| Game Summary: Murray State | Score: Louisville 91, Murray State 69 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Luke Whitehead (23) Murray State: Kelvin Brown (17) |
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| This season has already seen several single-game offensive records broken, including most threes in a game and most team assists for a game. Against Murray State, Francisco Garcia broke another record, this time dishing out 15 assists, which broke the record of 14 set by Phillip Bond against UCLA on March 3, 1977 in an NCAA Tournament game. (Garcia also had 17 points and seven rebounds.) Personal records were also set, as Larry O'Bannon scored a career-high 20 points. The Cards were facing a tough match-up in that Murray was coached by former Cardinal assistant coach Mick Cronin, who knows U of L's style as much as anyone, and now has the Racers playing a similar style. U of L missed its first five shots, but the Cards still went up early 10-4. The lead changed hands seven times in the 6:19 before halftime, and the Racers closed the first half on a 7-2 run, including a lay-up at the buzzer, to actually lead U of L 37-35 at the break. It was the first time the Cards had trailed at halftime in Freedom Hall this season. |
But the Cards had a Pitino-trademarked run in the first 87 seconds of the second half that wiped out Murray Sate. O'Bannon had two three-pointers, a steal, a deflection and a putback, and, after a Garcia jumper, the Cards led 45-37 and forced Murray to call timeout. All told, it was a 17-4 run for the Cards to open the second half. U of L also picked up its defense in the second half, and didn't allow any easy baskets inside. Murray State committed turnovers on eight of its first 16 second half possessions, while the Cards, in a similar formula to earlier games, warmed offensively in the second half by hitting 20 of 30 from the field. Murray trailed by 12, but a three from Taquan Dean at the 6:38 mark, followed by a free throw by Kendall Dartez and then a bank shot from Dartez gave the Cards a 75-57 advantage. Luke Whitehead led all scorers with 23 points and also had six rebounds, while Dartez had nine points. This is the third straight Pitino team to yield a record of 9-1. Kelvin Brown led Murray State with 17 points, who had four players in double-figures. For the game, Murray shot 43%, but only 2-17 from three-point range. U of L scored 30 points off of 23 Murray State turnovers.  |
| Game Summary: Southern Mississippi | Score: Louisville 76, Southern Mississippi 42 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Nate Daniels (15) Southern Mississippi: Charles Gaines (12) |
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| Within the first four minutes of U of L's C-USA opening win, the lead changed hands seven times. Southern Miss made four of its first eight shots to take an early 10-9 lead. A Golden Eagle three-pointer at the 10:31 mark pulled USM to within 17-13, but U of L responded with four straight three-pointers. With 7:31 left in the first half, USM scored to pull within 29-19. Few knew that would be the last ray of hope for the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss didn't score for the next 12:52 of game action, a span that included 15 straight missed shots and 15 turnovers. U of L, meanwhile, scored 22 points during that stretch to win their tenth in a row and to send USM to their 17th straight road loss. Southern Miss committed turnovers on eight of its final 16 first half possessions. U of L held a 39-19 halftime lead, then scored the first 12 points of the second half. |
| Nate Daniels led all scorers with 15 points, going 6-11 from the field, including 3-6 from three-point range. Taquan Dean was the only other Cardinal player in double-figures, as he scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting and was also 3-6 from behind the arc. Still, a total of 11 U of L players scored at least three points, including Francisco Garcia, who had nine points, four assists and five blocked shots. For the game, the Cards outrebounded Southern Miss 40-38, though the Cards gave up 15 offensive rebounds. Otis George led the Cards on the glass with 10 rebounds (which matched a career-high) and also scored six points. The Golden Eagles shot only 29% from the field and committed 22 turnovers that led to 27 Cardinal points. U of L has forced four its past five opponents into 20 or more turnovers, and has held each of its opponents this year under 45% shooting. |
| Game Summary: South Florida | Score: Louisville 85, South Florida 40 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Taquan Dean (16) South Florida: Bradley Mosley (8) |
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| In its first road C-USA game of the year, the Cardinals handed the undermanned South Florida Bulls their worst home-loss ever. The final decision was determined early; the Cards at one point led 31-6 in the first half, a period which saw South Florida finish with 15 points and 15 turnovers. (The Cards were up at the break 40-15.) The final score gave U of L its largest margin of victory ever in a C-USA game, and also set a school record for fewest points allowed in a C-USA game. Also, the output of 40 points was the second fewest in any game for the Bulls, which missed their most lopsided loss in school history by only one point. |
| South Florida scored only two field goals in the first 12 minutes, and missed 15 of their first 20 shots. U of L scored 18 straight in that time, building a 24-4 lead. At one point, USF went scoreless for 7:19. After a Bulls basket, the Cards went on a 9-2 run to make it 33-8 with 3:33 left in the first half. After the break, the Cards delivered the final blow, making their first 10 shots of the second half, including two three-pointers each from Taquan Dean and Larry O'Bannon; meanwhile, USF was held to 3-10 shooting and four turnovers in the first six minutes of the second half. With 11:48 left, U of L was up 70-23. With eight minutes left to play the score was 77-31. No Cardinal player was on the court for more than 23 minutes. Dean led all scorers with 16 points, including 4-5 from three-point range and six assists, while Francisco Garcia had 15 points (plus five rebounds and five assists), O'Bannon 14 and Luke Whitehead 11. Nouah Diakite led U of L with seven rebounds; the Cards outrebounded the Bulls 45-33. Former Cardinal star Reece Gaines was in attendance, as he is on the injured reserve list for the NBA's Orlando Magic. In fairness, the Bulls were playing without starting guard Marlyn Bryant, who suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the week. USF shot only 26.5% from the field. |
| Game Summary: East Carolina | Score: Louisville 76, East Carolina 66 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Taquan Dean, Larry O'Bannon (16) East Carolina: Derrick Wiley (23) |
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| The Cards looked like they were going to trounce another C-USA opponent in their win over East Carolina, but instead, the Pirates put up a fight that left the Cards with a win but an uneasy feeling. Solid defense and outside shooting propelled U of L to an early 8-0 run, featuring three-pointers from Francisco Garcia and Brandon Jenkins, that gave the Cards a 13-6 lead. ECU hit a three, but the Cards scored six straight to build a 19-9 lead; six of the Cards' first nine shots were from three-point range in response to ECU's 2-3 zone. A near-fracas occurred after a dive for a loose ball led Garcia into antagonizing the Pirates' Derrick Wiley; Coach Pitino sat Garcia for three minutes to let him cool off. A jumper from Otis George and a three from Nate Daniels gave U of L a 34-22 lead with 4:11 left in the first half, but the Cards didn't score a field goal the rest of the first half. Moussa Badiane, who finished with three blocked shots, clogged up the middle as the Cards cooled off from the outside and couldn't get anything going on the inside. |
| The Cards led 38-28 at halftime, but delivered the key punch at the start of the second half in the form of a 10-0 run. Taquan Dean, who finished with 16 points, hit two three-pointers, and the Cards got some easy baskets after ECU turnovers to extend their lead to 48-28. But ECU then became really the first opponent of the season to attack U of L's half-court pressure, and it led to several fast-break points (ECU led U of L 12-0 in fast-break points) and inside shots. The Pirates got a pair of buckets from Wiley, who led all scorers with 23 points, and U of L's lead was down to 15 as the crowd awoke back to life. At one point, the Cards missed six straight shots, but missed free throws and turnovers by ECU kept the Cards comfortably ahead. The Cards' lead was again 20 after a three-pointer and free throw by Larry O'Bannon, who like Dean had 16 points on the game. |
| But then things got ugly. The Cards got sloppy with the ball, allowing ECU to pull within 16 with 3:25 left. Two Pirate free throws cut the lead to 14, and then a miss by Kendall Dartez and break-away dunk by Badiane cut the lead to 12 with 2:30 remaining. Dean connected on two free throws, but an ECU three-pointer made their deficit only 11; after another miss by Dartez, Wiley converted a three-point play on a transition hoop that not only fouled out Garcia, but pulled the Pirates to within 67-59 with 1:16 left. Dean then made three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt, but another long Pirate three kept U of L's lead at eight with 49.6 seconds remaining. But U of L's 9-9 shooting from the line in the last two minutes sealed the game for U of L. For the game, the Cards were 21-23 from the stripe, including 7-7 from Dean. O'Bannon also hit four free throws in the final minute. ECU shot 41.4% for the game, better than U of L's 36.5%. Garcia finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Whitehead had nine points and 10 rebounds. ECU was playing without their second-leading scorer, Gabriel Mikulas, who broke his arm the day before in practice and is out for the season. |
| Game Summary: Tulane | Score: Louisville 79, Tulane 58 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Luke Whitehead (16) Tulane: Quincy Davis (16) |
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| The Cards struggled on offense against Tulane, but used their defense to claim their 13th straight victory. The Green Wave hit four of their first six shots, including two three-pointers, to build a surprising 10-3 early lead. U of L held Tulane to only five field goals in the last 17 minutes of the first half, which allowed the Cards to build a 13-point halftime lead, 42-29, even though U of L itself went at one point 6:05 without scoring. The Cards went up for good at 16-14 on a Luke Whitehead lay-up, which sparked a 10-3 Cardinal run fueled by a three and lay-up from Taquan Dean. |
| The Cards did not have a push to open the second half as they have had in previous C-USA games, but two three-pointers from Francisco Garcia, plus a six-minute scoreless drought by Tulane, put the Cards up 57-38 with 12:01 left. Some missed Cardinal opportunities, followed by a Green Wave three-pointer, made the score 62-49 with 6:48 left, but Tulane got no closer the rest of the way. U of L's defensive effort was highlighted by a season-high 14 steals, with Alhaji Mohammed grabbing a career-high four. For the game, U of L shot a season-low 35.4% from the field. That was highlighted by only 9-39 shooting in the second half; U of L kept its advantage by getting 13 offensive rebounds in the second frame. Whitehead led the Cards with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Dean had 15 points, and Larry O'Bannon 13 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Garcia had only eight points, and fouled out for the second straight game, this time with 6:05 left. Otis George had eight points and a game- and career-high 12 rebounds. Tulane shot 41% from the field, but was only 13-24 from the foul line. The Green Wave committed 23 turnovers that led to 22 U of L points. For Tulane, Quincy Davis had 16 points, while Wayne Tinsley had 14 points and 10 rebounds. |
| Game Summary: Cincinnati | Score: Louisville 93, Cincinnati 66 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Taquan Dean (21) Cincinnati: Jason Maxiell (14) |
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| The Cards took on conference rival and #6-ranked Cincinnati - and came away with a victory no one would have predicted. The Cards' 93-66 triumph matched the worst loss of Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins' tenure with the Bearcats, and was the largest margin of victory ever for Louisville over Cincinnati. It was a game featuring two top-ten teams, and was played in front of the second largest crowd ever at Freedom Hall (20,079). Playing with a strained groin, Taquan Dean led all scorers with 21 points, and also grabbed seven rebounds while not committing a single turnover. Dean finished 7-14 from the field, including 5-10 from three-point range. |
| UC started the game 4-6 from the field, and U of L opened up 4-7 to get the game going with an electric pace. A three by UC's Tony Bobbitt with 15:42 left in the first half ignited a 9-0 Bearcat run that gave Cincinnati a 19-12 lead. But a 13-2 Cardinal run, fueled by nine points from Francisco Garcia, pulled U of L back in front. U of L went up by five, but another three from Bobbitt gave the Bearcats a 33-31 lead with 5:41 left until halftime. But U of L held UC to only two field goals the rest of the half, and led at the break 44-40. UC committed seven fouls in the first four minutes of the second half, allowing the Cards to score six straight to take a 54-48 lead with 13:37 left. The Cards held a 63-52 lead at the 10:35 mark, then sealed the game with a 15-2 run. |
| Dean hit a three with 8:18 left to put the Cards up 70-54, and another three by Dean one minute later gave the Cards an 18-point lead. The symbol for Cincinnati's struggles was its performance at the foul line. During a key second half stretch, UC missed six of eight attempts, which allowed U of L to advance a 12-point lead to 77-58 with 5:50 left. It was the first time UC had trailed in the second half all season. For the game, the Bearcats were 12-26 from the line, while U of L was 29-42. It was eerily similar to last year's Cardinal loss at Cincinnati, when Rick Pitino was ejected. Even Huggins received a technical foul in the first half. UC made three three-pointers in the first four minutes of the game, but then made only one more all night. Meanwhile, the Cards shot 14-27 from the field in the second half. Luke Whitehead had 18 points and eight rebounds on top of bringing the ball up the floor in a surprise ploy by Pitino. Francisco Garcia had 19 points and seven assists for the Cards, while Alhaji Mohammed scored 11 points. Otis George contributed with nine points and seven rebounds. For the game, the Cards outrebounded Cincinnati 42-38. The Cards have now outrebounded their last 10 opponents. The Cards also scored 19 points off of a season-high 19 Bearcat turnovers. |
| Game Summary: Tennessee | Score: Louisville 65, Tennessee 62 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Francisco Garcia (24) Tennessee: Brandon Crump (16) |
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| The games against Tennessee the last two seasons have both been close Cardinal wins, but games the Cards really had every right to lose. That trend continued for the third year in a row, with the Cards having one of their worst nights of the season but still able to muster one key run and then hold on for dear life at the end. U of L played the second half without point guard Taquan Dean, who was ineffective in limited playing time in the first half and then sat out the second period due to a groin injury. Dean did return in the final seconds to hit two key free throws late. |
| U of L trailed 28-26 at halftime, and a dunk by Otis George pulled the Cards to within 37-36 with 14:00 left. But U of L committed turnovers on four straight possessions, leading to a 6-0 UT run; after a timeout, however, the Cards did not commit a single turnover the rest of the game. With 11 minutes remaining, UT led 43-36, and was killing U of L on the boards and points off turnovers. But a 12-0 Cardinal run in the next two and half minutes was the difference in the game, and preserved U of L's 15-game winning streak. U of L took a 48-43 lead by causing four Volunteer turnovers and scoring on five straight possessions. Francisco Garcia, who led all scorers with 24 points, scored on a lay-up. A Tennessee turnover led to two free throws by Larry O'Bannon; after another UT turnover, Garcia made two free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Down 43-42, the Cards got a dunk from Brandon Jenkins. A steal led to an Otis George dunk, which was followed by a steal and dunk by Garcia. The 12-0 spurt, which put the Cards up 48-43 with 8:28 left, eventually grew into a 20-5 run that gave U of L enough room to endure a late Tennessee rally. |
| Jenkins, who started the second half in place of Dean, played a career-high 24 minutes, scoring four points and dishing out three assists in the second half while helping U of L better protect the ball. He also put the clamps down on UT guard C.J. Watson, who after scoring 15 points was held scoreless the final 18 minutes of the game. The numbers painted an ugly picture for U of L. The Cards were outrebounded 22-11 in the first half, including 10-2 on the offensive end. In the second half, U of L was 0-10 from three-point range. For the game, UT shot 44.2% from the floor, the best percentage by a U of L opponent all season. The Cards, however, did turn things around on the glass in the second half. The led 13-6 on the offensive glass for the second half, and for the game were outrebounded only 38-34. |
| A dunk by Luke Whitehead put the Cards up by eight with 2:40 left, but U of L shot only 5-10 from the line in the final minute to leave the door open for the Vols. UT hit a three with 13.7 seconds left to pull within 62-59 after both George and Jenkins missed two free throws. Dean reentered the game, caught an inbounds pass, then made two free throws to give U of L a 64-59 lead. Memphis transfer Scooter McFadgon hit a three with 4.1 seconds left to pull the Vols within two at 64-62. Whitehead inbounded to Garcia, who slipped out of bounds after catching the ball; the officials, however, called a foul on UT, and Garcia made one of two free throws to give U of L a 65-62 lead with 2.4 seconds left. The Cards then intercepted UT's inbounds pass at midcourt to end the game. McFadgon, who was the SEC's leading scorers, was 3-15 from the field and had only 10 points. Garcia sprained his ankle with 1:28 left and was taken out of the game, though he returned to help U of L close the contest. Whitehead finished with 13 points while George had eight rebounds. U of L shot only 39% from the field and committed 16 turnovers. |
| Game Summary: Houston | Score: Louisville 64, Houston 48 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Larry O'Bannon, Nate Daniels (17) Houston: Andre Owens (15) |
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| The days in between Sunday's win over Tennessee and Wednesday's game against Houston have been some of the most emotional in recent Cardinal basketball history. Coach Rick Pitino announced on Monday he was taking an immediate indefinite leave of absence due to medical reasons. Assistant Coach Kevin Willard was to coach U of L in its match-up against the Cougars. Pitino was to check himself in at the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday for testing. Needless to say, it was a national story, with concern and speculation running rampant. To top it all off, it was announced that guard Taquan Dean (groin) and forward Francisco Garcia (ankle) would also both miss the Houston game. |
| Tuesday afternoon, Pitino announced that he would return to Louisville in time to resume his coaching duties on Friday, and that he would be on the sidelines for Saturday's game against Marquette. Pitino said that he did not have cancer or any other life-threatening ailment, but he refused to go into more specifics on the pain that he said had been bothering him for months. By the time the Cards took the floor against Houston, the U of L basketball community was emotionally drained. Nevertheless, the Cardinals were able to come together enough to overcome an overmatched Cougar squad that has struggled on the road all season. The Cards used a 23-5 run in the first half to build an 18-point lead, then held on to keep their 16-game winning streak alive. Making up for the absence of Dean and Garcia, and especially their ability to score from the outside, were Larry O'Bannon and Nate Daniels. They co-led all scorers with 17 points, with Daniels shooting 5-10 from three-point range and O'Bannon going 3-3 from behind the arc. |
| It was an ugly start for the Cardinals. U of L missed eight of its first 11 shots and had five early turnovers. But Houston was no better, committing five turnovers themselves in the first nine minutes. The game was tied at 11 when Houston started a drought of 7:25 without a field goal. This allowed U of L to build a 26-16 lead, which was constructed by two threes from O'Bannon and three from Daniels. A Houston field goal was followed by eight straight Cardinal points, which led to a 34-16 Cardinal lead with 2:15 left. Two three-pointers from Houston made the score 34-22 at halftime. |
| U of L opened a 15-point lead to open the second half, but a 7-0 Cougar run made it 41-33. After a Cardinal timeout, U of L responded with six straight points. While U of L then endured a five-minute stretch without a field goal, four Houston turnovers prevented the Cougars from capitalizing. A Dainels three following an incredible save and then assist by Kendall Dartez put the Cards up 54-38. Two more Houston threes, though, pulled Houston to within 57-46 with 2:30 remaining. Another Daniels three made it a 60-46 game with 2:12 left. Alhaji Mohammed made his second start of the season for the Cards, and finished with 13 points on 4-5 shooting. Otis George had nine rebounds, and four steals, while O'Bannon matched a career-high with five assists. For the game, U of L shot a season-low 33.3% from the field, and committed 15 turnovers, though they did score 20 points off of 22 Houston turnovers. |
| Game Summary: Marquette | Score: Marquette 77, Louisville 70 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Francisco Garcia (20) Marquette: Steve Novak (30) |
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| Rick Pitino rejoined the Cardinal sidelines, but the emotional toll of the week, plus the weight of a 16-game winning streak, plus subpar performances from still-injured Taquan Dean and Francisco Garcia, plus a shooting exhibition from Marquette's Steve Novak, conspired to doom the Cards and give the Golden Eagles their third win in a row in Freedom Hall. Novak, who led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, was 8-13 from three-point range. His 25-foot three with 3:42 remaining as the shot clock wound down gave Marquette a nine-point lead, and although the Cards tried to rally, that shot was a major dagger. On the other end, the Cards were absolutely woeful from three-point range, missing a staggering 29 threes in 34 attempts. Dean and Garcia were a combined 2-10 from beyond the arc, while Larry O'Bannon was 2-12 without a single two-point attempt. For the game, the Cards shot a season-low 32.8% and dished out a season-low eight assists. |
| It was a see-saw game in the first half. A 10-0 Golden Eagle run put Marquette up 14-8, but an ensuing 10-0 Cardinal run gave the Cards an 18-14 advantage. That run was ended by a Novak three. At one point, U of L missed 14 straight three-point attempts; despite that, they trailed at the half by only three, 30-27. The second half wasn't much better, though, with the Golden Eagles becoming the first team this year to outscore U of L after halftime. A 10-4 run put Marquette up nine, but 10 quick Cardinal points in less than two minutes, including threes from O'Bannon and Brandon Jenkins, put the Cards back in front at 41-40. Marquette followed with an 8-0 run that was highlighted by a baseline jumper and three-pointer from Novak. U of L responded with nine points in a row, again taking a one-point lead at 56-55 with 6:31 left. But, like a recurring nightmare, Novak hit two more three-pointers that comprised the bulk of another 8-0 Golden Eagle run. Up 64-57, Novak then hit his last three (on what looked like more of a throw than a shot) that decimated the Cards' spirits. |
| Still, it wasn't over. A three by O'Bannon pulled the Cards to within four with 1:43 left, but the Golden Eagles were solid from the line, making 22-25 for the game, and kept the Cards at bay. Francisco Garcia wound up with 20 points to lead U of L, but also had a career-high eight turnovers and really struggled to overcame his sprained ankle. The Cards outrebounded Marquette 45-37, but gave up 19 points off of turnovers. Luke Whitehead had a career-high 19 rebounds for U of L, plus 14 points. Marquette's Travis Diener added 17 points, seven assists and had only one turnover. With the win, Marquette's Tom Crean became the first coach to beat Pitino on his home court in three straight years. Also, with his 14 points, Whitehead became U of L's 53rd all-time 1,000-point scorer. |
