University of Louisville Men's Basketball Post-Game Notes

Nov. 18, 2006

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Louisville Notes

Freshman guard Jerry Smith's 24 points was the most ever for a U of L freshman debut. The previous record was held by Marques Maybin, who scored 22 against Hofstra to open the 1997 season.

Louisville improved to 84-3 when scoring 80 or more points over the last eight seasons (60-3 under Pitino).

The Cardinals improved to a perfect 98-0 when scoring 100 or more points. U of L's 100-87 victory marked the most points in an opening game since 1991, when the Cardinals defeated Howard 102-73 on Nov. 23, 1991.

Louisville improved to 61-31 in all-time season openers. The Cardinals have won 12 of its last 14 season openers and two straight.

Jonathan Huffman came off the bench to score seven points -- all in the first half -- just one below his career high of eight.

Northwestern State was on fire in the first half, shooting 60 percent from the field while the Cardinals connected on 41.4 percent. The percentages reversed in the second half as U of L shot 65.5 percent while NSU hit 44.4 percent.

The Cardinals hit 13 three-point goals, including 9-of-16 in the second half. U of L hit as many as 13 threes once last season (13 vs. Notre Dame, 2/4/06).

Northwestern State was the first of 16 games U of L will play this season against teams that reached the post-season in 2006. The Demons beat Iowa in the NCAA First Round last year.

This game was one of just two games the Cardinals will play in November (Nov. 24 vs. Dayton in Cincinnati is the other) because of the limited availability of Freedom Hall in November. Some long-standing trade shows which invade the massive Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center are the reason for the limited opportunities for the Cardinals to play home games in November. The Cardinals will catch up quickly with 12 games scheduled during December, playing on consecutive days on three occasions.

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