Like most here, I've read through a lot of posts in a lot of threads regarding the game. One recurring observation is that Louisville outscored UConn for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters, and from the end of UConn's early 19-0 run to the final buzzer. Of course, that is true. But I don't believe this means Louisville outplayed UConn or was the better team, during that stretch, or even during the 4th quarter. Watching the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters unfold, nobody knew that Louisville would lose by only 11 points. How did we get there? And why? Let's read history forward.
Louisville was reeling with about 5 minutes left in the first half. UConn had clearly shown, rather dramatically, that it really was the better team--playing suffocating defense, running the floor, hitting the shots, making great individual plays, great team plays, and so on. At that point, Louisville was not defeated. But they certainly knew they were playing a superior team with great players, on the road, and down 20 points before they knew what hit 'em.
It was only after this point that Louisville outscored UConn over the course of the rest of the game. In seeing that happen, you had to feel that while Louisville had a chance, it was a slight chance. As Louisville played on, the game turned into more a series of half-court offensive sequences. Sometimes, the teams would trade misses. Sometimes fouls would put players on the line. Sometimes Louisville would score, get a stop, and score again. But Uconn continued to play and find ways to score, pushing the lead back up to, say, 17 to 19. With 1:45 left in the 3Q, we lead by 22. At this point, it is safe to say that UConn was, minimally, playing even. Louisville scored 5 quick points to end 3rd quarter, cutting the lead to 17. But entering the 4Q, it seemed remote at best that Louisville would ever surmount a 17 point deficit under the conditions.
And so, the teams played out the 4Q. Louisville cut into the lead a bit at the beginning of the quarter, and then again a bit more at around the 3 minute mark. My impression is that while Louisville continued to play hard (perhaps if nothing else than to convince themselves that they can compete with UConn--which they can), everyone knew that they were not going to win this game. This partially explains the rather deliberate pace in Louisville's half-court offense. I think given the short bench, UConn used these circumstances to reserve a bit of energy, play a bit softer and safer second half. Our starters were pretty gassed by the 4th quarter; but that's partially because they played so hard to build the lead. By the 4th quarter, the objective was to hold it. No need to do more. There are still 4 games left in the regular season before heading into the post-season.
On to the next opponent.
