Pitt-Louisville: What we learned
PITTSBURGH -- Few arenas have been as favorable to the University of Louisville basketball team as Pitt's Peterson Events Center, so it made sense that Sunday was the day that the 10th-ranked Cardinals shot the lights out and looked like an offensive juggernaut for the first time in five weeks.
Louisville (16-3) shot 70.8 percent in the first half and beat Pitt 80-68 on a cold, rainy day in the Steel City, giving the Cardinals their fourth win in five trips to Pitt since 2007.
For long stretches of Sunday's game, Louisville played like a team that has soothed its offensive struggles. The Cardinals got good looks, moved the ball and spaced the floor well and -- believe it or not -- made their jumpers.
In fact, they made so many that their 65.2 field-goal percentage set a new record at the Peterson Events Center for a Pitt opponent, and it was the highest field-goal percentage ever allowed by a Jamie Dixon-coached team.
"We usually win with defense -- tonight we won with offense," U of L coach Rick Pitino said. "Not that our defense was bad, but our offense was special. Great shooting percentages are the result of great passing, and we did a terrific job of passing against a very good defensive team."
The Cards can thank Terry Rozier for the fast start, and Chris Jones for sustaining it in the second half. They were a combined 16 of 26 from the field and totaled 43 points.
This was one of the top performances by Louisville's talented backcourts all season, and it willed the Cards to a hard-earned and important win on the road.
Why is it important?
Louisville started a rough stretch of its schedule here at Pitt, with this game and three other road trips sandwiching Saturday's home matchup against UNC. To find some offensive confidence before taking that challenge on is huge.
"We needed to play well to get our confidence back after that Duke loss," Pitino said.
Harrell's solid. We've talked at length about Montrezl Harrell's play since the ACC schedule began. He averaged 9.5 points in his past four games and faded into the background against Duke and UNC, two games that Louisville lost. But on Sunday, Harrell posted up, ran the floor and did the things that made him a preseason All-American. He did put up huge numbers (18 points and seven rebounds), but he had well-timed dunks and mixed it up inside to keep Pitt honest.
"I just took what the defense gave me," Harrell said. "I wouldn't say I've been struggling. My teammates did a great job of finding me and I wanted to make sure I did a good job of rewarding them for it."
Bench help. Louisville's bench didn't have a huge game by any means, but the progress of Quentin Snider has been noticeable enough to mention here. The freshman point guard (and Louisville native) made his first field goal of the ACC schedule, and he looked confident and calm with the ball in his hands. It's safe to assume that Louisville won't get a ton of scoring from any of its bench guys, save for spurts from Shaqquan Aaron every now and again, but guys like Snider need to play well. That gives Rick Pitino confidence and, more importantly, Rozier and Jones a chance to rest more in games.
Beyond him, Mangok Mathiang had a nice 11-point, four-rebound game, too. That's one of the best performances for a Louisville center this season, and certainly the best in the ACC.
"We need to go back to our three presses and trap more," Pitino said. "But what I was afraid of, and why I've been so cautious about it, is I'm playing these starters so many minutes. I've always had a bench where I play 10 guys and rotate them three minutes at a time, and I just don't have that luxury right now."
Where was Blackshear? Senior wing Wayne Blackshear started well and looked confident, but he disappeared pretty quickly, finishing with six points, two rebounds and two assists and fouling out with 5:55 to go. When Rozier and Jones play the way they did on Sunday, Louisville doesn't need a ton of scoring from Blackshear, but it's not about statistics all the time. Blackshear just didn't bring it on Sunday, and that's been an issue his whole career.
