Louisville continues to be the laughing stock of college basketball and Saturday’s performance against Virginia did not help to change that narrative. The Cardinals lost, at home, after one of the worst halves by any Power Five program in recent history.
They scored just 13 points during the first 20 minutes of play. Seriously.
Louisville missed 11 of its final 13 shots before the break and went into the locker room down by 28. It was the Cardinals’ largest halftime deficit since 1938.
Although the second half was better, Kenny Payne’s squad dug itself an insurmountable hole and extended its losing streak to five games. Louisville has lost 11 of the last 13 games after starting at 4-3.
A program that was once considered to be the standard in college basketball is now a joke. It is in desperate need of a complete overhaul, from top to bottom.
That includes the coaching staff, which includes Nolan Smith. The former All-American and national champion at Duke joined the Cardinals’ staff in April 2022 under Payne.
He was caught not paying any attention during a timeout on Saturday. Smith was in the team huddle alongside the players and other assistants, but it was very clear that his focus was elsewhere.
While Payne was running through the game plan, he was watching a blindfolded man take part in some kind of in-game promotion. Smith did not look back toward the huddle until the cross-court shenanigans had concluded.
Nolan super locked in during a timeout. Love this staff pic.twitter.com/JYWEc2cyl3
— Logan Wade (@L_Wade22) January 27, 2024
Now, to be fair to Smith, he was not the only coach who wasn’t paying attention during the timeout. Unfortunately, that only makes Louisville look worse.
Should Payne make it through the entire season, it would be a massive shock if he was to return next year. The Cardinals are likely to begin a new head coaching search come March!