The college basketball season starts to get old when one’s team has lost three out of its last five games. Reeling as the March Madness nears, looking more and more like a premature exit is possible.

But there was Coach Rick Pitino saying he believed the University of Louisville could have won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament this time around. “I’m heartbroken we lost today,” he said after UofL’s 81-77 loss to Duke in a quarterfinal game.

“I really felt like we could win this weekend,” he said. “We could have won by 10 or 15 tonight if we had hit our free throws and done the little things. This team gives a lot of effort, has great heart but mentally they’re just not what they need to be.”

Pitino cited UofL’s final offensive play as an example, with players out of position on a play that his team runs every day in practice. Maybe he’s just being kind when he refers to the “mental” aspects of the game.

One of Deng Adel’s better games with 21 points (Cindy Rice Shelton photo).

Another horrid day at the free throw line with the Cardinals making only 15 of 26 attempts, many of them on the front end of one-and-one situations. The coach flinches at suggestions that his team doesn’t practice free throw shooting enough.

“We practice on free throws more than anyone,” he said. “We try not to talk about them too much because it can become a psychological thing.”

Another frustrating game for Donovan Mitchell, a first-team ACC player, who never seemed to get started. He managed three points in the first half and wound up with only eight for the game.

If there was a bright spot, it was the play of Deng Adel, showing a newfound ability to get through traffic to the basket. He would make seven of 14 field goal attempts, including two of six from behind the 3-point line, for a team-leading 21 points. Notably, he would also make five of six free-throws.

UofL has been down before heading into NCAA tournament play, only to turn things around, often exceeding expectations. But Rick Pitino seems to be admitting he has some extra concerns about this year’s team. He may be running out of time getting the answers he seeks.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.