Louisville Lost Another Exhibition Game

Stop me if you’ve heard this before — Kenny Payne’s fighting Louisville Cardinals lost an exhibition game. For the second time in as many years, the Louisville basketball team has lost a preseason exhibition to a non-Division I basketball team. This loss tastes even sweeter.

To the victor goes the spoils, and right now Ryan Lemond is drinking up all of the Cardinal tears. KSR’s favorite shirtless sidekick is a former baseball player and proud alumnus of Kentucky Wesleyan College. Tonight his Panthers put it on the Cardinals and escaped the Yum! Center with a 71-68 victory.

Hey @LouisvilleMBB , start the bus!@KWCPanthers !!!

Count the banners baby!!!

— Ryan Lemond (@ryanlemond) October 31, 2023

KWC beat an ACC team despite only shooting 36% from the floor. They also committed four more turnovers than the Cardinals. The Panthers won by doing something D-II schools shouldn’t be able to do against towering competition, score inside. KWC had 26 points in the paint compared to Louisville’s 22. The Panthers had 14 more rebounds than the Cards.

A close game throughout, Louisville’s largest lead was eight points. KWC grabbed the momentum by taking a six-point lead with 5:00 to play and held on to pull off the enormous upset at the home of the Cardinals.

The Beginning of New Lows for Louisville

Louisville lost this game because they’re the same team they were a year ago. The team that lost an exhibition to Lenoir-Rhyne and only managed to win four games is still playing selfish basketball. KWC had 14 assists; Louisville had just seven.

They can’t shoot. The Cards went on a 12-minute stretch in the second half without making a jump shot, only scoring on free throws and layups. Kenny Payne’s Louisville team also doesn’t know how to play disciplined defense. Trailing by four with two minutes a play, they should be desperate, willing to do whatever it takes to get a stop. Kentucky Wesleyan had a guy down the middle of the lane wide open for a layup.

If you think it’s bad now, it’s only going to get worse. Kenny Payne made little effort to rally the fanbase this offseason. Hundreds of fans attended the game. They’ll be lucky if they can draw a larger crowd than the volleyball team.

We know Louisville fans. They are delusional enough to talk themselves into anything. Only a few bought that Kenny Payne could turn it around in year two. Even those people have to be ready to jump ship after Louisville lost another embarrassing game to an instate foe. It’s a shame, a real shame.

If you’re a real sicko, you can watch us provide play-by-play for the final 10-15 minutes on the KSR Football Podcast.