| Game Summary: UAB | Score: Louisville 88, UAB 77 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (25) UAB: Morris Finley (23) |
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| As the Cards opened up conference play at Alabama-Birmingham, they not only wanted to get off on the right foot for this season, but to make some amends from last year, when UAB won at Freedom Hall two games in a row and ended the Denny Crum era. Perhaps a permanent grudge against UAB? We will see. For this game though, we did turn things around. Essentially, when the shots fall, they fall, and the system works, and everybody looks good. The team credited it to passing, but whatever the reason, the Cards hit 9-20 from three-point range, and from the foul line, where the Cards have been atrocious, U of L started off badly by making only 5-12 in the first half, but refocused to shoot 20-25 from the line in the second half. Reece Gaines led all scorers with 25 points and made 11 of 14 from the line. Luke Whitehead, making his first start since his fall in the Coppin State game, shot a perfect 7-7 from the line, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. |
After UAB jumped to a 14-10 lead with some hot three-point shooting, the Cards got just as hot from the outside, and made their first major run: after a timeout at the 14-minute mark, U of L held UAB without a field goal on seven straight possessions. Carlos Hurt, who wound up with 14 points on 5-10 shooting (including two three-pointers) and led the team in assists with six, hit the first of his threes to start a 13-1 run fueled even more by Erik Brown, who hit a pair of threes and a baseline jumper during the run. Brown finished with 13 points on 5-10 shooting himself, including 3-6 from three-point range. The Cards then received some hot shooting from Alhaji Mohammed, who hit two quick threes to push U of L from a 27-19 lead to a bulge as big as 16 before the Cards led 43-30 at the half. It was UAB who came out hot from outside in the second half, hitting on four of its first five three-pointers to eventually trim the lead to 59-53 with 11:05 left. The Cards scored the next seven points in an 11-2 run to help end that threat. In the latter stages of the game, the Cards endured foul trouble to Ellis Myles and Luke Whitehead, and an ankle injury to Erik Brown, who missed the last 12 minutes of the game. But Joseph N'Sima came up big for U of L on the glass (Myles actually led the team with 10 boards) to help U of L hold on. UAB pulled to within 9 with less than two minutes remaining, but the Cards made 17-18 free throws in one stretch to seal the game. For the game, the Cards outrebounded UAB 45-34, and held a 21-7 advantage in points off the bench, fueled by Larry O'Bannon's 10 points. Brandon Bender did not travel with the team, and is serving an indefinite suspension for an undisclosed violation of team rules.  |
| Game Summary: Marquette | Score: Marquette 75, Louisville 71 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (19) Marquette: Dwyane Wade (15) |
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| Cincinnati and Memphis may be long time rivals of U of L, but since the inception of C-USA, no team has provided more exciting games with U of L on a more consistent basis than Marquette. Coming off of last year's triple-overtime thriller, this game was another contest that can truly be called "unbelievable." The Golden Eagles, who had let several road games slip away earlier this year, hung on to win this one, but not before a fierce batte. Marquette came out and dominated on both ends of the court. Using a box-and-one defense focused on Reece Gaines, the Golden Eagles held the Cards scoreless for the first 6:13 of the game. Meanwhile, Marquette made five of its first eight shots against an atypical 2-3 zone by the Cards, and held a 13-0 lead at the first timeout. Not coincidentally, Marquette had a 7-1 edge in rebounding at that point, a trend that continued the rest of the game, as the Eagles beat the Cards on the glass 47-31. (U of L was once again without Brandon Bender, who was serving the second game of an indefinite suspension.) By the 14-minute mark, Marquette's lead had ballooned to 19-0. (Like the Memphis game several years ago when the Cards trailed 24-0, the Cards mounted a comeback.) Finally, the tide turned for the Cards. Erik Brown scored on a lay-up in the middle of the lane, Luke Whitehead hit two free throws, then Bryant Northern banked in a three-pointer. Marquette led 28-14, and then 30-19 with 5:12 left in the first half before Simeon Naydenov hit a three-pointer. Naydenov scored seven points in the first half, and at halftime, the Cards had somehow drawn to within 35-30. |
| Marquette stayed strong when the second half began, and opened a 48-35 lead seven minutes into the period. But after three-pointers by Brown and Carlos Hurt, the Cards started clawing their way back into the game for real. A put-back by Reece Gaines put U of L back to within four with 9:35 left. That was all Gaines, who led all scorers with 19 points, needed to get started. He hit a three at the 7:52 mark, and went on to score 15 straight points for the Cards in the span of 2:43. Gaines wound up 5-11 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point range, and 5-6 from the line. But after his amazing run, Marquette coach Tom Crean put 6-7 forward Oluoma Nnamaka on Gaines, and U of L's leading scorer did not score again. The defensive move paid huge dividends in a key possession later in the game. |
| The game did not finish very well for U of L. Turnovers, missed free throws, solid Marquette defense and smart Marquette offense gave the Golden Eagles the win. In the final 4:30, the Cards shot 2-7 from the field and 2-8 from the line. (On the game, the Cards shot only 34.8% from the field, and a pitiful 12-23 from the line. Conversely, Marquette shot 50.9% from the field, though they also struggled from the line, going 16-25.) U of L also committed four turnovers in the final four and a half minutes. After a Whitehead dunk, the Cards actually held a three-point lead with 2:17 left, but it was doomsday for the Cards after that. Once the Cards held the 69-66 lead, their last eight possessions consisted of three turnovers, two missed free throws by Whitehead, a missed three-pointer by Hurt, another missed three by Hurt, a missed three by Gaines, and a put-back by Myles as time expired. The Cards still led 70-69 with 1:31 left, but Hurt forced a pass into Gaines, and it was stolen by Nnamaka (see Crean's decision above.) Gaines fouled Nnamaka, who then made both free throws to give Marquette the lead for good. Hurt was then called for a five-second violation, and Marquette then scored on a jumper from Cordell Henry. After another U of L turnover, the game was essentially over. |
| Give Marquette credit. They hung in tough after U of L made its comeback, and really kept their poise. They made U of L pay on the boards as well. Although Dwayne Wade led Marquette with 15 points, it was Odartey Blankson who paced the Golden Eagles, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. 6-0 Freshman guard Travis Diener scored 13 points and somehow pulled down seven rebounds for Marquette, while Scott Merritt finished with 12 points. For U of L, Hurt wound up with 12 points and five assists, though he shot only 3-13 from the field, and Whitehead had 10 points and was only 2-6 from the line. Naydenov had one of his best games of the year, finishing with 10 points, though he also clanked away from the field, making only 4-14 shots. |
| Game Summary: Texas Christian | Score: Louisville 93, Texas Christian 85 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (26) Texas Christian: Junior Blount (28) |
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| The Cards played their first ever game against Texas Christian, and welcomed the Horned Frogs into C-USA in a game that saw a frenetic pace and no bashfulness in shooting. TCU, second in the nation in points per game, tried to run-and-gun as much as possible, but the Cards were able to maintain enough composure to pull it out. With freshman point guard Carlos Hurt out indefinitely due to a herniated disc in his back, guard Reece Gaines moved to the point position, though Bryant Northern and Alhaji Mohammed played most of the game at point. Gaines tired early in the contest due to the fast pace, but when the game was on the line, he came up big with another huge second half spurt. |
| U of L used a 7-0 run to take a 36-26 lead with 6:50 left in the first half, then seemed to take control of the contest by exploding for a 10-0 run that was fueled by three-pointers from Mohammed and Erik Brown. The Cards were up 15 with 3:16 remaining, but TCU made its final six shots of the first half (while U of L missed its last five shots of the opening period) to cut U of L's lead to 48-44 at halftime. Combined with their run to open the second half, TCU took a three-point lead on what was in total a 20-2 run. Gaines hit a three, however, and then got hot and asserted himself as the key man yet again for the Cards. The game was tied at 60 with 13:53 left when Gaines got hot; he the scored 15 of U of L's next 23 points to build an 11-point Cardinal lead. TCU pulled within six with only 31 seconds left, but the Cards hung on. |
| The game featured some interesting statistics. U of L outrebounded TCU 58-51, yet Coach Pitino was displeased with the Cardinals' efforts on the glass; TCU scored 28 points off of offensive rebounds. U of L attempted a school and conference record 40 three-pointers, making 11 of them. U of L's 87 field goal attempts were its second most in conference play; all told the Cards shot 40.2% from the field, and struggled from the line again, making only 12-23 attempts from the charity stripe. TCU, which led C-USA in free-throw shooting going into the game, also struggled, making only 13-22. The Horned Frogs received 48 points from its starting backcourt: Junior Blount poured in 28 points to lead all scorers, while Corey Santee had 20. Reserve Corey Valsin had 19 points and 10 rebounds. For U of L, Gaines had 26, while Luke Whitehead had 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Erik Brown finished in double-figures again, netting 13 points, while Mohammed finished with 10. Ellis Myles had eight points and an impressive 18 rebounds. |
| Game Summary: East Carolina | Score: East Carolina 87, Louisville 77 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (21) East Carolina: Travis Holcomb-Faye (20) |
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| Sooner or later, mentally tough teams win. And even though the Cards continued the Conference USA misery of Texas Christian in their last game, East Carolina proved to be a different story. The Pirates claimed their first ever C-USA win against U of L, and even though their record doesn't show it, the Pirates have the making of a team that can surprise C-USA teams, especially at home. As has happened already a few times this season, the Cards played the majority of the first half without Reece Gaines and Luke Whitehead, who got into early foul trouble. At the break, the Cards trailed 43-38. |
| The second half was pretty much all East Carolina. They were simply too determined -- and got some good calls from the officials to boot -- to let the Cards pull it out. At the start of the second half, U of L missed a three-point shot, then had Ellis Myles pick up his third foul only 19 seconds in. ECU guard Travis Holcomb-Faye, who led his team with 20 points and nine assists, drove the court and dished for a thundering slam by Moussa Badiane, who had 10 points on the night. That got the crowd roaring, and provided an uneasy feeling for Cards fans. Reece Gaines, who led U of L with 21 points on 7-13 shooting but had only one assist, shot an airball, which led to an easy deuce for the Pirates, a 47-38 lead, and a Cardinal timeout that did not stop East Carolina's momentum. Although ECU then connected on two straight three-pointers, the Cards were down only six at the first TV timeout. Shortly after, though, it was lights out for the Cards. Starting at the 12:31 mark, U of L made only one field goal until 5:23 remained. The Cards had cut their deficit to 62-60, but the dry spell swelled their hole to nine points, and U of L never got closer than five the rest of the way. |
| The story of the game was told inside the paint. When the Cards were down 58-56, ECU center Gabriel Mikulas entered the game and scored easily on a post-move. Next trip down, he got the ball down low, was fouled and hit both shots; he finished the game with 14 points on 8-8 foul shooting. On the next ECU possession, Mikulas drew the fouth fouls on Ellis Myles, Brandon Bender, and drew another and connected on two more free throws. In the second half, ECU shot 28 free throws compared to U of L's four. For the game, ECU hit 31-48 from the line; the Cards were 15-24. Further complicating things on the inside for U of L was Badiane, C-USA's leading shot blocker who had six more in this game. Although U of L went an impressive 10-22 from three-point range, they connected on only 31.3% from two-point range. For the Cards, Erik Brown had 14 points, eight assists and four rebounds, though he shot only 6-21 from the field. Bryant Northern also had 14, while Myles finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Carlos Hurt missed his second straight game due to a back injury, and there is no word yet on when he might return, if at all. The crowd of 7,432 was the fourth-largest ever for an ECU basketball game. |
| Game Summary: Cincinnati | Score: Cincinnati 77, Louisville 50 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (19) Cincinnati: Steve Logan (21) |
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| Playing on the road against the seventh-ranked team in the country, and especially this Bearcats team, which is among the nation's best in terms of team defense, definitely spelled trouble for the Cards. Considering the way this team shoots, and the way the Bearcat defends, and coming off the news that freshman guard Carlos Hurt is out for the year due to back surgery, U of L was facing more than an uphill battle. It was more like mission impossible. The Cards have now lost two straight for the first time this season, and were held to a season-low 50 points. The Cards have now lost nine of their last 10 games to Cincinnati, which set a C-USA record with their 17th straight conference victory. Although the defense of Cincinnati was as tough as can be, U of L's continued poor markmanship -- the Cards finished only 27% from the field -- did them in; all told, U of L missed 17 shots within six feet of the hoop. |
| The Cards were able to keep it close early on. After a surprising starting line-up that included Otis George, Larry O'Bannon, and Brandon Bender, the Cards opened playing a 2-3 zone. It slowed Cincinnati down enough so that the Cards could actually lead 11-9 at the 12:15 mark. After that point, the Cardinals shooting woes took over, and U of L missed its next 13 shots, went exactly eight minutes without scoring at all, and found themselves down 28-11 after a 19-0 Cincinnati run. The Cards were actually able to pull within eight, but a last-second three pointer from Field Williams, who finished with 18 points and connected on all five of his three-point attempts, put the Bearcats up 32-21 at the half. Midway through the second half, the Cards hit another dry spell, this time going about four and a half minutes without scoring and falling behind 56-36. Although two Reece Gaines free throws pulled the Cards to within 15 at the 6:27 mark, UC hit its last seven shots to win the game going away. Gaines, who finished with 19 points and six rebounds, was the only Cardinal player in double figures. Gaines became the 52nd player in Cardinal history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. |
| The shuffled starting lineup had mixed results for the Cards: George did not score or get a rebound, while O'Bannon had nine points and Bender four points and seven rebounds. Luke Whitehead scored only four points, but led the Cards with eight rebounds. C-USA leading scorer Steve Logan paced Cincinnati with 21 points to go along with eight assists; he has more than a good chance of becoming the C-USA player of the year for the second straight season. Also for the Bearcats, Jason Maxiell had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Leonard Stokes also had 11 points. Forward Jamal Davis nearly had a triple-double, scoring nine points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists. |
| Game Summary: Charlotte | Score: Charlotte 77, Louisville 71 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (23) Charlotte: Cam Stephens, Demon Brown (19) |
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| For the second game in a row, the Cards lost by giving up 77 points to their opponent. This time at least, the Cards lost by only six, and saw their offense come back to life after it turned up missing against Cincinnati. The Cards even made a furious comeback and looked like they would climb all the way back into a tie...but the inexperience and bad breaks of late caught up with U of L again. The opening of the game saw U of L fall behind by a significant amount yet again -- sooner or later, the Cards will have to open up strong and not dig themselves a hole if they want to have a chance to win. Charlotte led 8-0 after only the first 1:02, but U of L didn't fold, and even took a lead with five minutes left in the opening period. But the Cards endured yet another scoreless streak, this one about four minutes long (how many such droughts will this team have this season?) and Charlotte used a 12-0 run to take a 43-34 halftime lead. |
| Unlike the first half, the Cards opened up the second period with some energy. Luke Whitehead, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds but had a key miss at the end, scored on a lay-up, which was followed by a hoop from Reece Gaines (who again paced the Cards, this time with 23 points) and then a three-pointer from Alhaji Mohammed, who had 10 points on 2-3 three-point shooting. 1:08 into the second half, the Cards trailed by only four. But Charlotte, backed by 19 points and 11 rebounds from Cam Stephens and 19 points and six assists from Demon Brown, stayed strong, and led by 13 with about six minutes to play. The Cards got two threes from Reece Gaines, then another from Erik Brown, and just like that the 49ers' lead was down to five. Charlotte pushed its lead back to seven twice, but after two free throws from Erik Brown and a long three from Gaines from the top of the key, the Cards were within 73-71. Then came the most dramatic moment of the game -- and it was tragic for the Cards in this game. A steal by Brown gave the Cards the ball and a fast break with 48 seconds left; Brown dished to Whitehead to his right. Whitehead did a 360-degree turn to avoid a defender (?) and missed the lay-up that would have tied the game. Jobey Thomas hit two free throws on the other end to put Charlotte up by four, and then Gaines missed two free throws that would have cut the lead to two. Charlotte hit two more from the charity stripe for the game's final margin. The Cards were a total 15-26 from the line, while the 49ers were 20-28. |
| The Cards' offense did make an appearance in this game. The Cards hit 40% from three-point range (8-20) for the second straight game, and at least shot 37% from the field -- an improvement from the game against the Bearcats. The Cards have now lost three straight -- their longest losing streak of the season -- and four straight to Charlotte. |
| Game Summary: DePaul | Score: Louisville 97, DePaul 67 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Erik Brown (17) DePaul: Andre Brown (18) |
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| The Cards end their three-game losing streak, and continue their domination of DePaul -- the Cards have now won 11 in a row over the Blue Demons -- by bucking a trend that has cost them in some games this season. The Cards opened the game on fire, and then never let up in racking up a season-high 97 points. How dominant were the Cards in the early going? U of L had a double-digit lead after only three minutes, and by the second TV timeout were shooting over 70% from the field and had used nine players to build a 26-10 lead. With 6:40 left in the first half, the Cards held a 32-12 lead, and DePaul trailed by at least 20 points for the rest of the game. Leading the charge for U of L, at the beginning of the game, was guard Alhaji Mohammed, who hit two three-pointers and another field goal to give the Cards an 8-0 lead. (Those were Mohammed's only points of the game.) |
| Shooting really was the name of the game in this contest. DePaul, which was coming off an 80-58 shelacking at East Carolina (which beat U of L by 10 a few weeks ago) made only 1-20 three-point attempts, and that one came with only 1.2 seconds left in the game. DePaul was also a woeful 16-30 from the line. Meanwhile, the Cards shot nearly 45% from the field, including 11-32 from three-point range. Guard Larry O'Bannon, who finished with 14 points for the Cards, was 4-6 from behind the arc. Erik Brown unseated Reece Gaines as the Cards leading scorer in this game; Brown's 17 points came on 6-8 shooting (including 2-2 from three-point range) with five rebounds and three steals thrown in for good measure. Gaines finished with 16 points and matched a season-high with six assists, but struggled from the field (4-13) and committed five turnovers. Luke Whitehead had 12 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Ellis Myles had nine points and 13 rebounds, and would be averaging in double-figures in points and rebounds if he improved his foul shooting. Against the Blue Demons, he was only 3-10 from the line, which was almost every miss the Cards had from the line (U of L was 24-32 on their free throws.) |
| At the half, the Cards led 47-22 and had 14 assists -- as many as their total in nine games this season (they finished with 24). The comfortable lead afforded Pitino to give extended time to players like Otis George, who finished with eight rebounds but was 0-4 from three-point range. Senior captain Hajj Turner saw game action for the first time in a while after the fans started chanting his name; Turner got a hoop in the final seconds to finish with two points. DePaul was paced by their frontcourt, as forward Andre Brown scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while center Lance Williams had 17 points and 16 rebounds. A touching moment during the course of the game, outside of Turner making his shot and keeping the fans in the seats for the duration of the contest, was the introduction of the three Minardi children. Billy Minardi, Coach Pitino's best friend and brother-in-law, died in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. |
| Game Summary: Memphis | Score: Memphis 80, Louisville 70 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Luke Whitehead (20) Memphis: DaJuan Wagner (23) |
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| The old rivalry between the Cardinals and the Tigers was rekindled in this match-up which also featured the renewal of the rivalry between coaches Rick Pitino and John Calipari. DaJuan Wagner, son of former Cardinal great Milt "Ice Man" Wagner, now an assistant at Memphis, faced his dad's old team for the first time (and possibly the last) and showed why he was the most highly rated player coming out of high school last year, and could be the most highly sought after player in the NBA this year. The Cards really put on a spectacularly tough performance: they never gave up, made countless runs to get back in the ball game, but in the end, just came up one offensive weapon short against a much taller and bigger team. |
| In reverting to an ugly trend for the Cardinals this year, U of L suffered an early scoring drought (this one nearly three and a half minutes) and endured a 9-0 Memphis run to fall behind 14-8. With 7:40 left in the first half, Memphis was still on the verge of blowing the game open (a repeated theme) when they opened a 23-14 lead. That's when the grittiness, effort, and heart of tihs Cardinal team started to show, particularly through the incredible effort of Ellis Myles. Returning to the form he showed early in the season, Myles finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocked shots. A few hoops from Myles inside pulled U of L to within five with 4:34 left in the first half, and after Reece Gaines got untracked, getting his first points on a three-pointer with 3:45 left, the Cards had actually tied the game at 32. Keep in mind that Myles was doing his work against a very tall and talented Memphis frontline, including C-USA's leading rebounder, Kelly Wise. Wise finished with 16 points and an incredible 18 rebounds, and became the first C-USA player to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for a career. Earl Barron, the 7-foot Memphis center, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Combined, Barron and Wise proved too much for the Cards to stop. Memphis ended the first half on a 6-2 run to lead 38-34 at halftime. For the half, Myles had nine points, nine rebounds, and all four of his blocks in 19 minutes of action. What an effort from Ellis Myles. |
| To open the second half, the Tigers went inside again and again, and scored on six of their first seven shots to take a nine-point lead. Although the game went back and forth, with Memphis pulling ahead by six or seven or nine, then U of L pulling within one or two, there was a key factor that propelled the Tigers: his name is DaJuan Wagner. With U of L within 65-62 with 6:07 left, Wagner drilled a three-pointer. With 2:49 left and Memphis up 74-70, Wagner scored on a leaner to continue to put pressure on U of L. Wagner finished with a game-high 23 points, including 4-6 from three-point range. |
| You have to admire the way the Cards never gave up, but they could never get over the hump in the second half. Part of the reason the game was continally close (Memphis' 10-point lead came only in the final seconds and was their biggest of the second half) was Memphis' poor free throw shooting. Even though the Cards committed 29 fouls compared to 13 by Memphis, the Tigers were only 19-35 from the line. U of L was 5-10. From the field, the Cards outshot Memphis, 42.5% to 41.2%. And despite the size advantage for Memphis, U of L was only outrebounded 49-46. For the Cards, Reece Gaines had an exceptional all-around game, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Luke Whitehead led the Cards with 20 points on 10-13 shooting, scoring mostly on inside lay-ups off of excellent Cardinal passing. |
