Cards Gift Wrap a Win For Pitt 82-77 in OT

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team flat out blew it today against the Pittsburgh Panthers.    The Cards had a six point lead with just over two minutes left, and were up by four with under 20 seconds and could not hold on.  The Cardinals missed four crucial free throws down the stretch that would of put the game away, instead they are looking at another loss.  Two of the free throws came on the front end of a one and one opportunity.   In the end, the Cards just didn’t want it bad enough and handed the game to the Panthers 82-77 in OT. 

Louisville had controlled most of the game and never fell behind by more than two points at anytime.  The teams battled in the first half with Louisville leading most of the way.  Louisville did a solid job on the offensive end by going inside to Samardo Samuels who discovered his post game again.  Samuels dominated the Panthers inside with strength and great footwork.  He found himself in double figures at the break and led Louisville to a 30-27 halftime lead. 

The second half was just like the first.  Both teams were battling back and forth with Louisville maintaining a slight advantage.  Pitt took a brief one point lead at 49-48, but the Cards rallied for a five point advantage and retook control of the game.  Louisville’s largest lead of the game was six which happened with just over two minutes left in regulation.  Down the stretch, Louisville just made to many mistakes and could not capitalize on their opportunities. 

 Up by five with under two minutes left, Edgar Sosa had a one and one opportunity and a chance to put the game out of reach with a seven point lead.  Instead, Edgar missed the free throw badly.  I’m talking his shot hit the backboard before it hit the rim bad. 

About a minute later, Jared Swopshire had a chance to put the game out of reach with a one and one opportunity and Louisville leading by four.  Swopshire choked, just like Sosa, and missed the first attempt.  Pitt took the ball and on their ensuing possession, Brad Wanamaker nailed a three pointer off an inbounds pass that cut Louisville’s lead to one at 68-67.  On the play, Jared Swopshire was completely oblivious to Wanamaker running right behind him to the corner.  Swopshire had his head in the clouds and by the time he realized what was going on, Wanamaker was wide open and drilled the shot. 

Louisville once again had a third opportunity to put the game away at the free throw line.  Pitt was forced to foul with 11 seconds left and Sosa was the guy at the line once again for two shots.  Sosa made the first to put Louisville up two, but missed the second which opened the door for Pitt. 

On their ensuing possession, Pitt had a three pointer blocked out of bounds with about six seconds left.  After the inbounds pass, Wanamaker drove at the free throw line and was fouled by Jerry Smith with 1.8 seconds to play.  That’s right, Louisville committed a foul up by two with 1.8 seconds left.  It’s inexcusable.  Wanamaker drilled both free throws and sent the game to overtime. 

In overtime, Pitt controlled the entire way.  It started with an Ashton Gibbs three pointer and Jermaine Dixon poured in three field goals and Pitt took a five point lead.  Preston Knowles tried to keep Louisville in it with a three pointer at the 25 second mark to cut the deficit to one.  Louisville had to foul and fouled Gibbs who made both free throws with 16.4 seconds remaining.  That’s when Louisville completely lost their minds again.  Instead of getting a good shot which could of tied the game or cut the deficit to one, Swopshire decided he would try to be the hero once again by shooting a fade away three pointer from the corner with six seconds left that hit nothing but back board.  If you can recall, it was Swopshire that did this exact thing against Villanova on Monday night with the team down three with just over a minute left.  This was the stupidest thing I have ever seen.  There were six seconds left and I would rather have any other player on the team shoot the ball than Swopshire.  Needless to say, Louisville choked and Pitt went on to win by five. 

Top Performers

Samardo Samuels (Lou)- Samuels was the dominating force that Louisville fans expect him to be.  He used his size and strength inside and basically had his way against Gary McGhee of Pitt.  Samuels finished with 25 points on 12-20 shooting and was 1-1 from the line.  He also finished with six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.  He played 40 of 45 minutes.

Preston Knowles (Lou)-  Knowles discovered how to shoot the ball again.  He was definitely feeling it from the outside and even made some shots that I thought had no chance of going in.  Preston finished the game with 21 points on 8-12 shooting including 5-7 from beyond the arc.  three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one turnover.  He hit the big shots when Louisville needed them and put the Cards in a position to win.  This is the type of play the Cards need from Knowles down the stretch if they want to make the big dance.

Nasir Robinson (Pitt)-  This kid basically came out of nowhere.  He scored a career high 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead Pitt.  He shot 11-14 from the field and 4-6 from the free throw line.  He only averages 6.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, but he came up big for the Panthers in this one.

Brad Wanamaker-  Wanamaker had his usual good game.  He averages 12 points and 6 rebounds per game and he lived up to these stats and then some.  Wanamaker poured in 20 points and collected six boards while dishing out seven assists.  He was 4-9 from the field and 11-12 at the line, including the two clutch free throws to send the game into overtime.  Whenever the Panthers needed a big shot, Wanamaker was the one to take it and he came through.  He was the one that hit the three to cut the Louisville lead to one with 16 seconds left in regulation.

Edgar Sosa was the other Cardinal who scored in double figures with 13.  Ashton Gibbs was the third Panther in double digits with 15.