What we learned in U of L-Indiana
NEW YORK—Here's what we learned in the University of Louisville basketball team's 94-74 win against Indiana at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
We should do this more often: It's a shame Louisville and Indiana hadn't played each other in 11 years before tonight. These are two historically proud programs with rabid fan bases and geographic proximity, and it just makes sense. I'm not sure how it will happen, but let's not wait 11 years for the next one.
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These Cardinals can take a punch: U of L soared to a 13-point first-half lead and for a moment it looked like the Cards would run away for an easy win. But an IU surge that started at the end of the half and continued into the second actually put the Hoosiers ahead by four points. The predominantly IU crowd was buzzing, and momentum had shifted. Still, this is a veteran U of L team, and the Cardinals never wavered. They needed less than three minutes to turn the four-point hole into a six-point lead, and they never looked back.
Chris Jones was to thank for sparking the comeback: The senior point guard has struggled with his shot for much of this season, with Cardinals coach Rick Pitino even saying that Jones was spending too much time worrying about social media. But in this game, Jones was magnificent. He finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and he scored seven consecutive points as U of L turned a four-point hole into a three-point lead.
Madison Square Garden has Montrezl-proof backboards: Of course they're probably the same as all the other backboards at all the other arenas, but it seemed like Montrezl Harrell's rim assault was especially frequent and violent.
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James Blackmon is the real deal: The Hoosiers will go through some growing pains this season, but they are a young team with plenty of potential. And perhaps no player has more star power than freshman James Blackmon. In this game, Blackmon had 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. Ironically enough, Blackmon was recruited primarily by current U of L assistant Kenny Johnson.
IU's presence in NYC is greater than U of L's: Cardinals coach Rick Pitino pleaded with Cardinals fans last week to come to Madison Square Garden for this game, because he knew IU would have a strong presence. And he was right. The Hoosiers' crowd seemed to outnumber the U of L supporters by about two-to-one.
The Garden is fantastic: As we watched Villanova in the night's opening game, followed by U of L, it was impossible not to think back to the old Big East tournament, and it all made me sort of wistful. Sure, there were a few thousand empty seats, but the atmosphere here is still tough to beat.
And so is Mike Walczewski: Who's that, you ask? He's MSG's longtime public-address announcer, and he's great. Walczewski ever takes away from the game with overly boisterous calls, as he maintains a mostly understated tone throughout. He's as good as it gets in basketball.
Villanova could be tough: The U of L/IU game was the second part of the Jimmy V Classic Doubleheader. In the first game, Villanova defeated Illinois, 73-59. The Wildcats improved to 9-0 with the win, and now have victories over the Illini, Virginia Commonwealth and Michigan. Not bad.
The Jimmy V Classic is a great event: It's great that the Jimmy V Classic has actually morphed into an entire week, with ESPN's promotion of the V Fund to raise money for cancer research.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at 502-582-4372 by email ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com and on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach