The Cardinals didn’t miss a beat tonight and had their 5th blowout win in a row beating USF 80-54. Losing to the Cardinals in this fashion is something that the Bulls have gotten used to over the years. Louisville closes out this series with a 29-4 series advantage, and winning 15 of the last 16 match ups. The Cards who have won 11 of their last 13 games will take their hot streak on the road to play rival Cincinnati.
It was another very good outing for the Cardinals who seemed poised and ready for their stretch run coming up. 4 guys were in double figures tonight with Russ Smith leading the way with 19 points. Pitino on Russ: “I’m hoping some people/scouts take note of what a dynamic player he is.” He really has transformed himself into an all around player and reemphasized tonight that he wanted to do whatever it takes for his team to win. With his 19 points tonight he passed Wes Unseld for 10th all-time in scoring with 1697 points.
Another guy who continues to look better every time he plays is Luke Hancock. He was second in scoring tonight with 16 points. He is the backbone of the Cardinal offense and good things happen when the offense goes through him.
Montrezl Harrell is now the single season dunk record holder with 62 after slamming home three monster dunks tonight in his 14 point effort.
And my guy Terry Rozier continues to be amazing. Coach Pitino said tonight night that he would put Rozier right with the other elite freshman in college basketball this season. “I think Tyler Ennis is having as good a year as any guard in the country, and I think Terry Rozier is in his class.” He would score 13 points tonight.
And Mango and VanTreese continue to have solid production from that 5 spot. They have now put together some very good outings. Tonight they had 11 points and 14 rebounds. That’s the kind of numbers we need from that position to truly compete with some of the bigger teams. Pitino said about Mango tonight “He played very well tonight. He bailed us out of some tough spots. Very happy w him.”
Again tonight from a statistical standpoint the Cardinals were great. They had shot over 50% from the field in 4 straight games and 6 out of their last 8, overall. Tonight they shot just under that at 48%. They shot 53% from the field in the first half. Rebounding has gotten much better and they win that battle again tonight 36-30 against a good rebounding team. The Cards had 14 assist tonight on 34 made baskets, had 2 blocked shots and 10 steals. Louisville came into this game generating an average of 21.9 points per game off turnovers. Tonight they forced 20 turnovers and scored 20 points off them. Bench scoring continues to be very good tonight out scoring USF bench 29-12.
Now the rubber will meet the road in the Cardinals basketball season. Four of the Cardinals final 5 games are against NCAA teams. At Cincinnati, at Memphis, at SMU, vs. UConn. It will be during this stretch that we will get some kind of idea of whether or not our guys can make another run at this thing. Coach Pitino said tonight “We’re about to go play in some tough, hostile places. That’ll get us ready for tournament time.” Let’s hope the wins keep piling up and the facial hair keeps growing on. No Shave Till Dallas! Go Cards!
Cards are introduced:
Coach Pitino after game:
Wayne Blackshear after game:
Russ Smith after game:
Luke Hancock after game:
Montrezl talks dunks after the game:
