Just three days removed from its first November home loss in 49 years, the Louisville men’s basketball team bounced back with a 77-60 win over Navy on Monday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
Back in the win column 💪#GoCards pic.twitter.com/9qeN4MOkhK
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) November 16, 2021
Matt Cross led Louisville with 14 points on 4-4 shooting from the field. Samuell Williamson posted 13 points and 4 rebounds. Noah Locke added 12 points for the Cards. Louisville shot 56.0 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three point range.
🎥: Highlights from tonight's 77-60 win over Navy.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/BdVQx3LaGA
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) November 16, 2021
For Navy, John Carter Jr. led the way with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Daniel Deaver added 12 points and 7 boards. The Midshipmen shot just 42.9 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from long range.
Louisville raced out to an early 13-6 lead before the under-16 media timeout in the first half. Malik Williams recorded four of his five assists in that opening segment. From there, it was all Louisville again as the Cards extended their lead to 29-15 before the second media timeout at the 10:25 mark. Louisville started the game making 11 of its first 14 field goal attempts and 4 of its first 5 shots from deep. Navy cut the lead to six points before the under-8 timeout, but Louisville created some separation and entered the half up 45-33. Louisville remained ahead double digits for the entire second half on its way to a convincing 77-60 win.
Thoughts:
- Louisville continued its attacking approach on offense and it worked out on Monday. The Cards hit 10 of their 24 three point attempts and shot 56 percent from the field for the game. The execution was there, one can only hope that this performance serves as a precursor for the remainder of the season.
- It is hard to imagine a scenario where either Matt Cross or Samuell Williamson do not replace Dre Davis in the starting lineup moving forward. Davis struggled again offensively on Monday while both Cross and Williamson provided a real spark of the bench for the Cards.
- If Roosevelt Wheeler can establish himself as a real option in the frontcourt, then the ceiling of this team might just be higher than we thought. Malik Williams has looked a bit rusty out of the gate; JJ Traynor and Sydney Curry did not see minutes at all on Monday. In person, Wheeler looked liked he belonged on the floor physically and showed something we have not seen from his counterparts thus far into the season. Louisville needs a reliable backup in the frontcourt. It could very well end up being Roosevelt Wheeler.
- Ten different Cards logged at least nine minutes against Navy. All but one of those players scored at least four points. This team is begging for someone to come out and become a star, but we still do not know if there is truly one on the roster. I think the rotation needs to shrink at some point if this team wants to be serious about winning. Right now, the door is wide open for anyone to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. It would be nice if that could happen sooner rather than later.
- Altogether, this was an important win for Louisville. After being exposed by a good mid-major in Furman, the Cards came out on Monday night and left no doubt in a win against a decent Navy team. These are games that need to be won, but considering the circumstances, this performance was a breath of fresh air for a fan base that had every reason to be down on its team entering Monday.
Up Next:
Louisville stays at home on Saturday for an afternoon matchup with Detroit Mercy at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Press Conferences: (Available Soon)
Acting Head Coach Mike Pegues
F Sam Williamson
F Matt Cross
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