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Top Item On Louisville Cardinals’ 2014 Christmas List

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By @writered21

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As one of the top three teams in the ACC and a team in the conversation for a Final Four appearance this season, you might think the Louisville Cardinals and their head coach Rick Pitino wouldn’t have much on their Christmas shopping list with the big holiday now just two days away. But for Louisville to be that team everyone seems to think the Cardinals are, Pitino should hope Santa Claus delivers a potion for better field-goal shooting or his team will be sunk.

While Louisville (10-0) is one of the best defensive teams in the country, holding opponents to just 54 PPG (good for eighth in the nation) and having twice held opponents to 33 or less, such numbers aren’t likely to happen when the Cardinals get into conference play after the New Year. To contend in the ACC and make a deep run in March, Louisville must shoot the ball better or that offense will be too ineffective to survive conference foes like Duke, Virginia and perhaps even Notre Dame.

So far this season, against a schedule that has only included one ranked team (No. 14 Ohio State), the Cardinals are shooting a woeful 43.8 percent from the field, putting them 164th in the nation. This is despite the presence of All-American candidate Montrezl Harrell, who on his own is hitting at 61 percent from the floor and has taken the third-most shots of anyone on the team.

If you take Harrell’s production away from the Cardinals, which will be the case tonight when Louisville hosts Cal-State Northridge since Harrell is suspended for violent conduct over the weekend vs. Western Kentucky, the Cardinals’ shooting situation looks even worse. Louisville is shooting a dismal 40.2 percent from the field.

These shooting woes actually infiltrate the entirety of Louisville’s game. The Cardinals are just 27.5 percent from three-point range and really struggle even from the free-throw line, where Louisville hits just five of every eight attempts. That will do against non-conference opponents such as Jacksonville State, Marshall and Savannah State, but it won’t get the job done against the elite of the ACC or beyond the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

If Louisville is going to be a factor down the road, or have any chance to upset No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday, Pitino better hope the answer to the Cardinals’ seemingly aimless shooting arrives under the tree Christmas morning.

Ed Morgans is the ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.

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