Kenny Payne ‘embarrassed’ by Louisville performance vs. Virginia

A Tale of Two Halves unfolded in the KFC Yum! Center during Louisville’s noon tip-off against Virginia, with the Cardinals putting together one of their better second halves of the season in a comeback attempt.

The problem was that the first half was historically poor, with Louisville mustering its lowest halftime total, 13 points, since before World War II. The Cards got down nearly 30 by the break against Virginia, who led 41-13 after 20 minutes. But rather than roll over and submit to a beatdown of 40 points or more, in the second half, Louisville put up 39 points and outscored UVA by 11 to make it a more respectable 69-52 final.

After the game, head coach Kenny Payne commented on the Cards’ lack of quit despite the lopsided halftime tally.

“For me, just keep plugging away, man. We’re going to keep fighting,” he said. “We’re going to keep plugging away. We’re going to keep pushing them. We’re going to keep loving them. I love this team. I love these kids. I think they can figure it out. I think they’ve gotten better.”

A 17-point loss against Virginia isn’t the worst result Louisville has suffered on paper, but that first half did deliver a hit to Kenny Payne’s pride as a head coach.

“I’m in no way discouraged,” he added. “I’m embarrassed, because I don’t want to lose, I don’t want them to lose. I want them to succeed, I want them to overcome their barriers. I want them to overcome their fears.”

Whether they lost by 50, lost by 17 or lost at the buzzer, there’s only one way forward after a defeat, according to Payne.

“And a lot of this is, they got to get through it. So you got to go through it. It’s not going to be easy.”

Of course, certain setbacks have not helped Louisville’s cause, but it’s Payne and staff’s job to find answers amid some “bad luck” this season.

“We’ve had a lot of quote unquote ‘bad luck.’ We don’t have Dennis Evans, we don’t have JJ Traynor, who’s a starter averaging in 10 (points) and six (rebounds). Look, there a lot of things that have happened, but that’s not an excuse for for us going out and trying to win games and playing to win and playing winning basketball.”

Tough year all around for UofL hoops, and it will continue this week with a trip to Clemson, who was one of the few teams Louisville beat in ACC play a year ago.