Louisville Basketball: Biggest Things We've Learned About Cardinals in 2014-15

Through 14 weeks of action, Louisville basketball (19-4) has managed to stay within the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll every time one came out.

That’s a pretty impressive feat in itself, but throw in the fact that the Cardinals are 7-3 so far in their inaugural season in the treacherous ACC as well, and Rick Pitino’s squad really deserves some back-patting, despite just coming off a tough loss on the road to Virginia.

Now, with about a month of the regular season remaining, it is a crucial time for this team with Final Four aspirations to gel together, build off its strengths and shore up its weaknesses.

As for the rest of the public, let’s take a look at some of the things we have learned from this year’s Cardinals so far.

Poor Offense Could Be Costly

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

On paper, the Cardinals have four players—all starters—averaging double digits, but there is a huge drop-off after that, which is quite a cause for concern.

Senior Wayne Blackshear ranks fourth on that scoring list with 11.0 points per game, but what follows him is freshman and fifth starter Chinanu Onuaku’s 3.2 points per game.

As for the bench, they have only mustered up 17.3 PPG. That type of production will not be enough to make this team into a legitimate title contender.

It is also not a secret that this year’s Louisville team cannot shoot the ball well. With a 30.4 percent accuracy from downtown and a 66.6 percent rate from the free-throw line, the Cardinals are not scaring anyone when lining up for a shot.

Louisville shot below 30 percent in the losses to Kentucky and Duke and was not able to top 50 points last Saturday against Virginia. Granted, those were all defensively tough teams to score against, but if the Cardinals cannot break through against the elites, they might as well fold their tents come tournament time.

Defense Is Still as Solid as Ever

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

As much as Louisville’s offense has struggled, its defense has picked up the slack throughout the season.

Pitino’s zone has been giving opponents fits for years, and this season is no different. KenPom.com has Louisville’s adjusted defensive efficiency of 87.0 ranked at No. 3 in the country, and the Cardinals give up only 58.5 points per game.

It all starts up top with the pesky guards Terry Rozier and Chris Jones, who are both averaging 2.1 steals per game, tied for the most in the ACC. 

Their disrupting forces make it tough for opponents to penetrate to begin with, but even when they do get inside, Louisville's length and size down low do not allow any easy shots.

Onuaku leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game, but when combined with the rest of the squad Louisville’s 5.7 swats per game rank No. 1 in the conference. 

Add in six players who are grabbing more than 4.0 boards a game (Montrezl Harrell leads with 9.0 RPG), and you have the third-best rebounding team in the ACC as well.

Louisville’s defense is more than enough to compete with the best of the best, and as long as all the players keep doing what they have been doing all year on the defensive end, the Cardinals will always be in the fight until the very end.

Montrezl Harrell May Have Peaked Already

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

When Montrezl Harrell first announced he was returning to Louisville for a junior season last April following a breakout sophomore campaign, the expectation was for him to take that next step and become an unstoppable force while leading the Cardinals to another Final Four. 

That has yet to happen this year for the preseason All-American.

Sure, his production of 15.2 PPG and 9.0 RPG this season is still fantastic, but those numbers are not quite the jump people were hoping for after he put up 14.0 and 8.4 last year.

Harrell’s post game still seems a bit raw at times, and it was quite a head-scratcher when he started to step away from the basket and began attempting long-range shots instead of working toward his strengths. 

Harrell also stripped himself of the team captain title back in January following a one-game suspension by the ACC for throwing an elbow during a game, but Pitino downplayed the captaincy change and stated Harrell is “still the leader of [their] team.”

In all likelihood, that is probably still the case for Harrell and the Cardinals. He is a great player and will likely remain an All-American by season’s end, but perhaps we have already seen the best of the 6’8” forward.

Terry Rozier Emerges as Team’s MVP

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Unlike Harrell, Terry Rozier has made the leap to the next level with a splendid sophomore season and taken over as the Cardinal’s most important piece on the court.

Rozier is currently averaging 18.3 PPG for the Cardinals, which ranks second in the ACC, sandwiched between Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas’ 18.5 PPG and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor’s 18.0 PPG.

What’s more impressive about Rozier’s performance this year, though, is the little things he does on the floor, like grabbing rebounds and picking pockets.

Rozier, despite standing at 6’1”, has used his athletic vertical leap to its fullest intent by averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. And his defense, evidenced by his 2.1 steals per game, has also helped the Cardinals’ zone scheme work so efficiently this season.

"The little things win national championships and get your team where it needs to be," Chris Jones said, according to Jeff Greer of The Courier-Journal. "If guys tell me they need me, I just fill in and do whatever they need me to do."

Louisville fans may want to appreciate Rozier’s efforts as much as they can while they can, because chances are a talent like him won’t stick around college basketball for long.

Louisville Is Still a Notch Below Elite Status

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

When you take a look at all the ranked teams in the AP poll, you can almost dissect them by tiers. Kentucky seems to be alone by itself at the very top for the moment, and following it are the likes of Duke, Virginia and Wisconsin. 

As for the Cardinals, it seems they are still a bit below those teams right now, considering the fact that they weren’t able to beat the Wildcats, the Blue Devils or the Cavaliers this season.

Sure, Louisville has won every game it’s supposed to on paper this season, and when you throw in wins over the ranked teams like Ohio State and North Carolina (after losing the first meeting), you further improve the Cardinals' NCAA tournament resume.

But the four losses to the ranked opponents probably do not do any favors in boosting the Cardinals’ confidence.

Playing in the ACC is a great way to measure yourself along the season to see where your team is in regard to title contention, but the Cardinals have yet to grab a win they can really hang their hats on.

Louisville will have a few more chances to prove itself, though, as it wraps up the regular season with home games against No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 2 Virginia.

A win in either game could serve as a huge confidence and momentum boost, but a couple of losses could also demoralize the team just prior to tournament time.