Louisville traveled to Virginia this evening in a battle of ACC powerhouse programs. They were two of the top defensive teams in the country and proved it tonight. The Cardinals came into the game as the 2nd best shooting team on the road but still are a horrific offensive team. Virginia took advantage of it tonight to earn a key victory.
This was one of the ugliest first halves in Louisville basketball history because of how bad they shot the ball. UVA contested every shot perfectly and forced them into lay shot lock heaves. The Cardinals started off strong scoring 11 points early but collapsed soon. Louisville’s last made basket was at the 10:32 mark but fortunately was only down 11 at halftime.
“We worked really hard for three days at a way to beat their defense and then ignored it in the first half,” said Rick Pitino.
The second half was much better in terms of scoring for the Cardinals. While Justin Anderson sat out the rest of the game with a hand injury the Cardinals clawed back into it. There was a point where Harrell blocked a shot then came down and slammed down an alley-oop pass from Rozier. Harrell played fantastic in this half providing a huge inside presence. The score was 50-47 with 18 seconds left, but Jones missed a free throw and Brogdon converted both of his at the other end to hold on to win 52-47.
“Their defense is awesome. I won’t take anything away from them, but our defense was ridiculous,” Pitino said.
“In the second half it wasn’t there,” said Bennett.
Game Notes: Only 4 Louisville players scored as Rozier lead them in scoring with 18 points providing also 5 rebounds. Mike Tobey scored 9 first half points but provided none in the second half. Malcolm Brogdon led UVA in scoring with 15 points despite going 3-13 from the field. Louisville actually shot a better percentage than Virginia but the factor was Virginia only had 2 turnovers. Justin Anderson broke a bone in his hand and will miss 4-6 weeks.
Next Games:
Virginia at North Carolina State 2/11/15
Louisville - Pittsburgh 2/11/15