| Date: Feb. 1, 2003 | Score: Louisville 95, Indiana 76 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Francisco Garcia (24) Indiana: Tom Coverdale (14) |
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| A school-record Freedom Hall crowd of 20,086 saw U of L extend its winning streak to 15 games, hand Mike Davis his worst non-conference loss as IU coach, and come back from a double-digit deficit to win for the sixth time this season. The Cards are off to their best start since the 1974-75 team was also 16-1. IU missed its first four shots of the game, but then made nine of their next 11, mostly on putbacks ad easy lay-ups scored from a patient, passing offense. Although the Hoosiers had to sit big men George Leach, Jeff Newton and freshman star Bracey Wright for most of the first half due to foul trouble, the Cards still had a hard time getting things going. U of L missed eight of its first 11 shots, and Indiana used an 18-4 run to build a 23-10 lead. Indiana led by as many as 16 in the first half, and dominated the boards, outrebounding U of L in that time frame 22-15. U of L used its defense to get back into it, though, holding IU without a field goal for the last 5:22 of the first half and using an 11-3 run to claw within eight by hafltime. |
| U of L outrebounded IU 24-11 in the second half, with Indiana not claiming a single offensive rebound. The Hoosiers also did not get a field goal in the final 7:55, with the Cards scoring the game's final 17 points and winning the second half by a score of 60-33. The Cards were led by freshman Francisco Garcia, who scored a career-high 23 points. His dunk following a steal gave the Cards their first lead at 52-51 with 13:47 left, but IU fought back on a three-pointer from Tom Coverdale. With the Hoosiers leading 64-60, Garcia then blocked a shot and fed Ellis Myles for a three-point play. Myles finished with 13 points and five rebounds, and went an impressive 9-11 from the line. Coverdale, who led IU with 14 points, hit a leaner to put Indiana up 70-67 with 7:55 left, but Garcia then converted on a three-point play of his own to tie the game. The Hoosiers were then outscored 25-6 the rest of the game. |
| Kendall Dartez scored six straight for U of L, including a dunk off of a Reece Gaines miss. After IU pulled within 74-73, Dartez hit a long-range jumper just inside the three-point line. Dartez finished with eight points and six rebounds. Up 78-76, the Cards finally began to put the game away. Taquan Dean, who had been 0-6 up to that point, hit a three-pointer to push U of L's lead to 81-76 with 3:17 left. Garcia then hit a three after a scramble for a loose ball, and then after a steal, Dean pulled up for a three-pointer that gave U of L an 87-76 lead with 2:13 left. Reece Gaines, who was 1-6 in the first half, finished with 17 points and six assists, five of them in the second half. U of L outscored IU 40-20 in the paint, and scored 21 points off of IU's 20 turnovers. Also contributing for U of L was Luke Whitehead, who had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. For Indiana, Leach and Newton each scored 12. |
The last time U of L won 15 in a row was the 1985-86 championship season. National TV coverage of the game was preempted due to coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.  |
| Date: Feb. 9, 2002 | Score: Indiana 77, Louisville 62 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (17) Indiana: Jarrad Odle (25) |
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| 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. |
