Kenny Payne was quick to turn the page on what will go down as the worst Louisville men's basketball regular season in the program's 109-year history.

"We're 0-0," the first-year head coach said Saturday after U of L (4-27, 2-18 ACC) suffered its 18th loss by double digits, 75-60 at No. 13 Virginia, and posted its first winless campaign on the road since 1939-40.

The Cardinals, as the No. 15 seed and losers of four in a row, are limping into the ACC Tournament, where a rematch with No. 10-seeded Boston College awaits at approximately 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

But Payne and his players are headed to Greensboro, North Carolina, believing they can make a run. They're not going to, as Mike James put it, show up just to say, "Hey, we're here."

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"We're trying to win it," said James, who in the losing effort Saturday led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 37 minutes. "If our mindset isn't that, then I don't know what to say."

Mindset is one thing — Payne on Friday said he could see how his unwavering belief in his players could be considered "delusional."

On-court application has been a totally different, often-elusive beast.

"Why is there a vast difference between one half and the next?" Payne wondered aloud after eight of Louisville's 12 turnovers, which resulted in 16 points for Virginia, came before halftime.

"Why is there a lack of energy and effort to defend?" he pondered after the Cavaliers (23-6, 15-5) cooked the Cardinals on ball screens, shot 58% for the game and had assists on 25 of their 29 field goals.

These questions have been raised in one form or another after every one of U of L's games dating back to its 17-point loss at Duke on Feb. 20. No matter how much Payne and his players believe in themselves, it's hard to overlook the steps back they have taken since knocking off Clemson just two days before that trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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"We have a lot of experience in what not to do," Payne said.

Yet again, the Cardinals looked stagnant offensively to start Saturday's regular-season finale. Coincidental or not, they arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia, just hours before tipoff, because their travel routine of flying into cities the day prior was affected by the high-powered wind storm that left thousands across the commonwealth without power.

"It's definitely different flying in (the day of the game)," James said. "Your legs feel different going into the game after hopping off a plane, going straight to eat and then right into the gym."

It took Louisville until the 9:20 mark of the first half to score 10 points and 14 minutes, 41 seconds to tally an assist. All-ACC candidate El Ellis, meanwhile, went 0 for 4 from the field and had just four points at halftime because he got to the free-throw line.

"They were pressuring us, and we were letting the ball stick," said James, who accounted for nine of the team's 20 points and three of its six field goals before the break. "With Virginia, you can't let the ball stick."

Payne and James both noted improved ball movement throughout the second half, during which U of L committed just three turnovers, outscored Virginia 40-39 and won the rebounding battle (15-10) with five more second-chance points to boot. If the Cardinals had played that way in the first half, "it would have been a closer game and went down to the wire," James said.

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Instead, Louisville heads into a win-or-go-home scenario with Payne still trying to get his players to understand the difference between "playing basketball and playing winning basketball."

The first-year head coach hinted at what may happen to those who don't get with the program.

"There's a difference in young men who understand the fight and the grind that this sport is and why great teams win," Payne said.

"I have to go out and see which one of these kids believe in that, and if not I have to go and definitely bring players in who believe in the fight, the grind, the character it takes to be great; that winning matters; doing the little things matter, and that's on and off the court."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball ends first regular season under Kenny Payne 4-27