On a very cold evening in Louisville the Cardinals overcame some cold shooting to claim their second victory of the early conference slate. The Cardinals are now 2-0 in ACC play after beating Clemson tonight 58-52. This is the third straight season that the Cardinals have started 2-0 in conference play. They previously started 2-0 in the Big East, and the American Conference last season. The Cardinals now lead the series against Clemson 4-0 and after the win tonight they are 76-10 all-time at the Yum Center. They move to 150-66 all-time vs current ACC teams.
At times it wasn’t very pretty to watch especially in the first half. Clemson had the Cardinals well scouted, shut down the inside game with their zone, and controlled the pace throughout. Clemson came into this game holding seven out of the last ten teams they’ve played to 65 points or less. They held the Cardinals to 22% on 6 of 27 shooting from the field in the first half and held them to 32.7 % shooting for the game on 18 of 55 from the field. The Cardinals were 6 of 24 from the three point line for 25% for the game. The Cardinals used a 17-0 run at the start of the second half to propel them in the win. They have used the “BOOM” producing over 30 runs of 8-0 or better this season in their 15 games.
The Cardinals were without Anas tonight who had a migraine, Shaqquan had a knot on his head that he got in practice limiting his time, and Montrezl got into foul trouble sitting most of the first half. These things certainly didn’t help the Cardinals on the offensive end of the floor. The Cardinals looked a little better on the defensive end of the floor forcing the Tigers into 15 turnovers and getting 11 steals. The Cardinals have now produced double-digit steals in 12 of their last 15 games and they have now had fewer turnovers than their opponents in 13 of their last 15 games.
For the second straight game it was Chris Jones who was this team’s saving grace. He led all scorers with 22 points. He also had 2 assist and 5 steals. He is ranked in the top six in the ACC in steals. For all the hard time he gets from some fans this Cardinal team would be in big trouble without him. I really think he has turned the corner and now fully understands the role he plays on this team.
Terry Rozier is another guy that continues to come through in the clutch when the Cardinals need a basket. He had 15 points to go along with 6 rebound, 4 assist and 3 steals. He currently leads the ACC in Steals. He has been the most consistent player in a Cardinal uniform this season.
I was hoping that Wayne Blackshear would be pushed by the recent play of Shaqquan Aaron. Tonight Wayne had a nice game scoring 11 points, to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He is another player that is among the top 6 steal leaders in the ACC. He was 3-10 from behind the arc tonight.
Montrezl had his mildest performance of the season. He got into foul trouble early in the game sitting for most of the first half and really never got it going like we are used to from him. He did have some moments in the second half and did end up scoring 6 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. He is now just 32 points shy of becoming Louisville’s 66th career 1000 point scorer. His 6 double-doubles this season is tied for the ACC lead.
If you have been watching some of these conference games this season then you know how much of a grind it’s been for all of the top teams in the country. When teams get into the conference part of the schedule the scouting report really finds their weaknesses. Louisville did get 15 rebounds from the five spot on Wednesday night and Mango really was going hard to the glass on both ends of the floor. I was very impressed with his effort. Despite the rebounding efforts the Cardinals only got 4 points from the five spot. Teams are going to keep playing to this weak spot.
Regardless of the teams shortcomings they keep finding ways to win games and guys are stepping up and making plays when they need to. I’ll take a 2-0 start to conference play and run. Things are going to get tougher in the coming weeks but the Cardinals are going to keep getting better. Bring on the Tar heels…
