Cards Trounced by Eagles 69-48

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team took a trip to Milwaukee in search of an NCAA tournament berth.  Instead, the Cards fell flat on their face and were embarrassed by the Marquette Golden Eagles 69-48.  That’s right, 48 points.  In Sunday’s win at UCONN, Louisville had 40 by halftime.  This performance tonight was no doubt one of the most disappointing displays of basketball that I can remember.  Louisville looked like a team that was going through the motions, didn’t play hard, and looked uninterested in playing basketball .  In the end, they paid for it by placing themselves firmly back on the bubble. 

Recap

The game started out well for the Cards.  Jerry Smith came firing right out of the gate by nailing a three and connecting on a layup.  The Cards jumped out to a 5-0 lead early.  This 5-0 spurt would be the only signs of life Louisville would show the rest of the way.  The Eagles caught up quickly and tied the score at 11 with 14:07 to play in the first half.  They would take the lead on their next possession and never relinquish it.  Louisville kept it close  most of the first period, trailing only 22-20 with 4:30 left in the half.  Marquette then blitzed the Cards with an 11-1 run to take a 33-23 lead at the break. 

Louisville got a decent performance from Kyle Kuric in the first half.  Kuricwas the leading scorer in the early period, netting six points at the break on 2-3 shooting from downtown.  Other than that, nobody else was even close to a factor.  Smith had five at the break as did Rakeem Buckles.  Samardo Samules and Edgar Sosa, the teams top two scorers, combined for only two points. 

Marquette played the first half like a team that knew what was at stake.  They came out and played great defense and moved the ball exceptionally well.  The Eagles were hot from the outside, connecting on six threes in 13 attempts.  Darius Johnson-Odom led all scorers in the half with 14 while teammate Mauriec Acker had nine.  Marquette shot 50% from the field before the break, while the Cards connected just 31% of the time.  The game was getting ugly.

As the second half started, I was still feeling pretty good.  I thought the Cards would come out of the locker room like the did against UCONN and get themselves back in the game.  WRONG!  Marquette flat out punched Louisville in the jaw after the break.  The Eagles went on a 13-0 run to start the half and immediately took a 23 point advantage with 13:31 to play.  Louisville didn’t score a point in the second half until the 12:53 mark which ended an 18-0 Golden Eagle run that continued from the first half.  The Cards tried to fight back mid way through the second half as they put together a 17-4 run to close within 10 at 50-40 with 8:54 to play.  But the Cards went ice cold again, and Marquette closed the game on a 19-8 run of their own to rout the Cards 69-48.

For the first time that I can remember, Louisville was held without a double digit scorer.  Edgar Sosa finished the game as Louisville’s top point man with nine and Buckles added seven.  Samardo Samuels never showed up and finished the game with just four points on 2-5 shooting.  Smith who scored five points in the first minute of the game, finished the game with those five points.  The Cards finished the game shooting 37% from the field and got to the free throw line only once.  They also committed 16 turnovers.

Marquette was led by a trio of players in double figures.  Johnson-Odom finished as the game’s leading scorer with 22 points on 8-12 shooting, including 4-6 from downtown.  Maruice Acker finished with 15 and Joseph Fulce added 11.  Marquette shot 47% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc.

My Take

This was embarrassing.  I can’t understand how a team can come out with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line and play like this.  There was no motivation in this team and no leadership.  The Cards looked like they wanted to just get the 40 minutes over as quick as possible and get on the airplane.  The team was unprepared and showed no fight what so ever.  This blame for this loss can be placed on Pitino just as much as it can be placed on the players.  This team deserves whatever it gets on Selection Sunday and right now it’s anybody’s guess of what that could be. 

Louisville played terrible in every aspect of the game.  The obvious thing to say was the offense was the problem.  The Cards shot selection was very poor and they ignored the big man inside.  The Cards settled for way to many jump shots instead of trying to attack the rim.  The passing was awful and turnovers were being committed left and right.  There is no excuse for a team to ever score 48 points in a game unless you play in the Big Ten.  There was no rhythm or flow to the offense and it showed. 

Defensively, I don’t know what the hell was going on.  I will give credit to Marquette because they were a very impressive passing team.  They moved the ball quickly and created open shots.  There were countless number of times when a Golden Eagle player was wide open on the perimeter draining a three.  Louisville’s press was once again ineffective and couldn’t keep up with the speed of Marquette.  The Cards looked lost at times and let Marquette guards split the zone and pull up in open space.  Samuels, Jennings, Swopshire, and Buckles did a poor job of stepping up and contesting these shots and did a poor job of playing weak side defense.  Marquette got whatever they wanted, when they wanted and made Louisville look silly.

The Cards once again put forth a lazy effort on the boards.  The stat sheet will tell you that the rebounds were even at 28, but it was a disappointing effort.  Marquette got several key offensive rebounds in the second half which led to the run that put the Cards away.  Marquette was more physical and attacked the ball off the rim, while Louisville stood around and watched.  Miller put it best through a text message during the game, “Louisville rebounds like a bad 4th grade clinic team”.  If Louisville doesn’t man up, grow a pair, and start fighting for the ball, they will continue to get dominated. 

Not sure what else to say other than this was a disappointment.  This team has no heart, no leadership, and no fight.  There is every reason to be motivated for these stretch games with a tournament berth on the line, yet the players don’t seem to care.  At this point in the season, these types of efforts should be long gone.  Tonight was a failure on the part of the players, senior captains, and most importantly the coaches.  Louisville has put themselves back in a tough position where they need to beat Syracuse or win a game in the B.E. Tournament to feel good about their chances on Selection Sunday.  As of now, the Cards are probably still in the dance, but by no means are they a lock. 

It’s time to put this game behind us and move on to what is hopefully the last game in Freedom Hall.  It should be an electric atmosphere this Saturday when the #1 ‘Cuse come to town.  Former Cardinal Champions and all-time greats will be in attendance in front of a packed house.  If this doesn’t motivate Pitino’s team then I give up.  I look for the Cards to bounce back like they did after the St. John’s loss and give Syracuse al they can handle.  Hopefully it will be enough for a win.