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Content by – ERIC FEHR – SPORTS VIEW AMERICA …
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October 24. KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
(Photo by Louisville Athletics)
On Friday night, the Kansas Jayhawks beat the Louisville Cardinals 90 to 82 after a fast-paced first half followed by a sloppy second half filled with turnovers and a combined 49 free throws by both teams. Projected lottery-pick and freshman Jayhawk Darryn Peterson was the star of the show in the first half, scoring 24 of Kansas’ 46 first-half points. Peterson finished with 26 after suffering leg cramps to begin the second half. Ryan Conwell led the Cards in scoring with 26, with the team shooting a mere thirty-three percent from the field. In his Cardinal debut, Mikel Brown Jr. had a tough night shooting and finished with 10 points on fifteen shot attempts. In the first showing of competition by either team, both squads shone in some respects in a new era of exhibition play.
The Good
Louisville outrebounded Kansas 47 to 34, grabbing a significant 21 Offensive Rebounds compared to the Jayhawks’ 8. As the season progresses, this Louisville team with size and effort should have plenty of scoring in second-chance points. Additionally, this will be another Pat Kelsey team, like last year, that fights for loose balls and has active hands on defense. The Cardinals totaled 9 steals as a team.
The Kansas Jayhawks shot fifty percent from the field and thirty-eight percent from behind the arc. Freshman Bryson Tiller and Sophomore Flory Bidunga scored a combined 26 points, most as a result of uncontested dunks due to Kansas beating the Louisville press. Former Cardinal and now Jayhawk, Tre White, scored 14 in his first time back in the Yum Center. Kansas also looked good on the defense, clawing 12 steals and 5 blocks as a team, with Tiller blocking 4 shots.
The Bad
Louisville struggled at times, unable to get high-percentage scoring attempts and going on multiple scoreless streaks as the contest progressed. The team shot twenty-nine percent from three on 38 attempts. Additionally the Cardinals assisted on 14 shots, and the bulk of shot attempts were off the dribble, usually in a side-moving motion. As team chemistry grows and the season progresses, Cardinal fans should see an increase in assist totals and field goal percentage. Similar to the Jayhawks, who totaled 16 assists Friday night, much of Darryn Peterson’s electric offense in the first half was off the dribble and successful drives to the basket. When Peterson was off the floor, the Jayhawks improved in their ball and off-ball movement. However, the tempo of the Jayhawks had slowed and struggled to earn consistent points without getting to the free-throw line. Both fanbases should be ecstatic about the talent on the floor and the depth both teams possess.
The Ugly
There are not many things to consider “ugly” when two premier programs play. Struggles and frustrations are to be expected in a team’s first competition, especially if the competition is a fellow top-20 program. Most fans of either program would consider that the second half was a less-than-fun watch. Kansas and Louisville combined for 13 turnovers (6 for Kansas, 7 for Louisville) in the first half of play. Both teams more than doubled their totals in the second half of play, with Louisville committing 13 second-half turnovers to the Jayhawks committing 10.. The ball security, shot selection, and streaks without points will ultimately be cleaned up and fixed as time goes on during the season. Louisville struggled on its interior defense, being outscored 34-20 in points in the paint. Since the Cardinals played aggressively on defense and in the passing lanes, they got beaten off the first step at times, which led to an easy lob to Bidunga or Tiller down low.
As any exhibition should be treated (lightly), there were many things to be excited about. Both Kansas and Louisville will have a lot of talent on the floor this season, with the depth necessary to make a run in March. Kansas will host their second exhibition against Fort Hays State on Tuesday at 8pm ET. The Jayhawks open the season hosting Green Bay on November 3rd before traveling to Chapel Hill to play North Carolina on November 7th.
Louisville will host Bucknell on Tuesday at 7pm ET for its second exhibition before starting the season against South Carolina State on November 3rd.
