Louisville Offense Finishes Strong Against Wake Forest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At this point, it's well documented how much the offense for the Louisville men's basketball program has struggled this season.

Heading into their matchup with Wake Forest Wednesday night, their field goal percentage of 41.8 percent ranked 279th in Division I, their 70.8 points per game came in at 209th and their 14.3 turnovers per game was 255th. Despite a much improved tempo from last season, the Cardinals' overall efficiency at that end of the court was actually worse.

As their ACC home opener against the Demon Deacons unfolded, it looked like that trend was set to continue. In the first half, Louisville shot just 7-23 from the field despite 4-10 on three-pointers, and committed seven turnovers to six assists. Trailing 31-26 at the half, they inspired very little confidence heading into the locker room.

But when Louisville came back out to the court to start the second half, a different team had emerged.

Instead of producing scoring droughts, they put together multiple scoring runs. A 13-3 stretch in the opening minutes of the second half flipped a nine-point deficit into a one point lead, allowing the Cards to keep pace with the Deacs. Then a pair of 6-0 runs in the final eight minutes got Louisville over the hump for good for a 73-69 win.

"We beat a good team," head coach Chris Mack said. "We beat a team that has played really well this year. As I told the guys in the locker room after we played that game, really for what seemed like the last 30 minutes, was coming from behind. We continued to pull and claw our way back to even or a bucket behind, and had the wherewithal and the stick-to-it-tiveness to earn a victory at the end. I am happy for the team."

Their poor shooting performance in the first half was followed up by a 12-25 effort in the second half. Louisville also did a much better job at getting to the free throw line, making 23 trips in the second half alone after shooting just 11 in the first. The Cardinals went 25-34 for the game.

A lot of this uptick in efficiency in the second was due to their recent emphasis of getting more paint touches. Louisville put together a lot set pieces that involved dribble drives, cutting actions in the post, or backing down, and it paid large dividends.

"That's been a huge emphasis for us over the last few weeks," forward Samuell Williamson said. "I feel like the coaches have done a great job calling set plays to target guys that they feld had mismatches."

They also had the outside shot going for them as well. They followed up their 4-10 three-point shooting first half with a 6-12 outing in the second, including 4-6 from guard Noah Locke alone. He poured in 14 second half points, including a deep, off-balance three with 1:08 left to put Louisville up two and spark their last 6-0 run.

"Those are the shots I want," he said. "I want shots like that, I want the big shots. Coach is calling plays for me when it's that time in the game. I knew once that screen came, and I was coming off the hand off, I was just gonna shoot it. I knew that when that was called, that I was gonna make it. I just felt like I'm built for those type of situations."

Of course, Louisville still didn't put together a perfect product. They finished the game just 9-19 on layups and dunks for just 18 points in the paint, were just 9-26 inside the perimeter period, and had just eight offensive rebounds.

But that being said, their ability to finish stronger on the offensive end as the game goes on is something to be encouraged by. Time will tell if this continues as Louisville progresses through ACC play, but it's a start.

(Photo of Jae’Lyn Withers: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY SPORTS)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter

Add us as a preferred source on Google