Louisville Loses to MTSU 67-49

Dec 5, 2022 - 2:39 AM

Losing one game by 20 to a highly ranked team is one thing. Losing the next game after that by 20 to an unranked team is another. Yes it’s December but there are problems that Louisville basketball needs to fix and soon.

At the end of the first half the game was still manageable but in the second half it seemed like Middle Tennessee hit every shot they threw up. They definitely rode the momentum with swagger and going into the final quarter their lead was an unsurmountable 54-36.

After the game Coach Walz said, “We’ve had teams that might not have scored the ball extremely well but we’ve always guarded. We are not guarding right now. We’ll have stretches where we will and then we’ll have just some really bad breakdowns. Every time we have a breakdown we get scored on.” He added, “Their #1 I think it was had made one three-point shot all year. She looked like she was Reggie Miller.”

Olivia Cochran led the Cards in scoring with 14 points and she added 7 rebounds. Hailey Van Lith had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. CC Carr was the only other player in double figures with 10. Mykasa Robinson also left the game in the second half. Coach Walz said she’s “had some concussions in the past and she got hit in the head. Doc said no we’re not gonna put her back out there. She wanted to go back out but there’s way more important things in life than playing a basketball game.”

Louisville will have to find other scorers to help especially with the news that sophomore Payton Verhulst has entered the transfer portal. Coach Walz said that she was looking for more opportunities to play and he wished her the best. He also Nick Curran that that he was planning on redshirting freshman Zyanna Walker but now he can’t because she can make shots.

Coach Walz also took some blame. “I did overschedule. There’s no question about it. The teams that we’ve been playing right now with our influx of new players... it’s hard. It’s too difficult for us right now.” However he concluded, “It’s part of life. Do I like it? No. It’s not much fun to be sitting here 5-4 so we’re just going to get back to work and keep grinding.”

Next up the Cards return to the Yum to play SIUE [Southern Illinois University Edwardsville]. The game is Tuesday night at 7PM. It can be seen on ACC Network Extra. It is also (not so) ugly sweater night and a toy drive.