Up next: Louisville vs. Albany, 9 p.m., Wednesday, KFC Yum Center. TV: ESPNU.

As long as the preseason felt for Louisville basketball fans, the first 10 games have seemingly flown by.

The Cards (8-2) are entering the final swing of nonconference games before ACC play picks up, with Albany up next on Wednesday.

Here's what we've learned about Louisville so far:

1. Expectations were too high to start the season: There was always a chance Louisville could be 8-2 at this point — Purdue and Seton Hall could make runs in the NCAA Tournament. But the preseason ranking paired with the success over the past decade created a scenario where interim coach David Padgett and his team had very little room for error with an expectant fan base. Unconvincing wins over George Mason and Nebraska-Omaha brought out the sky-is-falling crowd.

The reality is Padgett, 32, was put in a difficult position, taking on his first head-coaching job two days before preseason practices formally began. He pieced together a coaching staff just in time for Louisville's exhibitions. It's mid-December now, and while the season is moving fast, Padgett and company still have only been coaching this team for two and a half months. This is not a video game; it takes time.

2. Deng Adel is posting Larry O'Bannon numbers: There are quite a few similarities between Adel's stat line and O'Bannon's 2004-05 production. Adel averages 16 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, shooting 49 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from 3-point range and 80.5 percent from the free-throw line. O'Bannon averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists per game, shooting 49 percent overall, 42.5 percent from 3 and 84.7 percent from the foul line.

Louisville would like Adel, a 6-foot-7 wing, to rebound more and draw more fouls, but he is off an All-ACC-level start to the season.

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3. Louisville is shooting free throws better than it ever has: The Cards are chasing program history at this point. Louisville is 141 of 180, which is good for 78.3 percent. The best free-throw shooting percentage by a Louisville squad over a full season is 75.2 percent for the 1974-75 campaign.

In addition to Adel's strong free-throw percentage, Darius Perry is 20 for 20 and Quentin Snider is 22 of 25. What makes the biggest difference is Ray Spalding and Anas Mahmoud's progress. Spalding shot 52.6 percent over his first two seasons at Louisville, but he is up to 78.3 percent this season. Mahmoud: 47.4 percent his first three seasons and 56.2 so far this campaign.

4. Louisville is on a torrid shot-blocking pace: Once the competition improves, it's hard to see the Cards continuing its level of shot blocking. But if it comes close, Louisville would rank among the best shot-blocking teams in the past 16 seasons. Padgett's team owns a 20.9 block percentage, which is narrowly behind the 2006-07 Connecticut Huskies (21 percent) for the best shot-swatting clip since Ken Pomeroy's analytics site started tracking college hoops during the 2001-02 season.

Mahmoud (3.8 blocks per game) and Spalding (2.4) lead the Cards' charge.

More:Louisville basketball's David Padgett pushes for urgency after timeouts

5. Louisville struggles with defensive rebounding: As good as Louisville's field-goal defense and shot blocking have been, the defensive rebounding rate is down. Opponents are getting almost a third of the available offensive rebounds, which resulted in a lot of second-chance points. With some very good offensive rebounding teams (Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse, etc.) coming up on the schedule, Louisville needs to improve. Padgett acknowledged that multiple times over the past two months, stressing the need for wings and guards to help.

6. Spalding is a stat stuffer: It's hard to find another Louisville player in recent years who put together a stat line like the 6-10 Trinity High grad. Spalding impressed Rick Pitino as a freshman and sophomore with his ability to disrupt on defense. He is a deflections fiend, and he averaged 10.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 steals through 10 games. He ranks among the nation's best defensive and offensive rebounders, percentage-wise. And it somehow feels like Spalding has another level to reach.

7. The Cards may go without a marquee nonconference win: The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee evaluates a team's entire schedule, and that's why Louisville may end up regretting the Seton Hall loss the most. Memphis just isn't very good. And while Indiana notched a nice win at Notre Dame over the weekend, the Hoosiers don't look like an NCAA Tournament team at this point. With the Kentucky game coming up, Louisville has one last shot at a signature nonconference win. Otherwise, the Cards will have to rely on ACC play to register a resume-topping victory.

Jeff Greer: 502-582-4044; jgreer@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @JeffGreer_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jeffg.