U of L hopes lessons learned for UNC rematch

The University of Louisville basketball team has a few results on this season's schedule that really bug them.

The Kentucky loss, of course, when U of L shot 25.9 percent and lost to its archrival on its home floor. There's the Duke game, too, when Louisville again shot poorly and allowed Duke big man Jahlil Okafor to dominate the second half.

But one game that doesn't seem so painful is Louisville's Jan. 11 loss at North Carolina. Not that losing didn't hurt, but Louisville coach Rick Pitino has said repeatedly this winter that his team played well in the thrilling 72-71 defeat, and if they clean up a few things, they'll be in position to beat UNC the next time they meet.

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The next time arrives Saturday, when U of L hosts UNC at the KFC Yum! Center for a 4 p.m. tip-off on ESPN, and Pitino hopes the lessons of the first game can be applied in the rematch.

"It was a great college basketball game and anybody could have won it," Pitino said. "We were in command for 38 minutes of the game and then we did some things that got us into trouble, but it was a great college game.

"We gave up too many offensive rebounds in that game. We have to do a much better job on the backboards. I expect Montrezl Harrell to do a much better job than he did at North Carolina, rebounding-wise."

When UNC won three weeks ago, the Tar Heels grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored 17 second-chance points. Part of that is a byproduct of Louisville's defense -- the 2-3 matchup zone is designed in a way that occasionally allows for opponents to grab offensive rebounds. Pitino is OK with giving up some offensive rebounds in exchange for steals, blocked shots and turnovers.

Related:Pitino's thoughts on Rozier and the NBA, the intrasquad scrimmage

But, Pitino said in the days after the first matchup, part of the problem was a lack of hustle. Players weren't chasing rebounds, and that bothered him.

Harrell, Louisville's 6-foot-8 All-American forward, didn't even hesitate when asked what needed to be different for U of L (17-3, 5-2 in the ACC) to nip UNC on Saturday.

"We can't give them 17 second-chance shots," Harrell said, agreeing with his coach. "That's why we ended up losing."

UNC (17-4, 7-1 in the ACC) has not lost since that Louisville game, running through six consecutive wins. Sure, four of those six wins have come against the bottom half of the league, but UNC is playing "with more scoring, more confidence and they're better than the last time we faced them," Pitino said.

"We have to be better," Pitino continued. Against BC and UNC, "we built a lead, and then we go back and we don't get the stops needed to hold the lead."

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Louisville saw its 13-point lead at UNC evaporate in eight minutes. The Cardinals were 4 of 13 in that final stage of the game and turned the ball over three times, and the players cited a lack of offensive execution as the cause.

During that same stretch, UNC was 8 for 13, including Marcus Paige's dramatic floater that he banked in off the glass with eight seconds to play.

"We just let it go and slip away from us," sophomore guard Terry Rozier said. "We want to have the same mindset. We just have to pull it out this time."

Rozer is a big reason U of L feels different this time. He and fellow guard Chris Jones had huge games at UNC, but their play in the past two games felt even better.

They combined for 43 points from 16-of-26 shooting at Pitt and had 15 assists. At BC, they scored 51 points and shot 19 of 28, adding 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Pardon the obvious statement here, but they'd like to replicate those performances.

"It's getting to that point where every game is important," Rozier said. "We've been struggling at home, so we know how big this game is for us.

"We just want to take care of business."

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