Louisville has been inconsistent this year — and that's being generous —- and it came back to haunt them as they were a one-and-done in the ACC Tournament. If they want to avoid that road in the Big Dance they'll need to do these things:
1. Feed Montrezl Harrell:
This seems like a no-brainer, but there are times in games when the Louisville guards refuse to get it into the post to the imposing big man. And when Harrell isn't getting his touches, he tends to disengage from the game and he disappears for stretches. That's both his and the guards' faults so there needs to be a concerted effort to get him involved because who wants to go through a game without a patented Harrell jam? No one. That's who.
2. Terry Rozier needs to be more selective with his shot:
Guard Terry Rozier has been playing well this year and has been absolutely fearless, but that has hindered the Cardinals too. He's not afraid to take big shots, but he's also not afraid to take bad ones. He's shooting a very low 41.1 percent from the field overall and 31 percent from downtown so he needs to know when to be selective with his shots.
3. Get more defensive:
When the Cardinals keep it simple on defense, they tend to play better. Coach Rick Pitino keeps tallies of turnovers (like many coaches), but also deflections. When the Cardinals get 35 or more deflections they tend to win, so getting hands in passing lanes and disrupting the opponent's offense in any way will give them a good shot to win. This will come in handy especially against a team like Villanova, Northern Iowa, LSU, or Virginia should the Cards get that far.
