Louisville basketball: 2019-2020 season review and 2020-2021 first-look preview

How did Louisville do this season?

While every NCAA basketball team is in the same boat as far as unfinished final chapters to their 2019-20 seasons, Louisville’s is harder to grade as anything other than incomplete without knowing how they would have fared in the ACC or NCAA tournaments. Was the late-season stumble symptomatic of opposing teams figuring out the Cardinals, or could Mack have inspired them — or Nwora carried them — to March glory?

There’s no question that Nwora’s return worked out splendidly for everyone. He was every bit as advertised and more, so much so that it would not have been outrageous if he was named ACC Player of the Year over Duke’s Jones. With no other player averaging even 10 points per game, a look at the year-end stats might suggest that Nwora was a one-man show, but in truth the team’s depth allowed everyone from Williams to McMahon to Sutton and others to step into the spotlight when needed.

The Cardinals might have been even more formidable had the freshman turned into big-time contributors, but that never quite happened the way some foresaw. Especially big things were expected from five-star recruit Samuell Williamson, but despite playing every game and introducing himself to the basketball world with 13 points in his debut, he topped double digits only twice the rest of the way and averaged only 15 minutes a game.

Then there’s the not insignificant matter of Louisville’s performance against ranked teams. The Cards played only six games against ranked foes but went 2-4 in them, beating Michigan and Duke but losing the rest. To be taken as a serious threat for conference or national championships next season, Mack will have to find a way to get his players to perform best when the challenges are the steepest.