Louisville to Use Christmas Break to 'Mentally Reflect' and 'Reset'

With a nine-day break in between games, the Cardinals are using this time to refocus in the midst of a rough start to their season.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Saying it has been a rough first month-and-a-half for the Louisville men's basketball would be a bit of an understatement.

The Cardinals lost their first three games of the 2022-23 season all by single digits to mid-majors, then were blasted in their next six by an average of 25.2 points per game to drop their first nine games of the Kenny Payne era. It was the program's worst start to a season since the 1940-41 squad lost their first 11 games.

Louisville finally got off the schneid by winning against Western Kentucky and Florida A&M, but have lost their last two games, most recently a 76-64 defeat at NC State to fall to 2-11 and 0-3 in ACC play. With 18 games left in the regular season, the Cardinals are just nine losses away from matching their most in a single season. They went 12-20 in their 1997-98 campaign.

Fortunately, Louisville has reached a point in the season where they have some room to breathe. The Cardinals have reached the Christmas break portion of their schedule, and have a nine-day period in between games. The program fully plans on using this extended break to "mentally reflect" on the season up to this point.

"I just told the guys, look, I want them to go home and have a couple of days of spending with their families, enjoy the Christmas break," Payne said after their loss to the Wolfpack on Thursday night. "But I also want them to think about what more they can do to bring more to the table. What more can they do, each individual, to help us get over the hump.

"I think they need this break, but I think they need it for a couple of reasons. Obviously, it's Christmas. Great time of the year. But also to mentally reflect on, "what do I truly want? What do I truly want his team to be?" The second half of this (season), it's coming fast, and we're gonna be playing some really good teams. So we have to be on point, we have to be 100 percent bought in, and go in there and fight for everything that we get."

Payne isn't wrong. Their next time out will be on the road against in-state rival Kentucky, who ranks No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 10 according to KenPom. After that, it's nothing but ACC competition. As of this writing, four ACC teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 - Virginia, Duke, Virginia Tech and Miami - with an additional six ranked inside the KenPom top-100.

For reference, KenPom currently has Louisville as the No. 256 team in Division I. Even with teams like Boston College and Georgia Tech still on the docket, KenPom does not have the Cardinals favored in a single game for the rest of the season.

Fortunately, the players seem to recognize that Chrismas break for them should not be entirely rest and relaxation. Sure, there will time for them to unwind and enjoy having extended time off, but they agree with Payne that they also need to use this time to "reset" their mindset when practice and games resume.

"While we're at home, we have to remember our obligation to our team," forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield said. "We can't just be sitting down, not working out, not staying in shape and things like that. When we come back, we have to be (in) a little bit more better shape, be a little bit better players in every aspect so we can go on a run.

"I feel like it's time to make a run right now. The first half of the season is pretty much over, we can't change what happened. This break will allow us to reset, and allow us to get our minds together, and then for us to come back and get back to work."

Over the break, Payne wants his players to work on three crucial areas. He wants them to "become a better passing team without panic" and work on their turnovers, rebound the ball "efficiently" and defend "desperately for as long as you're on the court." Currently, Louisville commits 16.5 turnovers and secures 32.69 rebounds per game, while allowing opponents to shoot 46.4 percent from the field. The Cardinals ranks 340th, 306th and 317th, respectively, in Division I.

"I just if we could clear up those three things, I will feel better," Payne said. "That's what I'm gonna be doing over the break, is looking at film and seeing how do we do it. 'What's another way? What else can we implement to help us understand how desperate we have to play defensively?' Because when we relax, teams are gonna go on 10-0 runs, 12-0 runs, and it's killing us."

Louisville's Battle of the Bluegrass showdown at Kentucky is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 31 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Louisville players: Jaylynn Nash - USA TODAY Sports)

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