Louisville basketball toughens up inside, but taller tasks loom at WKU, UK

Jae’Lyn Withers had a couple inches and 25 pounds on the man between him and the basket.

So when the 6-foot-8 Louisville forward went to the rim with the intent to posterize, there wasn’t much Southeastern Louisiana’s Jalyn Hinton could do. The first-half finish that ensued during the Cardinals’ 86-60 win was one for Withers’ highlight reel, emphatic and emblematic of Louisville’s Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cards outscored the Lions 44-18 in the paint. They had 18 layups and three dunks, shot 34 shots in the lane, 23 free throws and 20 3-pointers.

More: Lousville basketball gets Chris Mack's paint point in rout of Southeastern Louisiana

Louisville (7-3) faced an undersized opponent and overpowered it.

When it was over, Cardinals coach Chris Mack said the competition mattered less than the confrontational approach to the paint he’s been pushing Louisville players to adopt – particularly in the wake of last week’s home loss to DePaul.

“I really think that no matter what the competition or who the competition would have been tonight, had we played with the same mentality maybe that we have over the last two, three, four games, that we probably would have shot 30 3s,” Mack said. “We probably would have gone to the free-throw line eight to 10 times. Our team has to be able to do both.”

He might be right about the opponent. There’s no doubt Louisville made a point of getting in the paint.

But for the next week, the coach won’t have to wonder whether his team can compete down low in a high-stakes game. The Cardinals figure to find out in games at Western Kentucky and Kentucky whether they’re toughening up in the ways Mack is asking.

Saturday’s game at WKU is virtually assured of emotion, given the region’s ongoing recovery from last week’s devastating tornadoes. But even beyond that, the Hilltoppers can test Louisville’s resilience at the rim.

WKU isn’t an elite defense — KenPom.com ranks it 94th in Division I in defensive efficiency — but it is one of the country’s best shot-blocking teams. That’s thanks to Jamarion Sharp, the 7-foot-5 center who averages 4.9 blocks per game.

He’s blocked five or more shots seven times in 11 games, including a 10-block performance against Alabama A&M. He swatted five shots in a loss to Memphis and six in a win against Mississippi.

More: What to know about Western Kentucky basketball big man Jamarion Sharp

That’s a test for a Louisville team that struggled to finish around the rim against DePaul shot-blocker Nick Ongenda, who has 25 this season, eight of those against the Cardinals. Earlier this week, Cards guard Jarrod West gave Ongenda some of the credit for the way Louisville settled for jump shots against the Blue Demons. U of L shot 7 for 33 from 3-point range against DePaul.

“But we have to still be able to maintain our aggression and our confidence to get in the paint,” West said.

Rival Kentucky, too, can provide some barometer for brawn next Wednesday.

The Wildcats don’t have a shot-blocker the caliber of Sharp or Ongenda, but rugged rebounder Oscar Tshiebwe blocks almost two per game. And though freshman Daimion Collins has struggled to stay on the floor – he averages 13.3 minutes per game and has played a combined five in UK’s two games against ACC competition – he blocks 4.3 shots per 40 minutes.

Given the tall targets — and charged environments — awaiting in the next week, Louisville figures to find out something about its edge.

Toughness can be tough to quantify, but there are telltale signs. Setting strong screens. Rolling hard to the basket. And as Mack has stressed repeatedly to his team, playing through the inevitable bumps that come with driving the ball to the rim. The Cards got into the interior by design against Southeastern Louisiana, but even then Mack noted that his team had the ball slapped away at times on its drives.

Mack equated 3-point shooting to passing in football, a necessary piece of an offense. But he wants the equivalent of a ground game, rough and reliable, around the rim. With the 3-point shot faltering — Louisville was 282nd in Division I in 3-point shooting percentage entering Wednesday’s games — punishing a defense in the paint becomes even more important.

“I think you have to be able to run and pass (in football),” Mack said. “And that’s a little bit like us. We’ve got to be able to get the ball in the lane, get to the free-throw line, be able to score in the interior. We had our opportunities, and sometimes we’re not finishing like we need to, but we need to have those type of attempts. And then mix in feet-set 3s.”

There are players who have the green light to shoot those when they’re open, Mack said, and he expects his sharpest shooters to come around despite a dull start. But he wants the offense to begin around the rim, and in that regard the Southeastern Louisiana game was a “vast improvement,” he said.

The Lions, though, entered Wednesday as the 300th-ranked Division I defense at KenPom.com. It's hard to know whether what Louisville did to Southeastern translates against stiffer competition.

But the Cards won’t have to wait long to find out.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball to face tall tasks in the lane against WKU, UK