I know these exempt games are good for practice and to prepare the teams for the season ahead, but it really is like leading the lamb to slaughter. And tonight Jacksonville State was the sacrificial gamecock. The Cardinals were dominate in every aspect of the game and won the game in big fashion 88-39. With this win the Cardinals move to 2-0 on the season and are now 14-0 in home openers under coach Pitino. Their record at the KFC Yum Center is 67-9 and Coach Pitino is now just 3 wins away from 700.
The Cardinals were about as sharp tonight on the offensive side of the ball as you could ask for. Yes the other team was at a total mismatch but when you look at this game from an execution standpoint the Cardinals did a great job. Instead of coming out and coasting through this game the Cardinals came out and played hard on every possession. Ball movement was the thing that stood out the most in this win. The Cardinals had 15 assist in this one, 13 of those came from the starting unit. Wayne had 5 (his career best) and Chris had 5. All five starters were in double figures. A hustle stat that stands out in a big way was the fact that the Cards out-rebounded them 60-26… It was the most rebounds that a Cardinal team has had since January 19th vs East Carolina.
On a day where he was named in the first Top 50 of the Wooden watch-list, was named player of the week by CBS Sports, ESPN, and the ACC Montrezl Harrell came out and led the Cardinals in scoring tonight with 15 points and he also grabbed 7 rebounds. He played very hard and will do so in every game this season. I’m going to enjoy it all that I can.
It was great to see Wayne Blackshear exit the game tonight for the final time with a big smile on his face. If anybody deserves some things to go his way it’s Wayne. He had a great night having a career high 5 assist, grabbing 9 rebounds and scoring 12 points. Coach Pitino said that he wanted to see “Chicago Tough” Wayne this season and so far he’s getting just that out of his senior.
Mr consistency Terry Rozier is a player that is going to give you what you need of him every time he hits the hardwood. Tonight he had a very efficient performance scoring scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting. Watching him tonight it just amazes me at how hard he plays and how effortless he makes it look.
Coach Pitino called Chris Jones the best player on the floor tonight. He raved in the post game about how Chris has matured both on and off the court. He was very disruptive on the defensive side of the ball tonight and had 5 steals. He also had 6 rebounds, 10 points and 5 assist.
And what about our phenomenal freshman Chinanu Onuaku… This kid might end up on the list of most impressive freshman at Louisville. He recorded his first double-double tonight in his early Louisville career. 10 rebounds, and 12 points to go along with 1 assist, 1 block and 2 steals. Oh yea and he was 5-5 from the field. We really needed one of our freshman to step up this season and so far Nanu is answering the call.
Mango came off the bench tonight and played really hard.. He had 10 rebounds himself. I was critical of he and Nanu last week but tonight they both gave the kind of effort that this team needs from them in that 5 spot.
As I said above this game really had no chance at being competitive and I would have felt really sorry for the Gamecocks had it not for that big paycheck they will get for that beating tonight. It was worth it for them and it was a good night for our team as well. They really showed some moxie tonight and came out very business like and took care of what they had to and now they move on down the road. It was another great night at the KFC Yum Center.
