Rolf’s Recapsulation: Louisville Wins 74-71 in a Thriller

Edgar Sosa can sleep easy, at least for tonight. Sosa, the seemingly permanent resident of Rick Pitino and the entire UofL fan base’s doghouse, redeemed himself as he sunk the game winning three pointer to secure a win for the Cardinals 74-71 over the rival Cats. Sosa finished the game with 18 points and seemed to come out of the gate with something to prove. After a heart to heart with Slick Rick in which he was told to transfer or get his act together, Sosa showed his ability to be the factor this UofL team desperately needs in order to have a special year. Perhaps lost in the Sosa storyline is the performance of T-Will, who produced 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals while shooting 7-12 from the floor.  Jerry Smith also stood out as he played relentless defense and chipped in 11 points. Now, the Good, the Bad, and the Ari Wolfe (used to be the Beyond Bad, but now renamed the Ari Wolfe in his horribleness’ honor)

The Good – Free throw shooting and shot selection. The Cardinals continued to show improvement at the line by going 19-23, or just over 82%. However, the one main thing that stood out to me was the shot selection exhibited by the Cardinals. They seemed to get open shot after open shot and it showed in their percentage as they finished shooting 46.8% from the floor and 55% from three point land.

The Bad – Rebounding. UofL got outrebounded by 10, losing the rebounding battle 32-22. The Cardinals have been good on the glass so far this season, but today they were not. I would not classify this as a concern, but it does need to be tightened up as the Big East aka football on a basketball court begins Wednesday.

The Ari Wolfe – Tim Higgins. There are two things that really annoy me about him. First, he is a horrific human to look at, but secondly, his officiating is generally atrocious. He is consistantly the focus of a controversial and usually incorrect call. While the officiating in general was pretty good today, he yet again raised my ire by calling an insanely weak touch foul on Jerry Smith approximately forty feet away from the basket when Jerry Smith did not even gain an advantage on the play. Additionally, any time Tim Higgins “officiates” a game, I nominate him for the Ari Wolfe category.

**Update**

I want all UK fans who are whining about Sosa’s shot to hear me on this. Michael Porter, yes the same Michael Porter who has been receiving the Saul Smith treatment all season, hit a three on the same end of the floor, from at least three feet farther than Sosa’s three. I don’t want to hear about how it was a complete fluke. Was it a long three? Yes. Was it the exact look Louisville wanted in that situation? Highly unlikely. Was it a fluke? No, the fluke of the day was Porter’s bomb, so stop complaining about it.