Rozier, Harrell want team meeting after 'Cuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Terry Rozier sat in his cubicle in the visitors' locker room here at the cavernous Carrier Dome and worked through his thoughts.

His Louisville team had just lost 69-59 to Syracuse -- the third loss in four games -- and he had a lot on his mind.

Louisville, he said, isn't turning over opponents enough or playing the brand of defense that made the Cardinals national champions in 2013 and the winningest program in college hoops over the past four years.

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They aren't talking enough on defense. They aren't working together enough on defense. Maybe it's time for a team meeting.

"I'm going to talk to (Montrezl Harrell). I'm going to call a team meeting for us, just for the players," Rozier said. "We have to figure out something we have to do to come together on defense ... There's too much individual (stuff) from the defensive standpoint. We're not talking enough. We're not going to win games if our defense is not together."

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Harrell, who recently removed himself as a team captain but is still unquestionably the team leader, agreed with Rozier.

"At this point in the season, a few more losses and we're going to be one of those teams on the bubble to even make the NCAA tournament," Harrell said. "We worked too hard over the summer, too hard over this year to not be one of those teams that gets a chance to make the run toward the big stage ... We shouldn't have anyone who's in their feelings or anybody who doesn't want to take criticism from the coaches or other players."

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Louisville's defensive issues have been well-chronicled here, especially the lack of turnover creation, which has driven U of L coach Rick Pitino mad.

After Wednesday's game, Pitino had sports information director Kenny Klein find me and give me a piece of paper. On it, Pitino wrote the deflections, per player, against Syracuse. The goal is 35 a game; Louisville had 18 at Syracuse. That is an ongoing issue.

"It's frustrating for me and it's frustrating to see (Pitino) go through it," Rozier said. "The last couple years, we've been leading the country in steals. We don't anybody over anymore. You can see the frustration on (Pitino's) face. It'll all help us at the end of the day if we play defense and win games. Right now, it's just looking like everything's on a downfall. We have to do something about it. We can't hang our heads. We have to keep playing with pride and we'll be fine."

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