El Ellis encouraged by Louisville's improved effort

Even when you’re 3-23, you can still give the appropriate effort to put yourself in a position to compete. Based on how they’ve played and improved in that area as of late, senior guard El Ellis is proud of how Louisville has competed.

Ellis talked about the new intensity following the 61-58 loss the Cardinals had to No. 7 Virginia on Wednesday night. He says they really showed it in their matchup with the Cavaliers and is an example of how, even though their record is what it is, they can play with anybody in the nation.

“It just shows that we can compete with anybody. That team is supposed to be one of the best teams in the country and we went down to the wire with them both games,” said Ellis. “I just feel like the guys should feel very good about that. We just gotta keep our confidence and look forward to the next game.”

Louisville led by as much as nine in the first half against the seventh-ranked Cavaliers. Tony Bennett’s team eventually got back into it but, overall, things never got out of hand inside the Yum Center. They stayed close but, in the end, just weren’t close enough.

Still, it was the latest solid performance in a decent stretch of late from the Cardinals. Over the last five games, they did manage to get one win. However, in the four losses, they also only fell to Florida State by just three, Miami by just eight, and then Virginia by three as the most recent.

To some, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Considering how the season has gone for Louisville, though, this is growth that they can still build upon and utilize to both end this season and start the next one.

Ellis says being ’embarrassed’ by Pittsburgh sparked play against Virginia

Louisville sits at the bottom of the ACC rankings with just one conference win this season, but have improved their play lately versus two ranked opponents. Three games ago, the Cardinals suffered a tough, 34-point loss to Pittsburgh, which according to guard El Ellis fueled their improve play as of late.

“I was very embarrassed after that Pittsburgh game,” Ellis said. “We came out, we didn’t fight at all. They hit us in the mouth and they just kept hitting us and we just kept taking punches. So I feel like that really motivated guys to come out and hit first these past two games.”

In their last two games versus No. 19 Miami and No. 7 Virginia, Louisville kept the game close at halftime down by just three or less points at the break. They just could not hold on and finish strong enough to win.

Ellis is currently the ACC’s third-leading scorer, averaging 17.6 points per game. He’s also leading the Cardinals in assists, steals, and field goal percentage. He’s the Cardinals’ unquestioned go-to guy and matched a season-low seven points versus Pitt in their ugly loss.

But he bounced back resoundingly in their last two contests. Ellis scored 33 points versus Miami and then 21 versus Virginia, averaging a 55% field goal percentage between both contests. With Ellis and his team playing seemingly more motivated than ever, hopefully, they can steal a few wins in the remaining five games left on their regular season schedule.