College Basketball Power 10: Louisville Cardinals Get Statement Win

6. Louisville (11-1)

Louisville is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, but offense has been their pitfall this year. Despite only scoring 74 points against Southern Illinois a couple of weeks earlier, Louisville found a way to barely score more than Kentucky and win 73-70.

They forced a team that loves to run to play slow, as well as containing their fast-break attempts after a made basket. It showed the coaching brilliance of Rick Pitino and the veteran leadership the Cardinals have.

Four starters scored at least 14 points, four grabbed at least five rebounds and all had three or four fouls. Donovan Mitchell only shot 3-of-12 from the field, but Quentin Snider scored 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting to make up for Mitchell’s poor shooting night.

Louisville’s offensive problems and lack of bench scoring — six bench points against Kentucky — are still there. That said, the Cardinals forced all three of their ranked opponents this year to play at their pace and keep the score in the 60s or 70s.

Only time will tell about how Louisville’s poor offense will actually hurt them. They won’t score 100 points against a ranked team, but they’re also a team of upperclassmen who know their games and force teams to play their brand of basketball.

Besides, Louisville is a three-point loss to the magical Baylor Bears from being undefeated.

Louisville will have two huge games this week. They host Virginia to start ACC play and then travel to Indianapolis to play Indiana.