CARDINALS

U of L blanks Savannah State early, rolls to W

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

Rick Pitino didn't know what to do with Monday night's game.

His University of Louisville basketball team had just pulverized Savannah State 87-26 at the KFC Yum! Center, and the coach, in his 14th season at U of L, had little use for the game he'd just witnessed.

"This will be the first time since I've been at Louisville that I will not watch the game film," Pitino said. "You get nothing out of this. You feel bad for the other team."

That's probably accurate for anyone who watched Louisville's blowout. Savannah State (2-3) didn't score for the first 15 minutes and 58 seconds of the game.

Not a single point.

U of L (4-0) opened with a 29-0 run and came within 11 points of the program record for margin of victory, which was set in 1944 when the Cards beat Georgetown College 99-27 in the season opener.

Savannah State's 26 points were the fewest Louisville's allowed since 1947, and the fewest U of L has given up in the shot-clock era.

The Cards did set one U of L record: Savannah State scored the fewest points in a half – seven – of any Louisville opponent since at least 1972, which is as far back as the statistics in that category go.

"When we jumped out on them, they kind of laid down," junior forward Montrezl Harrell said.

The box score was a mess for Savannah State: 10 of 51 from the field, including a 2-of-26 mark at halftime. The Tigers committed 26 turnovers and 16 came in the first half. They didn't make a 3-pointer, finishing 0 for 16.

None of their players scored more than eight points.

Pitino said he'd taken his foot off the gas pedal as much as he could, playing walk-ons David Levitch, Dillon Avare and Trent Gilbert a combined 22 minutes (though Levitch is in the regular rotation).

U of L also used freshman center Matz Stockman, a Norwegian 7-footer who isn't expected to play much in close games, and Egyptian-born freshman Anas Mahmoud, another 7-footer who is trying to earn more playing time.

"I don't like to see any team struggle like that. I really don't," he said at the conclusion of his post-game press conference.

"I tried everything. We played four white guys and an Egyptian."

For Louisville, the turnaround is fast, which means the memory of Monday's game won't last long. The Cards take on Cleveland State in the final game of the Global Sports Showcase on Wednesday night.

"We forgot it as soon as the final (buzzer) went off," Harrell said.

The problem with that, though, is that Savannah State beat Cleveland State on Saturday. So if Louisville didn't get anything out of Monday's game, Wednesday's might not be much of a learning experience, either.

Hyperbole aside, Louisville did look far more assertive on offense after a frustrating performance on Friday against Marshall.

U of L, Pitino said after that game, fell in love with jump shots and, when the Cards started missing them, let that affect their defense.

That wasn't the case on Monday. Harrell nearly had his first double-double of the season in just 21 minutes of playing time, posting 15 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Chinanu Onuaku totaled 10 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

Wayne Blackshear added 13 points and five rebounds, and Terry Rozier (11 points, 5 of 8 shooting) improved on his frustrating performance from Friday.

Every player on Louisville's roster played, and 11 of them scored.

"Everybody got a chance to play and everybody took advantage of their playing time," Blackshear said.

But, Blackshear added, Louisville still didn't pass the ball as well as it could have.

There's at least one thing the Cards got out of Monday's game.

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