Cards Drop ACC Opener to Miami

Sunday, December 4

LOUISVILLE, KY

1 p.m.

University of Louisville

0-8,0-1ACC

Miami

8-1,1-0ACC

Miami (FL)

Louisville

Mike James attacks the basket against Miami at the KFC Yum! Center

December 04, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO: Kenny Payne Press Conference VIDEO: Mike James/Brandon Huntley-Hatfield Press Conference Photo Gallery

By: Zach Greenwell

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville men's basketball struggled with turnovers and interior defense Sunday against Miami, falling 80-53 in its ACC opener at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (0-8) committed 19 turnovers and were outscored 44-26 in the paint by the Hurricanes (8-1), who shot 50% from the field, including 58.1% in the first half.

"For me, there's only one way for us to win and that's for us to play with real desperation, real fight, real determination – inch-by-inch, yard-by-yard in every aspect of the game," UofL head coach Kenny Payne said. "On the offensive, I want it to look like it looks on the defensive end, a together group that when a player makes a mistake, which all players make, somebody has his back. We're the fourth-tallest team in college basketball, so they say. I don't see shot blocking. I don't see contesting at the rim. That's a problem for me. When things get bad, I don't see us fighting through adversity. I see us splinter. That's a problem for me."

Louisville led 5-2 early after a 3-pointer by redshirt junior forward Jae'Lyn Withers and a basket by sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, but Miami went on a 15-2 run to lead by 10 for the first time at 17-7.

Another 3 by Withers later cut the deficit to eight, but the Hurriances rattled off 10 straight points to claim a 34-16 advantage with 6:04 remaining in the half.

"We allow our mistakes to just pile up on each other and then we start to splinter off," Huntley-Hatfield said. "Once we start making those mistakes, we have to come together as a group and talk about what's happening and so we don't keep making the same mistakes. I think we just have to take more pride on getting back in transition, running harder, playing harder, and not making the same mistakes more than once."

Miami led 42-23 at halftime and eventually led by as much as 32 with 10:22 to play. Jordan Miller paced the Hurricanes with 14 points.

Withers led Louisville with 12 points and six rebounds, while Huntley-Hatfield added 10 points and eight boards. Freshman forward Kamari Lands and redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James each scored nine points, and James also pulled down a career-high six rebounds.

The Cardinals fell to 7-2 in conference openers since joining the ACC.

Louisville continues ACC play on the road this coming week with a trip to Florida State at 1 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will air on the ACC Network.

"It's definitely hard, but we just got to wake up every day to another challenge," James said. "Just try to attack every day, and just try to change it. If you just sulk like some of us have been doing, we're going to keep getting the same result. We've just got to try to get up with a new mindset every day. We just got to change whatever we're doing, change the way we're doing it and eventually, something will go our way."