Considering it was Louisville’s first loss of the season, and they’d faced fewer than three Power Conference teams before running into Arkansas, you’d think it would be understandable. But for coach Pat Kelsey? Not really. He doesn’t want to move forward without confronting where the team truly fell short. And in his view, the problem isn’t in the numbers.

“It was unacceptable, we pride ourselves on being great in the process every day and we’re just proud of our guys, their approach and how we practice, but you do that every day so you develop great habits so that when you’re in these environments, you just trust your training and on both ends of the ball the things we value and we hold our guys accountable on, the offensive and defensive end it just wasn’t good enough,” Kelsey said.

Clearly, the Louisville head coach didn’t wish to mince words as he added:

“And then the rebounding and undisciplined fouling. I just told them there’s a ton to clean up, and it is as they know, we will clean all of it up, but the big thing is we got to have a big response to adversity. We haven’t faced a lot of that this year, and it’s the first opportunity to respond in a big-time way, and we need to because we need to get ready for a really good Indiana team in two days,” lamented the dejected Kelsey after the results did not go the way he wanted to.

Louisville’s night in the ACC/SEC Challenge slipped away almost as soon as it began. After holding the lead for just the opening 27 seconds, the Cardinals spent the rest of the game chasing Arkansas, sometimes by as many as 20 points, before finally falling 89–80.

It marked Louisville’s second game in the event and its 20th loss to a team coached by Hall of Famer John Calipari.

From the jump, Arkansas’ athleticism took Louisville’s offense for a scary ride. Every paint touch for the Cardinals was hard to get; the Razorbacks crowded driving lanes and shut down the post so effectively that the Cards couldn’t force defenders inward or create the kick-outs they usually thrive on.

Shots came harder, shot selection got shakier, and their rhythm, one of the best 3-point rhythms in the country, never settled in.

Louisville made just 41.4% of its shots and went 8-for-37 from deep despite entering the night ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in threes per game (13.1). Only 13 of their 29 buckets came off assists, and nine turnovers turned into 14 Arkansas points. The second half brought some life, with a 17-for-34 shooting, a clean 50%, but across the full 40 minutes, you could see the gaps.

Defensively, as well, the Cardinals struggled. And for the HC, who had specifically requested his team to go hard on both ends of the floor against Arkansas, the loss was bound to sting.

The Razorbacks outmuscled Louisville on the glass 46–36, pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, and turned those into a staggering 27 second-chance points. Their shooting wasn’t much better overall at 41.8%, but Louisville’s struggles with physicality and the fine line between defending and fouling cost them.

The Cardinals were whistled 25 times, compared to just 15 fouls on Arkansas. That disparity sent the Razorbacks to the free-throw line a massive 35 times, where they knocked down 27 of their attempts. Louisville, meanwhile, managed only 18 trips to the stripe and converted 14 of them, barely half of Arkansas’ opportunities.

Still and all, the Cardinals have shown their potential before; they won against the Kentucky Wildcats. So, they should be able to bounce back soon.

However, it’s fair to think that the HC’s disappointment was heightened by how the fans reacted after the loss.

Hostile Reception of the Louisville Cardinals Forces John Calipari to Speak Out

After Louisville lost the game, chants of “overrated” addressed towards Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals drowned out Bud Walton Arena. This was obviously not well received by the home coach, who had previously found himself at the receiving end of such chants during his time with Kentucky.

That’s not all. Calipari was booed in his first return to the Rupp Arena after leaving Kentucky, and while he managed to win back then, he knows the kind of toll such comments can take on one.

So, Calipari intervened, urging the crowd. “Please do me a favor. No ‘overrated’ stuff. Don’t do it. Please, don’t do it,” Calipari said. “Thank you, appreciate you fans.”

“I love the program there,” Calipari said of Louisville after the game. “Louisville is fine with me. We played them a bunch [at Kentucky], beat them more than we lost to them. I tried to downplay the game—it’s just one game so people wouldn’t lose their minds—but they didn’t listen to me. … [Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey] has it going now.”

Yes, for the banter-loving Arkansas fraternity, this might make Calipari seem like a “party pooper” for going soft on the opposition. However, Calipari seems to believe in sportsmanship. It remains to be seen how the Cardinals will answer those chants on the court again.