U of L 76, WKU 67: What we learned

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.—Here's what we learned in the Louisville basketball team's 76-67 win against Western Kentucky on Saturday.

We don't need to wait until Dec. 27 for a heated in-state game: With 38.7 seconds left in the first half, players from both teams got tangled while going for a loose ball near midcourt. Montrezl Harrell ended up on his back, and appeared to take a shove or two while there. He leapt to his feet and threw a forearm into the chest of WKU's Avery Patterson. Harrell received a flagrant-2 foul and was ejected from the game, and for a few moments there was uneasy chaos.

There was no love lost between Rick Pitino and Ray Harper: In the aftermath of the scuffle, the officials gathered both head coaches to tell them how they had sorted things out. It appeared mostly cordial, but when Pitino and Harper started to go back to their benches, something was said, and a quick shouting match ensued. Both coaches received technical fouls.

Terry Rozier is the next man up: When Harrell was ejected, someone would need to step up for U of L, and it wasn't that surprising that it was Rozier. It actually started before the second half, as Rozier approached the officials and had a seemingly light-hearted conversation. Then on the court, he sizzled, draining one big 3-pointer after another. He finished with 32 points.

This game will be important down the road: The guess here is that Montrezl Harrell will not be ejected from another game this season. But he could get into foul trouble in an important spot, and the Cardinals will need to learn to play without him. In the second half, they learned what that will feel like, and became more familiar with their roles sans Montrezl.

Anas Mahmoud's time might be now: The freshman center from Egypt hasn't really received much playing time this season and is considered something of a project. In this game, though, he had an impact even before Harrell was ejected. And in the second half he played extensively and played extremely well. He had an aggressive two-handed dunk after WKU had sliced the deficit to 33-31. Defensively, he did well to challenge the Toppers at the rim. He even had a key assist in the final minutes, finding Terry Rozier for a layup. Then in the final minute he threw down a big one-handed slam. He finished with six points, five rebounds and three blocks.

The Cards made 3-pointers when they needed them: U of L was just 1-for-12 from behind the 3-point line in the opening half, and that allowed the Hilltoppers to hang around. With Harrell out, the shooting picked up, however. (Harrell himself was 1-for-4 on 3-pointers before being ejected.)

Diddle Arena is a great place to watch a game: I'd been to Western Kentucky for a couple football games, but this was my first basketball game here. It's a really intimate environment, and that makes it intense when there is a game like this one.

Western Kentucky will not be an easy out for Conference USA opponents this year:

The Hilltoppers were coming off an impressive road win at Ole Miss, and in this game they were tough and aggressive. If they carry this intensity into the conference season, they should be among the top three or four teams in C-USA.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at 502-582-4372 by email ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com and on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach