College basketball exhibitions are still a new toy, and everyone involved is clearly figuring out how to handle them.
That includes the players.
That includes the coaching staffs.
And it most definitely includes the fan bases, which still seem to struggle with the idea that a game like Louisville vs. Kansas in The Phog on October 21 is Milwaukee Brewers vs Tampa Bay Devil Rays . . .
. . . in Phoenix, Arizona on March 4.
None of that means the night was emotionally flat. I still got a little nervous during the day.
I still took notes, just not with the level of detail I’d use for a game that actually counts. And yes, my heart rate still picked up when things got tight at the end.
A few random takeaways:
Obinna Ekezie Jr. looked every bit like a revelation. At the practice media were allowed to watch last week, he was burying triple after triple after triple, and now it’s clear that wasn’t a fluke.
He’s long long long, and for someone who ought to still be in high school, he already has a real feel for how to use that length defensively. That became a huge factor when Louisville took control.
After the Cards grabbed the lead with a strong start to the second half, Ekezie essentially seized the game. He blocked Kansas shots on consecutive possessions, then knocked down three threes in a span of a couple of minutes. Still working back toward full strength from his injuries, he finished with four three-pointers, a team-high five blocks, and a team-high eight rebounds.
Red & Black Nation, meet Obi Ekezie Jr.
Kansas’ first-half numbers from its highly touted transfers were rough. C Flory Bidunga didn’t get a rebound in the first half. PG Jackson Shelstad didn’t record an assist in the first half.
Bidunga’s tendency to foul - something that showed up last year - came with him from Lawrence. He didn’t get on the board until there were 10 minutes left, when he grabbed a short-armed jumper and followed it with a putback.
He finished with just three rebounds, though one of them mattered most when he secured the game after a missed Seth Trimble free throw with 1:29 left. His defense was solid, but overall his game was off.
Shelstad ended up with a team-high 23 points and only one assist.
My guess is Trimble will evolve into the main PGish guy.
De’Shayne Montgomery, a player we haven’t talked about much, was solid and will continue to be solid. Adrian Wooley should be a factor too. His back-to-back threes on the second and third possessions after halftime helped spark Louisville.
Right now, Louisville’s backcourt looks like a real weapon.
Alvaro Folgueiras is another important piece here. My guess is he’ll be handling the ball up top the way Aly Khalifa did.
He’s a very good and astute passer, and he tied for the team lead with four assists. Once his teammates get more familiar with his tendencies, that number should climb.
He wasn’t flashy, but he was steady all game.
The numbers tell part of the story. Louisville’s bench outscored Kansas’ bench 35-13, and that’s a nice edge.
Kansas, though, had the advantage in fast-break points, 26-8. That’s not nice.
And the Jayhawks also won the battle in the paint 40-20, which is even less nice.
Louisville’s ball movement was, to put it kindly, nearly nonexistent. To be fair, it was clear PK wanted to give away as little scout tape as possible.
There was a lot of dribbling. Too much dribbling.
The Cardinals defended fairly well, especially after halftime, but their rotations were slow and off too often.
And finally, for Louisville fans, there’s at least one small comfort to carry home:
Home 83. Visitors 89.
In Other News...
Louisville Just Exposed A Kansas Concern Fans Cant Ignore
Kansas fans got an early jolt in an exhibition loss to Louisville at Allen Fieldhouse, where the visitors walked out with an 89-83 win and a few clear answers about where this matchup was headed. Tre White led all scorers with 25 points, and the game had the feel of a useful October test for Louisville while Kansas was left sorting through some obvious issues, especially on the perimeter.
Bill Self also had to address fan behavior during the event, which added another layer to a night that already carried plenty of edge. There was visible tension between former teammates Flory Bidunga and Melvin Council Jr., and for Kansas the bigger concern may be how much work still remains before the shots start falling more consistently and the rotation looks settled. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Second Quarter Turned On A Few Costly Decisions
Louisvilles second quarter against Syracuse was shaped less by one big swing than by a handful of small choices that kept tilting the field the wrong way. The game film points to a sequence of defensive coverages, route concepts and individual assignments that left the Cardinals trying to recover from mistakes instead of building on the rhythm they wanted, with players such as Myles Norwood, Lincoln Kienholz, Tre Richardson and Jaleel Skinner all factoring into the breakdowns and the effort to answer them.
What stood out most was how quickly the margin for error disappeared once the execution slipped. A few strategic calls and a few missed connections on both sides of the ball added up to a quarter Louisville could not quite control, and the details of who handled the pressure and who did not tell as much about the game as the score did. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Gets An Early Reality Check With Its Deepest Roster Yet
Before Louisville even gets to the regular season, it is walking into one of the toughest possible exhibition settings, with a trip to Allen Fieldhouse to face Kansas. For a Cardinals team being talked about as deeper than it has been in years, the matchup offers an immediate measuring stick, not just for the rotation but for how quickly the new pieces can settle in against a high-level opponent.
The preseason setting does not make the challenge any smaller, and the attention has already turned to how Louisville handles the frontcourt, including Flory Bidunga, and whether its depth shows up under real pressure. Analysts have treated the game as more than a tune-up, since it gives a first real look at what this roster can be before the results start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]