Duke-Louisville: What we learned
Duke came to Louisville on Saturday and challenged the Cardinals to a game of truth or dare.
Duke chose dare and won comfortably, employing a zone defense despite its long history of man-to-man defense.
And the truth is that if a team plays zone defense against Louisville, the Cardinals' worst flaw comes out: U of L has a shooting problem, and it's a problem that could be the difference between Final Four contention and a disappointing end to what looked like a promising season.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino calls his team "offensively challenged." That's a nice way of saying they don't score sometimes. The problem is that "sometimes" has happened too often against Louisville's best opponents.
Related:U of L goes cold in Duke loss
The Cards (15-3) were 7 of 31 in the first half against Duke. They were 6 of 27 in the first half against Clemson. They were 6 of 28 in the first half against Kentucky.
What's saved Louisville in those games is its defense. Pitino's team is still one of the top two or three defensive teams in the country, with or without Saturday's result.
But what became abundantly clear is that, for Louisville's defense to be Louisville's defense, there has to be turnovers. Duke didn't commit many on Saturday. Just 10, actually.
Game Rewind:Looking back at Duke's win
For Louisville's defense to be Louisville's defense, there has to be tempo and disruption. There wasn't much of that on Saturday. Jahlil Okafor had his way inside, scoring 14 second-half points, and his teammates didn't have much trouble getting him the ball.
I'm no mathematician, but when your team's shooting percentage flat lines in the 20s, you're in trouble. When your revered defense isn't there, either, you're done.
That's what happened Saturday. And if Louisville doesn't find a way to make open shots, the offensive problem will persist. And in March, all it will take is one defensive performance like today to end the Cards' season.
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Harrell's limitations. Montrezl Harrell, like the rest of his teammates, had a tough time on Saturday. He couldn't get going on the glass and inject his energy into Louisville. In his last four games, Harrell's averaged just nine points. He's had trouble getting baskets inside, and his interior partners haven't helped. Teams know they can focus all their energy on him and Louisville won't hurt them inside. Louisville had 18 offensive rebounds -- and just 10 second-chance points.
Pitino said after the game that Harrell needs to "post up more." When asked how he can get more involved on offense, Harrell struck a slightly different tone.
"That's not for me to decide," Harrell said. "I'm not the coach of this team. That's not my job."
Player interviews:Comments from Blackshear, Harrell, Rozier
Defense makes offense. It's become rather obvious that Louisville needs its defense to create offense. The Cards are at their best running at a frenetic pace, creating turnovers and attacking in transition. The halfcourt sets just haven't been enough. Teams will keep trying to slow them down. It's up to Louisville to speed them back up.
"We're mainly concerned with our defense," Terry Rozier said. "If we play our defense, it'll clean up for our offense. If we're not getting stops, it slows the whole game down. If we're getting stops, we can push the ball and we can score in transition. We can play Louisville basketball -- play fast."
As Jones and Rozier go ... Louisville's become pretty reliant on its two guards, and when they have rough games, the Cards suffer. Terry Rozier and Chris Jones just never got in any rhythm. Duke deserves credit for the zone strategy, but Louisville just didn't make its shots, either.
