| Game Summary: South Florida | Score: Louisville 96, South Florida 77 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (30) South Florida: Altron Jackson (25) |
|
| U of L fans got a glimpse of what Pitino-ball can look like in this game, as the Cards put on a record-setting shooting exhibition in dismantling the South Florida Bulls with surprising ease. The Cards set a school record with 19 three-pointers (the previous high was 16 vs. Oral Roberts on Jan. 2, 1993) and also set a C-USA record for most threes in a game (the previous high was also 16, by Charlotte vs. DePaul on Feb. 28, 2001). The Cards also received personal bests from Reece Gaines, who notched a career-high with 30 points on 8-15 shooting from the field (including 7-12 from behind the arc), 7-7 from the line, plus six rebounds and four assists, and all this despite playing with a stomach flu. Walk-on guard Bryant Northern also had a career-high, scoring all 21 of his points by shooting 7-9 from three-point range, at one point making five straight. For the game, U of L was 19-32 from behind the arc (11-16 in the second half) and from the field shot a season-high 53.3%. Not coincidentally, the Cards also had a season-high 25 assists. |
The Cards used defense and South Florida turnovers to build their 39-29 halftime lead. The Cards scored half of their first half points off of 16 South Florida turnovers, and dominated on the boards as well: USF had only three offensive rebounds in the opening frame. Although South Florida did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half (they finished with 22 turnovers) and even wound up shooting 50.3% from the field, U of L's outside shooting proved decisive. The Bulls had a 10-0 run early in the second half, but Northern hit one of his threes to push the Cards' lead back to 46-39. Another Northern three on U of L's next possession gave the Cards a 49-41 lead. After South Florida pulled to within 60-56 with 8:25 left, Northern drilled another three. And then when the Bulls scored on two straight possessions to pull within 63-60...you guessed it: Northern hit back-to-back threes. Other shining stars for the Cards were Luke Whitehead, who followed up his 20-point performance against Memphis with 11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and no turnovers. Also, Alhaji Mohammed was hot from outside, hitting on all three of his three-point attempts to finish with 11 points. For the Bulls, C-USA's all-time leading scorer Altron Jackson had 25 points on 10-18 shooting, while center Will McDonald had 16 points.  |
| Game Summary: St. Louis | Score: St. Louis 67, Louisville 64 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (37) St. Louis: Marque Perry (20) |
|
| What a disappointment. The Cards come off of what could have been a momentum-building win, but instead suffocate under the tight defense of St. Louis, and drop their third straight game to the Billikens. It was truly a one-man show for U of L against St. Louis. Reece Gaines scored a career-high for the second straight game, totalling 37 points. It was the most points in a single game by a Cardinal player since Wes Unseld scored 45 points against Georgetown College on December 1, 1967. All told, Gaines' performance puts him in a tie for sixth place for U of L's single game scoring record (Phil Rollins scored 37 for the Cards against Eastern Kentucky on December 29, 1955). But despite the personal achievement, Gaines was left in tears after the game, still stinging from what is U of L's toughest loss of the season to date. St. Louis came into the game 9-13 and only 3-6 in C-USA play, but the Cards couldn't get it done. |
| The key for St. Louis, which won its first road game of the season, was to control the tempo, which they did for most of the game, just not the beginning. The Cards got off to a great start, making seven of their first 11 shots to take a 16-10 lead. U of L was up 25-19 with 8:33 left in the first half when the Billikens started slowing the game down. Playing tougher defense and scoring at will on easy, inside shots, St. Louis held the Cards without a field goal for the final 6:15 of the first half and outscored U of L 10-3 in that time span to build a 34-30 halftime lead. After a back-door dunk by Gaines to open the second half pulled Louisville to within two, St. Louis went on another big run. Fueled by Cardinal turnovers on each of their next five possessions, SLU went on a 12-5 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 46-37. But then the Cards dug down and showed the kind of grit that the fans have come to love about this team--unfortunately, it didn't last long enough. Ellis Myles scored five straight points for U of L, then Reece Gaines started his impressive tear. The Cardinal guard scored U of L's next 12 points, and after a lay-up by Myles, U of L had completed a 19-5 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a 56-51 lead with 7:52 left in the game. |
| Like they had in their only other home loss this season (to Marquette), the Cards had a lead with three minutes left. Turnovers and poor execution cost the Cards the game though. Up 63-60, U of L saw Marque Perry, who led St. Louis with 20 points, including 10-13 from the line, drive to the hoop and draw a foul and make two of his 10 free throws to pull the Billikens within one. The Cards then misfired on their next possession, while St. Louis made one of two free throws to tie the game at 63. A Cardinal turnover was followed by a lay-up by SLU's Kenny Brown, who was the other Billiken to finish in double-figures, scoring 13 points with six rebounds. After Brown's lay-up, SLU led 65-63 with 1:14 left. Gaines made one of two free throws to pull the Cards within one, but on the next St. Louis possession, the Cards were unable to set a trap on Brown, who scored underneath with ease to put SLU ahead 67-64 with 23 seconds remaining. Gaines missed a tough three the next time down for the Cards, and after Brown missed two free throws, Gaines again was unable to hit on another long three, and time ran out. Although Gaines couldn't connect in the final minute, he kept U of L in the game all by himself: he was the only Cardinal to score in the last seven minutes of the game. Gaines scored 25 of U of L's 34 second-half points, and made nine of U of L's 11 second-half field goals. He was also 6-11 from three-point range. Amazingly, the Cards outrebounded St. Louis 35-23, but U of L's 21 turnovers were fatal to the Cards' chances. |
| Game Summary: Indiana | Score: Indiana 77, Louisville 62 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (17) Indiana: Jarrad Odle (25) |
|
| The Cards had hoped to renew their series with the Indiana Hoosiers on a high note, and to build on some momentum from a winning streak. But the loss to St. Louis put U of L in a corner, and faced against one of the Big Ten's top teams, the task at hand was a difficult one. U of L fought bravely, and made a stirring comeback in the end to get within striking distance. But a lapse late in the first half, and some scoring from some unlikely sources from the Hoosiers doomed this trip to Assembly Hall. It looked the Cards might have drawn a break with IU's leading scorer and rebounder, Jarred Jefferies, slowed by a deep thigh bruise. Although Jefferies started the game, he left after only four minutes after spraining an ankle. The Cards turned a 15-8 deficit into an 18-17 lead during the time Jefferies was out, but upon his return Indiana turned it around. The Hoosiers used a 14-2 run to close the first half, and led at the break 42-32 after being down 30-28. A jumper by Odle with only six seconds left in the half provided IU its double-digit lead at halftime. |
| IU opened the second half on a tear. The Hoosiers scored the first seven points in the second half to open up a 17-point lead, but U of L did not quit. Eventually the Cards were able to trim the lead to 61-55 with 5:28 left, but that's as close as the Cards got. Odle tracked down a loose ball, drawing the fifth foul on U of L's Luke Whitehead in the process, and hit both free throws to put IU up 63-55. Ellis Myles hit a free throw for the Cards, but then after a Reece Gaines miss (Gaines led the Cards with 17 points but was held to 6-19 shooting, including 1-9 from three-point range), IU got a fast-break lay-up from Odle, who was fouled on the shot and converted the three-point play. It didn't stop there. Odle scored on another fast-break lay-up, and a three-pointer by Tom Coverdale capped a 10-1 Indiana run that put the game away. For the game, Odle finished with a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. U of L shot a woeful 36% from the field, including 12-23 from the line, while Indiana shot 56%. U of L received 12 points from Whitehead, 10 from Erik Brown, and Larry O'Bannon added nine. The Hoosiers received 11 points and nine rebounds from Jefferies, while Coverdale finished with 16 points. |
| Game Summary: DePaul | Score: Louisville 76, DePaul 72 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines, Simeon Naydenov (20) DePaul: Lance Williams (22) |
|
| When you've knocked off a team 11 times in a row, eventually they will get their act together and stop the pain. DePaul almost did, and would have, if they hadn't fallen behind U of L by 20 points. In fact, the number 20 was big for U of L in this game, as not only did guard Reece Gaines score that amount, but Simeon Naydenov put in a career-high 20 points as well, shooting 8-13 from the field and 4-9 from three-point range. His outside shooting, and best gave ever as a Cardinal, propelled the Cards to victory. After forward Luke Whitehead got into early foul trouble, Naydenov came into the game and quickly matched his previous career-high of 10 points. He hit two three-pointers and had a ferocious fast-break dunk (who knew?) in an 18-5 run that put the Cards in command. U of L's defense held DePaul to only four field goals in the last nine minutes of the first half, and their 47-28 halftime lead was only their second lead at the break on the road this year. |
| It was at the start of the second half when U of L was in the unfamiliar position of holding a lead rather than trying to chip away at one. Some effort on the boards helped DePaul make four of its first five shots of the second half, and quickly the Blue Demons had pulled to within to 48-37. After a couple of Cardinal timeouts and a three-pointer from Bryant Northern, U of L's lead stood at 51-37. Northern finished with 14 points with two assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes of play. DePaul kept coming though. Northern's shot was the first of six straight that the Cards made, which helped them offset some three-pointers from DePaul and to keep the margin at 63-46. Back-to-back jumpers from Andre Brown and Lance Williams pulled DePaul within 13 and forced another Cardinal timeout. After Naydenov made two straight shots to give the Cardinals a 68-55 lead at the 6:28 mark, things looked good, and Reece Gaines got some rest, and DePaul got some momentum. DePaul scored the next nine points on a three-pointer and three straight inside shots, and just like that the Cards' lead was down to 68-64. The Cards used their final tiemout, put Gaines back in, and used an Erik Brown three-pointer to stay ahead at 70-66. |
| With U of L up 73-70, DePaul's Drake Diener was fouled on a three-point attempt, and made two of the foul shots to pull the Blue Demons to within one at 73-72. The Cards, who have struggled in some late game situations over the course of this season, were able to convert and execute this time. Ellis Myles went to the line with U of L up 73-72 with 1:12 left, but missed both shots. DePaul missed a chance to take the lead as inside shots by Andre Brown and Quemnot Greer were uncharacteristically off the mark. Gaines pulled down the rebound, was fouled, and made both shots to put U of L up 75-72 with 21.9 seconds left. Greer missed a three with four seconds left, Myles pulled down the rebound, and made one of two foul shots to seal the game for U of L. Whew. DePaul was able to make the game close by making three-pointers (6-18 for the game) and killing U of L on the boards. The Blue Demons had a 46-30 edge on the glass. DePaul was paced by Lance Williams, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Andre Brown had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Diener finished with 17 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc. |
| Game Summary: Marquette | Score: Marquette 75, Louisville 63 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Bryant Northern (17) Marquette: Cordell Henry (23) |
|
| The U of L/Marquette series has produced some excellent games, but this one was only excellent from the Golden Eagle point of view. The Cardinals, who earlier in the season had developed a pattern of starting games off slow (see their 19-0 deficit in their first game against Marquette this season) have now developed a new pattern: keep the game close at the beginning, build a first half lead, completely come apart at the seams at the end of the first half and start of the second half, then fall short in playing catch-up the rest of the way. That's exactly what happened in Milwaukee this time around. For the first 15 minutes of the first half, U of L used passing and assists to keep the game close and take the lead. The Cards took their first lead at 14-12 on an inside hoop by Ellis Myles with 13:51 left in the period. A three by Erik Brown gave U of L a 21-17 lead with 11:30 left, and the Cards maintained a lead until around the five minute mark. After a Marquette timeout and U of L up 32-27, Marquette got a three-pointer from Cordell Henry, who led the Golden Eagles with 23 points, 15 in the first half. On the ensuing inbounds pass, freshman Dwayne Wade, Marquette's leading scorer who was held to 11 points but had eight rebounds and seven assists, stole the ball and scored on quick lay-in. Just like that the game was tied at 32 and U of L's lead was gone for good. That five-point swing was part of an 18-4 run that gave Marquette a nine-point cushion at the half, 45-36. The Golden Eagles ended the first period on an 11-1 run, capped by a three-pointer from Wade as time expired. |
| Although U of L shot the ball fairly well for the game, finishing 7-14 from three-point range, including three in a row from Simeon Naydenov in a period of two minutes in the first half, Marquette's defensive intensity and pressure was the difference. During their decisive first half run, the Golden Eagles turned nine U of L turnovers into 17 points, and had an 11-5 edge in second-chance points. The Cards had 17 turnovers for the game which led to 27 Marquette points, while the Cardinals had only 10 points off of Golden Eagle turnovers. U of L was only outrebounded 35-33, and Marquette was only 13-23 from the line. U of L shot 41% from the field, but only went to the line nine times, making six. To start the second half, the Cards continued to struggle under Marquette's intense defense. U of L didn't score for the first 4:10 of the second half as the Golden Eagles extended to their biggest lead of the game, 56-39. Although U of L then scored 10 straight points, including two three-pointers from Bryant Northern, who led U of L with 17 points and also had five assists, Marquette quashed any hopes of a Cardinal comeback by holding the Cards to only one field goal in the next six minutes. During that stretch, Henry was racking up his game-high total, and after U of L had pulled to within seven at 64-57 with 5:27 remaining, he scored an a scooping lay-up as the shot clock expired to pretty much expire the Cardinals' chances. U of L received no scoring off its bench in the second half, and had only one player in double-figures other than Northern, and that was Erik Brown, who had 14 points, although Naydenov finished with nine. Guard Reece Gaines had a season-low five points. For Marquette, Oluoma Nnamaka had 14 points while Odartey Blankson had 12. |
| The game featured the largest crowd to ever see a college basketball game in Wisconsin -- 18,753. |
| Game Summary: East Carolina | Score: Louisville 75, East Carolina 42 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Simeon Naydenov (25) East Carolina: Kenyatta Brown (13) |
|
| The Cards exacted revenge on East Carolina big time, getting a brilliant game from behind the three-point line, on the glass, and defensively to help erase the sour memories of this season's earlier loss at East Carolina. The Pirates actually held an 11-10 lead with 11:46 left in the first half, but then the Cards got warmed up and never looked back. The Cards held ECU to only one more field goal in the first half to take a 30-18 halftime lead, and then held East Carolina scoreless for the first 4:19 of the second period. All told, U of L turned that one-point deficit into a 21-point lead. The Cards took their biggest lead of the game at 51-25 -- a lead built by five straight three-pointers, including one by Reece Gaines, one by Alhaji Mohammed, and three in a row from Simeon Naydenov. Naydenov made 5 of 7 three-pointers on the night to finish with a career-high 25 points; he also pulled down a career-high six rebounds. Another plus for the Cards was outrebounding ECU 44-32 after losing the battle of the boards in the first match-up. |
| U of L also turned the tables defensively, holding ECU to a season-worst 3-20 from three-point range. And when things go well, they really go well. The Cards had their best night of the season from the free throw line, making 14-15. Furthermore, and very uncharacteristically for this team, the Cards outscored ECU 32-6 in the paint, mostly from fast-break dunks and the work of Ellis Myles. Myles finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Reece Gaines scored 15 for U of L, while Bryant Northern continued to play well, scoring seven points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out five assists with no turnovers. Kenyatta Brown led ECU with 13 points, while Gabriel Mikulas had 11. |
| Game Summary: St. Louis | Score: St. Louis 56, Louisville 50 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (29) St. Louis: Marque Perry (16) |
|
| They did it again. St. Louis clamped down on the Cards defensively, overplayed our perimeter players, and forced U of L to score on the inside. Well, in matching their season low point total of the season, the Cards were barely doing any scoring. St. Louis, which has now beaten the Cards four times in a row, and five straight times at the Savvis Center (the Cardinals' longest such drought in C-USA right now), didn't play championship-caliber basketball either. In fact, in the second half, they had seven field goals and 12 turnovers. Combined, U of L and St. Louis committed 33 turnovers -- the number of field goals scored by both teams. And in a game that ugly, that slow, the Cards don't have a chance. Or do they? Again, it seemed the Cardinals would complete a comeback and secure a victory. And again, the fans hopes were quashed, and left with that sinking feeling in your gut that leaves you thinking about next season already. |
| The first half was the Cards worst of the season. Reece Gaines, who led all scorers with 29 points and also scored more than 50% of the Cards' points against the Billikens for the second time this season, hit a three-pointer to pull U of L within 10-7 with 13:47 left in the first half. From that point on, U of L missed 10 straight shots -- another of their patented droughts. The Cards scored only 10 more points in the period, three baskets by Gaines and a lay-up from Alhaji Mohammed. The Cards' 29-17 halftime deficit was their second-largest of the year; they were down 18 at the half against Oregon in the second game of the year. (Think about it: we trailed more at the half in this game against SLU than at Kentucky or at Cincinnati. Amazing.) The Cards were able to pick up the tempo a bit in the second half, though. The Billikens' lead was 14 shortly after halftime, but with 6:48 left the Cards were within 44-41. At that point, SLU's Jason Edwin hit back-to-back three-pointers, but the Cards didn't fold. |
| Down 50-41 with 4:43 left, the Cards got a lift from Reece Gaines, who scored, then scored again on a lay-up off of a steal produced by the Cardinals' press. Erik Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one which would have pulled the Cards closer, but instead the Cards committed a foul. Josh Fisher made the first attempt, then corralled the long rebound after he missed the second. Marque Perry, who scored 20 in the first game and led SLU again with 16 points (though he was held to 5-16 shooting), drove the lane, was fouled and made both free throws to put SLU up 53-45. A Bryant Northern three-pointer (he was the only other Card in double-figures, finishing with 10) pulled U of L to within 53-48 with 52.2 second remaining. The Cards hopes were alive after they forced a turnover, but Gaines missed a three-point attempt. U of L got the rebound though, and on the next possession Gaiens was fouled and hit both free throws to pull the Cards within 53-50 with 27.5 seconds left. The Cards then fouled, and SLU made one of two attempts. After Gaines missed a shot under heavy pressure, St. Louis rebounded, was fouled, made both shots, and sealed the game. |
| Game Summary: Cincinnati | Score: Louisville 74, Cincinnati 71 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (26) Cincinnati: Steve Logan (18) |
|
| In plain words, the Cards pulled off a huge upset in defeating Cincinnati in this game, but they did it by outrebounding a bigger, stronger team, by hitting their shots from the field and the line, and by executing on some brilliant play-calling. In other words, although UC struggled from the field, the Cards played toe-to-toe with the No. 4-ranked team in the country, and beat them. After UC guard and probable C-USA Player of the Year Steve Logan went to the bench with two fouls at the 11:49 mark of the first half (the second foul was a technical), UC started to make a move. Although the Cards took a 14-12 lead after Reece Gaines converted on the free throws from the technical and Ellis Myles scored inside, UC got two field goals from Jasox Maxiell to build what eventually became an 11-point lead. What really provided the Cards a chance to win the game was their 9-2 run at the end of the first half to pull within 38-34 at halftime. Erik Brown hit a three-pointer with 49 seconds left in the half to cap the run. |
| The Bearcats held a 43-40 lead early in the second half before the Cardinals went on another big run. Gaines, who led all scorers with 26 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 9-10 from the line, scored on a lay-up and then hit two free throws to start the run. 90 seconds later Gaines hit his first and only three-pointer of the game to give the Cards their biggest lead of the game, 52-45. A mini-scuffle broke out after Ellis Myles was fouled hard on a drive to the basket, but no technicals were called. In fact, the toughness U of L showed in not backing down helped set the tone for the remainder of the game. Frankly, it was nice to see the Cards not whither from Cincinnati's toughness, not be intimidated by their physical play. With 9:53 left in the game, however, Gaines picked up his fourth foul and had to sit for a few minutes. The Cards were up 56-54 at that point; the Cards missed on their next two possessions, but Cincinnati was unable to take advantage. In fact, Steve Logan, who led UC with 18 points but was only 7-22 from the field, missed on four straight shots, the last of which was rebounded by Myles, who was fouled on the play. Myles made both foul shots (he was 6-9 from the line -- 5-6 in the second half -- for the day to go with his 18 points and 12 rebounds) to give U of L a 58-54 lead. With Gaines on the bench, Cincinnati was able to come back and tie the game at 62, and Gaines returned at the 5:41 mark. |
| Larry O'Bannon hit a free throw to break a 66-66 tie with 3:07 left, but a dunk by UC's Donald Little gave the Bearcats the lead thirty seconds later. Luke Whitehead scored inside, and then threw a beautiful bounce pass to Ellis Myles down low off of a backdoor cut which led to a Myles dunk and a 71-68 Cardinal lead with 1:33 left. The Cardinals got a big break when Logan then missed the front-end of a one-and-one, though the Cards did not convert on their next possession. Logan then uncharacteristically threw the ball away the next time UC had possession, and the Cards' Bryant Northern made 1 of 2 free throws to put the Cards up 72-68. UC's Immanual McElroy hit a three-pointer with 18.2 seconds left to trim U of L's lead to one, but on the next inbounds play, Whitehead threw a length-of-the-court pass to Reece Gaines for a lay-up and a 74-71 lead. It was a gutsy play performed with steady, solid execution. On the final possession of the game, Logan missed a long three-pointer from the top of the key, then after getting the rebound of Logan's miss, UC's Taron Baker missed a three from the corner as time expired. |
| The Cards became just the second team to shoot 50 percent against UC this season (Marquette was the other), in what was their second-best performance from the field all year, and held the Beacats to only 39.4% shooting. The Cards also outrebounded UC 37-34. Myles' double-double was his sixth on the year, but only his second since December. The Cards' win snapped UC's six-game winning streak. UC had won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, but the teams have now split the last four. Besides Logan, the Bearcats received 13 points from Field Williams, 11 from little and 10 from Jason Maxiell. Although Gaines and Myles were the only double-figure scorers for the Cards, U of L got solid performances from Joseph N'Sima (six points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots) and freshman Larry O'Bannon (seven points, five assists, and five rebounds). With the game, Cincinnati now becomes the opponent U of L has played most often, passing Memphis by one game. |
