CARDINALS

Pitino: U of L's right where I predicted

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

The past 48 hours or so have prompted all kinds of theories about what's wrong with the University of Louisville basketball team.

A third loss in four games does that to fans, and a pointed press conference from coach Rick Pitino, plus a locker-room vow from two team leaders that U of L would have a players-only team meeting, stirs people up, too.

Yet on Friday, a day before his team takes on Miami at 2 p.m., Pitino downplayed the idea that Louisville has hit rough times.

"If you spoke to Billy Donovan right now, or my son, you'd find out what tough times are," Pitino said, referring to Donovan's struggling Florida team and Richard Pitino's equally as frustrating Minnesota squad.

"I wouldn't say we have tough times right now."

U of L (20-6, 8-5 in the ACC) has gone from a conference title contender to a team asking more and more questions and struggling with its identity with just five games left in the regular season.

Pitino on Wednesday reiterated his concern for his team's lack of deflections and poor defense. Sophomore Terry Rozier, one of the team leaders who said he'd call a players meeting, said a lack of communication and a lack of togetherness has hurt Louisville's defense, and the team's most vocal leader, Montrezl Harrell, agreed.

But on Friday, Pitino also said Louisville's record is exactly what he thought it would be at this juncture in the season. No, he didn't expect the Cardinals to lose to NC State last Saturday, but he swears he showed his wife the schedule before the season and predicted U of L's record, and he was spot on.

"The (people) who don't study history panic," Pitino said. "The ones that understand the game, understand the way we are – you can pick out losing streaks every season.

"I'm happy with the record."

One of those 20 wins was a 63-55 decision at Miami back on Feb. 3, and like Louisville's games against Pittsburgh and NC State, Saturday's rematch against the Hurricanes will have a direct impact on March and the NCAA tournament.

For Miami, a team that is 17-9 and 7-6 in the ACC, a trip to Louisville means a chance to notch a marquee road victory for its NCAA tournament profile. And to a team on the so-called NCAA tournament "bubble," signature wins are big prizes at this juncture in the season.

For Louisville, this is a chance to right the ship, to ease a nail-biting fan base and instill some confidence in a group of players frustrated with recent struggles.

"There are a lot of big games that come into play when you're in a league like the ACC, but by far this game has the most significance to use at this time," Pitino said.

"We need a win desperately at this point. There's a lot at stake for both teams, and we … need great defense (and) a lot of emotion."

Transcript:Full Q&A from Pitino's Miami preview

Pitino broke down the areas of concern on Wednesday and mentioned a few others on Friday, the primary one being a lack of deflections on defense.

Among the other issues, Pitino said Louisville has to do a better job of ball containment – limiting penetrating ball handlers – and ratchet up its understanding of defensive schemes.

"Our problem is, about 5-6 plays a game, our players don't understand what we're trying to do in our scheme," he said. "We make mistakes and then we give up a layup because we're in the wrong place. Those things we can fix."

Saturday is as good a time to fix things as any. A win might even soothe some of that hand-wringing.

Well, actually, maybe not.

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

SATURDAY'S GAME

MIAMI AT NO. 12 LOUISVILLE

2 p.m., KFC Yum! Center

TV: ESPN Radio: WKRD-790