The Louisville men’s basketball team fell to 2-3 on the season Monday in a 00-00 loss to Indiana in the third place game of the Empire Classic. The Cards lost on Sunday 81-80 to Texas at the Buzzer. Louisville led by seven points with less than eight minutes left,, but Indiana closed the game on a 13-2 run.
Final from New York:
Indiana 74
Louisville 66— Louisville Men's Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) November 20, 2023
It is a huge bummer to leave New York 0-2 considering how well Louisville played over the past two days. The Texas loss was a bit unlucky, but Indiana clearly outplayed them in the final minutes on Monday night.
This is not a program that should accept moral victories, but given the circumstances you have to feel much better about the 2023-2024 Louisville men’s basketball team than you did two days ago. The Cards were legitimately in position to win both games against Texas and Indiana but could not finish things late. To be fair, this is not a team that has played in many close games against power-conference competition since the start of last season.
You could argue that their performance in the Empire Classic is the first real positive that could be taken since the start of the Kenny Payne era. It completely changes expectations moving forward. From now on there are no excuses. Louisville has to beat the teams they are supposed to beat, and they should be competitive in the majority of their ACC games. Any other result is unacceptable.
Kenny Payne must earn some patience from this fanbase if he wants to stick around another year. This tournament was a major step in the right direction. Now, some wins will have to come.
Up Next:
Louisville returns home on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. matchup with New Mexico State at the KFC Yum! Center.
