Louisville Basketball: Big men struggling in Cardinal’s recent losing skid

Louisville Basketball has lost six of their last eight games. The less than stellar play of their big men has been a factor in the Cardinals recent struggles.

It’s official: if you bought stock in Louisville Basketball back in January, it’s time to SELL, SELL, SELL! After last night’s embarrassing loss to the struggling Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Chris Mack’s unit has gone from the little engine that could to the little engine that probably won’t. Despite facing one of the worst defensive teams in the country, the Cards’ offensive woes continued, only shooting 33.3% from the field and giving up 14 turnovers. The defense wasn’t much better, with players constantly looking lost on the court, giving up countless open looks. Unfortunately, this is apparently the new norm for Mack’s Cards.

Perhaps the lone bright spot from last night’s depressing outing was the solid production from Louisville’s big men, Steven Enoch and Malik Williams. Enoch, the junior who transferred from UConn in 2017, led the team in scoring with 22 points, while Williams, the sophomore from Fort Wayne, Indiana, pitched in with 10 rebounds, marking the first time one of the Cards’ centers nabbed double-digit rebounds since the infamous Duke debacle on February 12th.

Since that game, the two bigs have become one of Louisville’s largest Achilles heels, and although they aren’t solely responsible for the recent L’s, their lack of offensive production and inept defense have definitely been key weaknesses that opposing teams have been able to exploit.

Take Saturday’s loss to Virginia, for example. Williams put in 22 minutes, went 1-6 from the floor (including 0-3 from outside the arch), turned the ball over once, and only held onto seven rebounds; however, this was still somehow better than Enoch’s atrocious performance, shooting a pathetic 1-10 from the floor (1-4 from 3-point land), also having one turnover, and only grabbing a measly two rebounds in his 18 minutes of playing time. The two only contributed nine total rebounds, and also allowed Virginia’s Huff and Diakite to combine for 26 points in the paint. To say that they got dominated is a fairly apt assessment.

In January, Enoch went on a streak wherein he was averaging a double-digit scoring total, dropping 14 at Pitt, 15 at Georgia Tech, and even putting in a double-double in the road-rout of North Carolina. During that same period of time, Williams was also scoring in solid chunks, ripping off 13 at Georgia Tech, 14 against NC State, and 13 at Wake Forest. This offensive firepower has since cooled, and the Cards have certainly felt the consequences, losing five of their last six.

The meltdown against Duke understandably took some wind out of the Cards’ sails. Anytime you blow a game of that magnitude, there’s a good chance of a hangover. Louisville now needs take an Advil, boot, rally and get back in the winning mindset. If their big men can lead by example, playing the way they were playing in early January, hopefully the team can get back on track. If the Boston College game was any indication, the Cards need Enoch and Williams now more than ever.