CARDINALS

Louisville 58, Clemson 52: What we learned

Jeff Greer
Louisville Courier Journal
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Terry Rozier scored 6 points in an ugly first half Wednesday that left U of L trailing Clemson 22-18 at the break.

Louisville's gotten a bit used to winning -- or least maintaining -- without Montrezl Harrell on the floor, and the Cards (14-1) had to do it again on Wednesday night against Clemson.

And while there were a ton of story lines in Louisville's 58-52 win over Clemson, like there are in every game, life without Harrell loomed as the largest one on Wednesday.

Yes, the Cardinals won without Harrell back on Dec. 23 against Cal State Northridge, and they've survived without him for stretches in some other close(ish) games this season.

But none of those performances were convincing enough to change this: Without Harrell on the floor, Louisville's offense is stagnant. Sure, there have been issues even with him on the floor. But without him? Multiply the problems. By, like, a thousand.

When he came back in the second half, everything changed. The tempo picked up. The intensity rose. The Cards found ways to score. And they sped up Clemson.

I'm sure there was a fiery halftime speech or two to light a fire, but nothing sparks a team like the return of its most energetic player, and that was the impact Harrell had on Louisville on Wednesday night, even if he only had six points and six rebounds.

A few other story lines we noticed:

No Mahmoud: Mangok Mathiang started in place of freshman big man Anas Mahmoud, who reportedly had a migraine and didn't even make the bench for the game. Mathiang started fast, getting his hands on a few loose balls and making an early impact. But he faded from there, and while Chinanu Onuaku cobbled together two points and six rebounds, Louisville's centers still struggled to affect the game beyond rebounding.

Jones again: Just four days after arguably his best game in a Louisville jersey, Chris Jones had himself another fine night on Wednesday. The point guard didn't shoot particularly well -- he was 6 of 17 -- but he was under control and calm at the point, and he continued to handle his trouble-in-traffic moments with the requisite coolness.

Aaron slowed: If you were wondering where Shaqquan Aaron was tonight -- and after Sunday's performance it was a fair question -- Pitino said after the game that Aaron suffered a "knot" on his head from a blow he took in practice. Hence, two minutes.

Ugly: Well, this was ugly. I'll just leave it at that.