.
"It's going to require a lot more physicality. It's going to require a lot more attention to detail, a lot less mistakes, cleaning some things up, because this is -- in my opinion just in watching them, this may be one of the best teams we've played."
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