ACC Basketball: Biggest winners and losers from Week 1 of 2023-24 season

Losers: Louisville Cardinals

The Louisville Cardinals are 1-1 on the season under head coach Kenny Payne as his second season gets off to a rocky start. The Cardinals took an 81-71 loss on their home floor to Southern Conference favorite Chattanooga four days after escaping the UMBC Terriers on opening night.

Yes, they escaped on opening night with a victory, but they also gave up 93 points as a team to UMBC. All isn’t going well in Louisville. Through their first two games, Louisville has allowed more points than they’ve scored. They’re giving up 87.0 ppg while scoring 82.5 ppg in the early going. The Cardinals have shot 25 percent from 3-point range and as a team they’ve managed to dish out 10.0 assists per contest, ranking 308th in all of college basketball.

The point guard woes continue to rear their head, though newcomer Skyy Clark is averaging 3.5 apg to lead the team. After Clark is where things get interesting for the Cardinals backcourt. They’ll have to figure things out this week with Coppin State on the schedule before facing a ranked Texas Longhorns squad on Sunday afternoon in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden.

On the bright side, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is averaging a team-high 12.0 rpg and holding things down in the frontcourt. Look for him to be rewarded with the ball offensively to smooth things out on the flipside.