Chris Mack sees response after loss for Louisville
Chris Mack has seen a good response from Louisville men’s basketball after its first loss of the season to Texas Tech in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden Dec. 10. The Cardinals (9-1) struggled offensively, shooting 34 percent from the field in a 70-57 loss.
Louisville hosts Eastern Kentucky (EKU) at the KFC Yum! Center Dec. 14 for the first of two straight non-conference home games. Mack wants his team to use the loss to Texas Tech as a learning experience.
“I think losing a game is always tough in the moment,” Mack said. “I think the most important thing is to be able to learn from it. Why we weren’t able to capitalize on a seven-point lead, what went wrong and why we weren’t able to correct it. We have tried to attack those things.”
Louisville went 3 of 17 on shots from behind the arc and had a season-high 19 turnovers. Mack called Louisville’s shot selection “terrible” and thought Texas Tech mentally wore down his team.
“We did not play very well against Texas Tech,” Mack said. “Texas Tech had a lot to do with it. I always want to give full credit to the other team.”
Junior Malik Williams thinks the loss to Texas Tech leveled the Cardinals back down, a team that went into the game as top-ranked and undefeated.
“We didn’t come prepared, I feel like we felt a little entitled maybe,” Williams said. “They were the more ready team.”
After competing against a defensive minded scheme in Texas Tech, the Cardinals face another team focused on pressure. EKU (3-6) leads the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ranks fourth in the nation in steals. The Colonels are second in the country in turnovers forced per game.
“They have some good players, they like to be very aggressive on defense,” Williams said. “They like to get quick shots up on offense, they like to get in transition.”
Jomaru Brown (17.3 points) and Ty Taylor (12.9 points) are the Colonels’ only scorers that average in double figures.
