Jones, Rozier thriving in ACC play

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Chris Jones grinned before the reporter's question was fully asked. He knew what was coming and he had the perfect response.

The University of Louisville basketball team's star guards, Jones and Terry Rozier, had just played a combined 75 minutes and scored 51 points in an 81-72 win at Boston College. It was the fifth time in seven conference games that both players logged 35-plus minutes.

Is that sustainable?

"That's what we put in all that work in the offseason for," Jones said, before delivering the punch line with his widest grin.

"I lost eight, nine pounds in the offseason – I didn't lose weight sitting on the bench."

Related:Jones, Rozier carry Louisville past BC

January has been Louisville's exploratory month in conference play the past few seasons.

Last year the Cardinals lost January home games to Cincinnati and Memphis before running undefeated through February and winning 14 of their final 16 games.

During the national-title run over the 2012-13 season, U of L lost three consecutive January games before winning 19 of 20.

If Louisville (17-3, 5-2 in the ACC) wants to replicate that post-January success, Jones and Rozier appear to be the catalysts that Louisville needs to do it.

They have carried U of L in ACC play, averaging a combined 37.1 points, 9.4 assists and eight rebounds a game while only losing 4.3 turnovers. They are shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range, and their 78.1-percent free-throw shooting clip sticks out, too.

(Note: For the full statistical comparison, see the bottom of this article.)

All of those numbers are significant improvements over their nonconference numbers, particularly the points and assists per game and shooting percentages.

"Since conference play, they've been spectacular -- in a class by themselves," U of L coach Rick Pitino said.

"Every bucket that you need, when (an opponent comes) back in the game, they get a layup or a 3. Tremendous tandem, certainly."

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Jones and Rozier are playing now the way many expected before the season. They were, to paraphrase the preseason narrative, the key to Louisville's hopes of a third Final Four in four years.

But they stumbled at times in the early going – Jones with shooting, Rozier with turnovers. They made just 38.7 percent of their shots in 13 nonconference games, struggling to generate much offense with their passing and driving.

How did Pitino and his standout guards flip the switch? The answers branch off in several directions.

Mentally, Jones had to realize his role as the team's point guard, understanding that he needed to use his speed and guile to not only create scoring chances for himself, but also his teammates. That story line has been as well-chronicled as any this season.

For Rozier, it was all about persistence, and not allowing missed shots to impact his defensive performance.

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As far as the Xs and Os go, Pitino and his staff got a bit creative the past few weeks. They're running more pick-and-rolls and constantly setting down screens to free up the guards on the wing, Rozier said.

Sometimes U of L runs offensive sets where Rozier is the small forward and Wayne Blackshear is the power forward, which (obviously) changes their entire role on a given play.

"That helps a lot, too," Rozier said.

Pitino has seen the transformation in practice. After spending the 2013-14 season in the shadow of All-American guard Russ Smith – "they weren't sure where Russ would be, and neither was I," Pitino joked – Jones and Rozier finally appear to be comfortable as Louisville's lead guards.

They switch back and forth between roles, and they know how to play both guard positions in Louisville's schemes.

"They feed off each other," Pitino said. "These two guys know each other. If Chris is dogging somebody fullcourt, he'll say to Terry, 'You run the 1 and I'll run the 2.'"

It's working so far in the ACC, and neither player seems to mind staying on the floor longer to do it.

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).

JONES/ROZIER COMBINED STATISTICS

Nonconference play (13 games)

28.5 ppg, 4.9 apg, 9.8 rpg, 4.5 topg, 38.7% FG, 31.8% 3FG, 73.3% FT

Conference play (7 games)

37.1 ppg, 9.4 apg, 8 rpg, 4.3 topg, 49.7% FG, 42.9% 3FG, 78.1% FT