Watch the Tape: Louisville Cardinals

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The Louisville Cardinals are not very good. We all know that. Typically beating a team that is now 2-12 and flirting with falling into the bottom 25% of the KenPom rankings wouldn’t bring much excitement. Admittedly, if their uniform said Howard, North Florida, or even Bellarmine we probably don’t feel the same as we do today. However, it DOES say Louisville, and that matters. Kentucky came out and took care of business defeating the rival Cardinals 86-63 on New Year’s Eve to end 2022 with a 9-4 record. The win itself isn’t overly important, but how the Wildcats looked provided some real hope as the calendar turned to 2023.

Ball movement, effort, and confidence appeared to be at an all-time high on Saturday afternoon. The ball consistently changed sides of the floor as one-on-one dribbling was substituted for swinging the ball around the perimeter. On both ends of the floor, Kentucky’s effort level led to easy baskets. The ‘Cats dominated the glass and scored 19 points off of 15 Louisville turnovers. Also, we got a potential breakout performance from Jacob Toppin. After a very frustrating start to his senior season, Toppin showed flashes of what we all expected from him against the Cardinals. His 24-point, 7-rebound performance just might be what the doctor ordered to turn the corner. Most importantly, it looked like he was having fun for the first time this season.

As we do after each contest we’ve logged hours in the KSR Film Room breaking things down for another tape review. In this edition we will focus on how Kentucky’s ball movement broke Louisville down, the improvements Coach Calipari and his staff have made in the ball screening department, and finally how the Wildcats’ pressure defense helped create easy offense. Let’s dive in and take a look at Kentucky’s 86-63 win over the Louisville Cardinals.

Ball Movement and Changing Sides of the Floor

It was very clear that ball movement was emphasized in the days leading up to Saturday’s contest against the Louisville Cardinals. The Wildcats looked as if they were deliberating making sure the ball played on both sides of the floor every possession. Simple concise decisions like that can really open things up offensively as the calendar turns to 2023. Kentucky’s spacing will never be perfect with this roster, but ball movement can help mask some of the lack of shooting. That was put on full display at Rupp Arena on New Year’s Eve.

Louisville’s ineffective zone defense certainly helped the Wildcats get going early in the game. However, Kentucky still had to execute and make shots. After seemingly missing everything early at Missouri, the ‘Cats saw the ball go in against the Cardinals. Once Sahvir Wheeler initiates the offense at the top of the key there are six passes and just one dribble. That is beautiful team basketball. Moving the ball sharply, and with a purpose, side-to-side helps soften up the defense so much. Kentucky did a great job of that on Saturday.

Too often this season Kentucky’s guards drive the ball right back to where it came from. However, against the Louisville Cardinals, they seemed to consciously work to change sides of the floor. That shifts the defense, moves the help, and makes it much harder to clog up driving lanes. It also makes it much easier to feed the post to Oscar Tshiebwe as you see in this clip. Ducking in after ball movement is so much more effective than standing around and telegraphing passes to him on the block. You can’t really double when Tshiebwe gets this deep of a catch either. Excellent offense that was brought on by great ball movement.

This might have been the most exciting clip from Saturday’s win. There is clear video evidence of Jacob Toppin growing as a player here. Earlier this season he would have either jacked the quick three-pointer or taken the contested pull-up jumper. Instead, with 22 seconds still on the shot clock, he decides to reverse the ball. The ball ends up getting fed to Oscar Tshiebwe inside and the Wildcats are more active moving off the ball than in probably any clip this season. Chris Livingston immediately clears out as Cason Wallace also relocates. However, most impressively, Toppin cuts into the paint and finishes the little left-handed floater. Using his size and athleticism to score in the paint is so much more effective than shooting jump shots. Plays like this will hopefully help to drive that point home to him in 2023.

Again, ball movement doesn’t just open up driving lanes for the guards. It also provides opportunities for the reigning National Player of the Year to duck-in at the rim. Opposing defenses will have a harder time doubling and helping when he gets deep post catches like this. Look at all of the space Oscar Tshiebwe has to play with inside when he posts up at the front of the rim. Also, outstanding entry pass by Jacob Toppin.

Added Wrinkles to Ballscreen Offense

It appears that Coach Calipari and the staff have finally settled into letting ballscreens be the focal point of the offense. The Kentucky Wildcats personnel fits ballscreen continuity very well and the half-court structure it provides will help force some ball movement and spacing. Coach Cal continues to throw in some wrinkles that make it harder for opponents to go under screens against Sahvir Wheeler as well. Saturday’s win over Louisville featured possibly the best offensive performance of the season from the Wildcats. That was encouraging to see heading into the New Year. Let’s take a look at some clips from the game.

We say it a lot in these film breakdowns, but simple offense is good offense. Any Sahvir Wheeler/Oscar Tshiebwe ballscreen with Cason Wallace replacing up behind the play is a really good action for the Wildcats. Louisville is put in a tough spot having to decide to help off of a 47.5% three-pointer shooter or let the reining National Player of the Year dunk it on the roll. These early “step-up” ballscreens make it hard for the defense to go under on Wheeler as well. Great offensive structure.

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Kentucky has struggled to find something they can fall back on offensively when they need a bucket. Whether it is late clock or after a bad possession it is important to have a few set actions everyone knows they can turn to. This ghost screen action with Cason Wallace can be very hard to guard. The Louisville Cardinals defenders started to switch the screen, but when Wallace slips they are in a long closeout situation. Kentucky should go to this type of action in any late-shot clock situation.

Early ball reversals really help loosen up the defense and shift potential help. On this possession, the ball plays on both the right and left wings before eventually getting back to Cason Wallace coming off of the little pitch back. Louisville should have helped more off of Jacob Toppin, but it is hard to do after those ball reversals. Kentucky’s offense was so much better against Louisville on Saturday.

This is another example of Coach Calipari adding a wrinkle to keep the Louisville Cardinals from going under the ballscreen on Sahvir Wheeler. Slipping the first ballscreen and then setting the second one going the other way makes it hard for the defense to hop underneath. Oscar Tshiebwe also did a good job setting the screen lower to get the defender to run right into his chest. It is really hard to guard this action. Beautiful offense.

Pressure Defense Leads to Easy Offense

Kentucky is too long and athletic to not force more turnovers than they have for much of this season. On Saturday, they turned the Louisville Cardinals over 15 times and it led to 19 points. Especially for an offense that has struggled at times, creating some easy offense with your defense can make a big difference. There were some signs on Saturday that the Wildcats might be turning up the pressure and could do so more in 2023.

Last season it seemed like Sahvir Wheeler made plays this multiple times per game. He would just take the ball from his man and go lay it in. However, this season, he has his lowest steal numbers since his freshman season. The Louisville Cardinals guards might be the weakest we will see the rest of this season, but it was still good to see Wheeler get a couple of steals on Saturday.

The Wildcats were so active on the defensive end of the floor on Saturday. You can see them bouncing around off of the ball and denying out in the passing lanes some. All five players on the floor made an impact on this possession. This is another example of how Kentucky was simply more locked in and played with a high level of effort against the Cardinals.

Full-court pressure can definitely be part of Kentucky’s defensive package. Whether it be pressing after free throws and dead ball or some random run-and-jump as you see here, mixing in more pressure can be effective. You can see Coach Calipari calling for Cason Wallace to go trap the ball on this possession. The added pressure speeds Louisville up and eventually creates a turnover for the ‘Cats. Wallace made a great play from behind and Wheeler ultimately poked it away. Pressure defense can lead to easy offense. That definitely should be a priority for Kentucky as we enter 2023.