Louisville Basketball: 5 Extremely Encouraging Takeaways From Indiana Game

We take a look at five extremely encouraging takeaways from the Louisville basketball team’s win over Indiana.

On an afternoon where both Louisville football and Louisville basketball teams were playing at the same time, it was the hoops team that brought home the big victory. Not to mention, they picked up a win over a team that had already beaten Kansas and North Carolina earlier this season.

We just won’t mention the Hoosiers’ losses to Nebraska and Fort Wayne this year. Oops.

With that being said, let’s take a look at five fantastic things Louisville did on Saturday:

Dec 31, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals square off against the Indiana Hoosiers for the opening jump ball at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

5. Louisville Bounced Back From Getting Killed By Virginia

I’ll admit it, I was a little concerned with the Cardinals after their poor effort and focus against a very good Virginia team just a few nights ago. Louisville usually handles themselves very well on the court, but the Cavaliers forced numerous turnovers and bad passes on Wednesday night in the KFC Yum Center.

Even though Virginia made life hard on Louisville earlier in the week, it was clear that they weren’t going to let their play be influenced by that on Saturday.

On a quick turnaround, against their third-straight solid opponent, Louisville played one of the best games of the season and dominated the Hoosiers.

Not to mention, they did it in front of a heavily-favored Indiana crowd.

Dec 31, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Anas Mahmoud (14) is guarded by Indiana Hoosiers forward Juwan Morgan (13) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

4. Rick Pitino’s Faith In Anas Mahmoud Paid Off

We have been asking for Anas Mahmoud to finally get a start over fifth-year senior Mangok Mathiang and Pitino finally came through. Throw out the records, when these two basketball programs get together, the stakes are high and all eyes are on the game.

In a game that the Cardinals needed to play well, Anas Mahmoud played extremely well from start to finish.

His three blocks and ten points were one of the biggest differences between the Cards playing in a close game or looking completely dominant.

Let’s see if Mahmoud can get some rhythm going in the starting lineup and keep Mathiang out of the starting lineup for good.

Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Deng Adel (22) reacts during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Kentucky 73-70. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

3. Deng Adel Had One Of His Games Of The Season

How do you like him now Indiana fans? Deng Adel came into this game against the Hoosiers looking to make an impact in the Pacers arena and he did that indeed. Adel finished the game with 17 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Louisville needs Adel to become one of their best three point shooters on the team, but he has just been too inconsistent at times throughout the season.

However, he was able to knock down three of his six 3-pointers on Saturday, which was extremely impressive when you add his 100 percent free throw percentage from the game on top of that.

Louisville will need Adel to stay hot against Notre Dame next week.

Dec 31, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers line up for the National Anthem before the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

2. Louisville Held Indiana To 32.3 Percent Shooting

Louisville’s defense was just too much for the Hoosiers to handle on Saturday. It was pretty funny to see the Cards give Indiana numerous open shots, but because they were playing out of control, their shots were off-target.

It was pretty clear which basketball team was better equipped to handle adversity on Saturday afternoon.

To hold Indiana to 62 points and only 32.3 percent shooting is extremely impressive because the Hoosiers are averaging 88.4 points per game with over a 50 percent field goal percentage.

The Cardinals may not play defense like Virginia, but these guys are very, very good in their own right.

Dec 28, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Devon Hall (0) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Virginia defeated Louisville 61-53. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

1. Donovan Mitchell

My goodness, did Donovan Mitchell have a game against Indiana on Saturday or what? He played terrible just a few days ago and to make it even worse, Rick Pitino benched him for this basketball game against the Hoosiers.

Coming off the bench, Mitchell played the best game out of everyone on both squads. He ended the game with 25 points, 1 steal, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds.

To make it even better, he hit four threes against the Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon.

Hopefully, this type of performance will get Donovan Mitchell rolling, as conference play now begins to go into full-swing. The Cardinals need a few guys they can depend on to score, therefore Mitchell needs to be one of those guys every single game.