Watch: Louisville HC Kenny Payne Recaps Maryland, Previews Miami
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The calendar has flipped to the final month of the year, and the Louisville men's basketball program is still searching for their first win of the 2022-23 season.
Hosting Maryland in their first game since coming back stateside from the Maui Invitational, it was more of the same for the Cardinals. Louisville was dominated from start to finish against the Terrapins, falling 79-54 for their worst home loss in over 21 years and plummeting to 0-7 to start the Kenny Payne era.
"You've got to go through hard times in order to be a great team," Payne said. "Every great player goes through hard stuff. This is just a part of it. But you're defined by how you handle it. It's good to go through it, we don't want to go through it, but we got to go through it. But how are you going to handle it? Are you going to give up? Are you going to fight through? Are you going to prove people right or are you going to prove people wrong? It's just what it is."
Unfortunately for Louisville, they have another tough matchup on the horizon. The Cardinals are now in line to kickoff ACC play this weekend, with 7-1 Miami coming to the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday.
"They're a really balanced team, really good offensive team," Payne said. "(Isaiah) Wong is really good. We all know (Nijel) Pack can shoot the lights out. They have a big guy (Norchad Omier) who is really, really good at getting offensive rebounds. Then they have a four man (Jordan Miller) that's a really good player, that's averaging just as much as Pack and Wong. They could easily be in the top-25."
Prior to their matchup with the Hurricanes, Payne took time to meet with the media. He discussed the previous game against Maryland, how they can improve their overall effort and "desperation," previewed the game against Miami, and more.
Below are the videos from his press conference:
Head Coach Kenny Payne
(Photo of Kenny Payne: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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