Louisville Basketball Has Hit Rock Bottom

Since the inception of Kentucky Sports Radio, the Louisville basketball program has created countless headlines you never thought were possible. Time and time again we’ve thought, “This can’t get any worse?” Time and time again, we’ve been proven incorrect. Wednesday night we finally saw the Cardinals reach rock bottom.

Arkansas State, a 3-7 team ranked No. 196 in KenPom, completely dominated the Cardinals in front of dozens of people at the Yum Center. The final score: 75-63.

Rick Pitino got extorted by his mistress. An escort exposed stripper parties in the Louisville basketball dorms. Pitino flipped off the crowd at Rupp Arena. Then one of his assistants got caught by the FBI trying to pay a player. His eventual successor was fired after he recorded an assistant who was trying to extort him. They got a banner pulled down, then put up the saddest banner in its place. Louisville fans have seen just one NCAA Tournament in eight seasons, none since 2017.

That is a short list of the crazy things that have hit the program. None of them feel as bad as this.

Typically there are a few Cards’ fans who are still delusional enough to believe they are still one of the top programs in all of college basketball. Now you can’t even find any fans that are willing to fork over $3 to watch their team play.

12 minutes till tipoff for UofL tonight. That’s just sad. pic.twitter.com/19w7DgXW2F

— Michael Bennett (@justthebennett) December 14, 2023

Losing to a 1-win DePaul team is bad. What happened tonight against Arkansas State is somehow even more embarrassing. The Cards did not hit a three until there were less than three minutes left on the clock. They had just five assists on 22 made field goals while letting the Red Wolves shoot 51.4% from the field in the second half. That’s an abomination to basketball.

“This is embarrassing,” said ACC Network color commentator Tim Welsh. “They’re not even playing defense right now. They’re not organized, guys just putting their head down and driving to the rim.”

Anish Shroff added, “Bourbon consumption might be high in Louisville tonight.”

But wait — THERE’S MORE!

One of their players was watching from the stands, again. UofL announced Koron Davis intended to transfer. He responded and said, “No I’m not.” Then showed up to the game and watched from the stands. That’s an abridged version of the unbelievable saga that’s engulfed the program. The phrase ‘dumpster fire’ is overused, but it’s the only one that fits what’s currently happening on Floyd Street.

Here’s the shot @AlyssaKNewton got of Koron Davis in the stands of the Louisville – Arkansas State game. pic.twitter.com/fpAVKXAc7E

— Kent Spencer (@WHAS11Kent) December 14, 2023

Kenny Payne has been an unmitigated disaster. He’s taken Louisville basketball to rock bottom. Will he still be there when his team hosts Kentucky next week?