Louisville-USF Postgame Notes

Feb. 18, 2014

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#5/#11 Louisville 80, USF 54
KFC Yum! Center - Feb. 18, 2014

LOUISVILLE TEAM NOTES

Tuesday's game was the 33rd all-time between Louisville and USF with the Cardinals holding a 29-4 advantage all-time in a series that dates back to 1985.
Louisville made 19-of-35 shots from the field on Tuesday, good for 54.3 percent marking the 21st time this season the Cardinals have shot 50 percent or better in a half.
USF made 57.9 percent of its shots in the first half (11-of-19), the third highest field goal percentage in a half allowed by Louisville this season.
Entering the week as the national leader in scoring margin at +21.2 per game, Louisville's 26-point margin on Tuesday marked the 15th time this season they have won by 25 points or more.
Ranked 20th in the nation in scoring defense at 61.9 points per game entering the week, Louisville held USF to just 54 points marking the eighth time this season they have kept an opponent under 55 points.
The Cardinals had just eight turnovers on Tuesday marking the fifth straight game and the 12th time this season they have finished with nine or fewer turnovers in a game.
Entering the week ranked No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin at +6.7, Louisville was +12 on Tuesday night (20 turnovers by USF and 8 by Louisville).
The Cardinals entered the week ranked fourth in the nation in steals at 9.6 per game and they finished Tuesday's game on that number with 10 against the Bulls.
Louisville finished with a 36-30 advantage on the glass marking the third straight game they have outrebounded an opponent. Overall, the Cardinals 14-0 this season when they winning the rebounding matchup.
The Cardinals made just 3-of-18 shots from behind the three-point line (16.7 percent), their second lowest percentage of the season behind the arc (2-for-14, 14.3 percent vs. Fairfield).
Louisville limited USF to just 10.0 percent from behind the three-point arc (1-for-10), the lowest percentage for an opponent this season. The single three-pointer equals the fewest allowed by the Cardinals in a game this season equaling the number made by USF in the first meeting on Jan. 22 in Tampa.
Louisville finished with 26 more shot attempts than USF on Tuesday, the second largest advantage in attempts this season trailing only the +27 margin (77-50) in shots against Missouri Kansas City on Dec. 4.
The Cardinals produced their 51st run of 8-0 or better on Tuesday going on a 9-0 run late in the first half. From the 5:23 mark of the first half to the 2:43 mark, Louisville scored nine straight points extending a nine-point lead (34-25) to an 18-point lead (43-25). The Cardinals' lead remained at a double-digit margin the rest of the night following the run.
Louisville improved to 64-9 all-time in the KFC Yum! Center, now in its fourth season as the home court of the Cardinals.

LOUISVILLE PLAYER NOTES

With his 19 points on Tuesday night, senior Russ Smith moved into 10th place on the Cardinals career scoring leaderboard with 1,697 points overall surpassing Billy Thompson (1,685 points, 1982-86) and Wes Unseld (1,686 points, 1965-68). Smith is 26 points behind Herbert Cook in ninth place with 1,723 career points (1984-88).
Following his first single-digit scoring effort of the season, Smith returned to double-digits for the 25th time in 26 games this season.
Smith led the Cardinals in scoring for the 12th time this season.
Finishing with two steals on Tuesday, Smith moved into a tie for second place in career steals at Louisville with 230 equaling the total of Darrell Griffith from 1976-80. Smith is 24 steals behind career leader Peyton Siva with 254 from 2009-13.
With four dunks on Tuesday night, sophomore Montrezl Harrell set a new school record for dunks in a single season with 63 overall. He surpassed the previous record total of 59 dunks by Pervis Ellison and Chane Behanan.
Harrell also moved into sole possession of fifth place on the Cardinals career dunks leaderboard with 107. He needs 10 more dunks to equal Cornelius Holden (1988-92) for No. 5 on the career charts.
Harrell made 7-of-9 shots from the field (77.8 percent) on Tuesday marking the eighth time this season he has made 70 percent or more of his field goal attempts in a game.
Senior Luke Hancock scored 16 points on Tuesday marking the 13th straight game he has scored in double-figures.
With his 13-point effort on Tuesday, freshman Terry Rozier has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
The two-game total of 29 points is the most for Rozier in back-to-back games as a Cardinal.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Chane Behanan

Luke Hancock

Montrezl Harrell

Terry Rozier

Peyton Siva

Peyton Siva

Russ Smith

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