5 Adjustments Louisville Cardinals Must Make Before 2015 NCAA Tournament

By Jerry Landry

5 Adjustments Louisville Cardinals Must Make Before 2015 NCAA Tournament

Louisville Cardinals basketball Montrezl Harrell — The Louisville Cardinals have been playing with clipped wings as of late, losing surprising back-to-back games to the NC State Wolfpack and Syracuse Orange to create tournament concerns at the worst possible time of the season. Rick Pitino’s team continues to press hard, but there are other areas the Cardinals must apply gainful effort, otherwise March will get real maddening for Louisville fans.

5. Improve Offensive Output

Louisville Cardinals vs Syracuse Orange basketball Terry Rozier

5. Improve Offensive Output

Louisville Cardinals vs Syracuse Orange basketball Terry Rozier — In Louisville’s losses, the Cardinals failed to reach 60 points four times. The loss of Chris Jones will only make this statistic more depressing, and likely to accrue in number. Pitino needs to do what the few coaches in his tier can do, and optimize his rotation accordingly, tailoring his team to score.

4. Improve Free-Throw Shooting

Rick Pitino Terry Rozier Louisville Cardinals Basketball

4. Improve Free-Throw Shooting

Rick Pitino Terry Rozier Louisville Cardinals Basketball — Nothing seals your fate faster in March than deficient shooting from the line. Louisville is horrid from the stripe, making just 67 percent of their free throws — meaning teams will likely foul Montrezl Harrell rather than allow him to take advantage down low.

3. Improve Field Goal Percentage

Terry Rozier shooting Louisiville Cardinals basketball vs. Miami Hurricanes

3. Improve Field Goal Percentage

Terry Rozier shooting Louisiville Cardinals basketball vs. Miami Hurricanes — Away from the charity stripe, but inside the arc, the Cardinals are only sinking 43 percent of what they put up at the net. Given their size and versatility, Louisville can and needs to improve this success rate if they are to continue to achieve the success they’ve become accustomed to in March.

2. Overcome The Loss Of Chris Jones

Chris Jones dismissed Louisville Cardinals basketball

2. Overcome The Loss Of Chris Jones

Chris Jones dismissed Louisville Cardinals basketball — This is where Rick Pitino needs to execute addition by subtraction. Tom Izzo has dismissed several student-athletes at issue while with the Michigan State Spartans, and Sparty has typically delivered by moving on and moving ahead deep into the tourney.

1. Improve Ball Security

North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Louisville Cardinals basketball

1. Improve Ball Security

North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Louisville Cardinals basketball — Louisville turns the ball over nearly 12 times per game. Outside of comparing anyone to the Kentucky Wildcats, the disparity of talent in Division I basketball is a nanometer across in the NCAA tournament. What truly separates teams, is their proclivity for mental errors. This is where Louisville must turn things around first before they go anywhere.

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