Louisville-WKU Postgame Notes

Dec. 14, 2013

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#4/#6 Louisville 79, Western Kentucky 63
KFC Yum! Center - Dec. 14, 2013

LOUISVILLE TEAM NOTES

Saturday's game marked the 12th installment of the Billy Minardi Classic, originated in 2002 to honor the memory of Billy Minardi, brother-in-law of Louisville coach Rick Pitino who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Louisville improved to 15-1 all-time in the event and has won 11 championships in the 12 years of the event.
This year's game was the 77th all-time between Louisville and Western Kentucky on the hardwood with the Cardinals trailing 39-38 overall. The series with WKU, which dates back to 1926, has the third most games played of any series for Louisville behind only the 97 games all-time with Cincinnati and the 87 games with Memphis.
The Cardinals have won five straight overall in the series and are 27-18 all-time in Louisville against the Hilltoppers.
At 9-1 on the season, Louisville has opened each of the last four seasons by winning at least nine of the first 10 games overall. The Cardinals were also 9-1 last season and in 2010-11, while in 2011-12, Louisville was 10-0 after 10 games (opened 12-0 overall).
Entering the week ranked fourth in the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 9.1, the Cardinals finished with only seven on Saturday, including just one in the second half (inside the final 15 seconds). Saturday marked the sixth time in 10 games this season Louisville has finished with nine or fewer turnovers in a game.
With a 39-35 advantage on the glass, Louisville improved to 8-0 this season when winning the rebounding battle.
The Cardinals shot 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the field in the second half on Saturday marking the second straight game they have finished at or above 69 percent from the field in a half. In last Saturday's 113-74 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville shot 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from the field in the first half.
For the game, Louisville converted at least half of its shots (30-of-59, 50.8 percent) from the field for the fifth time in 10 games this season and the second straight overall.
Louisville converted on a season-high 45 percent (9-of-20) of its three-point attempts. Saturday marked the sixth time in 10 games the Cardinals have made nine or more shots beyond the three-point arc.
The Cards matched a season-high with 19 assists on Saturday equaling their number against Missouri-Kansas City and Hofstra.
Saturday's game was the third straight in which five or more Cardinals have scored in double-figures and the fourth time it has happened this season.
After holding a narrow three-point cushion at the half, Louisville opened the second half with a 14-5 run in the first 4:35 for the first double-digit lead of the game at 45-33 with 15:25 to go.
The Hilltoppers cut the deficit to just six at 50-44 with 11:24 left in the game before the Cardinals used a decisive 13-0 run over a span of 4:58 (11:00 to 6:02) to push the lead to 63-44 with 6:02 to go.
The 11 turnovers for WKU on Saturday are a season-low for a Louisville opponent. The previous low was 14 by North Carolina.
Playing its fourth season in the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, the Cardinals improved to 58-7 all-time in the facility.

LOUISVILLE PLAYER NOTES

With 14 points on Saturday, senior guard Russ Smith became just the 26th player in Louisville history to surpass 1,400 career points. With 1,407 points overall, Smith is just six points behind Francisco Garcia (2002-05) in 25th place on the Cardinals' scoring leaderboard at 1,413 points.
Smith earned his second double-double of the season and the third of his career after dishing out 10 assists. On Dec. 4, Smith had 10 points and 11 assists in the Cardinals' win over Missouri-Kansas City.
Smith was Louisville's leading scorer for the fourth time this season, the most for any Cardinal. He has also led the Cardinals in assists in six of 10 games this season.
Freshman center Mangok Mathiang scored a career-high 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Junior forward Wayne Blackshear earned his second straight double-figure scoring performance with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.
Senior guard Tim Henderson scored a career-high 12 points on a career-best four three-pointers (on six attempts) while dishing out a career-high four assists in a season-high 22 minutes of action.
Freshman guard Terry Rozier pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds in his 25 minutes of action. His previous high for rebounds was five against Hofstra.
Saturday marked the second time this season Rozier has led the Cardinals in rebounding.
Junior forward Chane Behanan scored 11 points for the second time in the last three games after converting on five of his six attempts from the field. He also pulled down seven rebounds in his 24 minutes off the bench.
Louisville played Saturday's game without junior guard Chris Jones, who missed his first game as a Cardinal with a sprained right wrist. He started eight of the first nine games for Louisville prior to the injury.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Chane Behanan

Wayne Blackshear

Wayne Blackshear

Tim Henderson

Chris Jones

Mangok Mathiang

Terry Rozier

Russ Smith

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