A little late with my post game due to a great night of television. Before the beat downs on the series finale of Sons of Anarchy and before Jax Teller met Mister Mayhem it was Indiana who was catching the Beat down and dealing with the Mayhem of the Cardinal defense. Our Cardinals looked great on the grand stage of The Garden last night beating the Hoosiers 94-74. With the win the Cardinals cut the Hoosiers lead in the series to 10-7, and our Cardinals have now won 9 straight games in MSG. The Cardinals have the highest winning percentage in the nation in neutral site games at 83.3%.
For all of the talk about Platoons in college basketball I think folks need to start paying a little more attention to what looks to be a pretty good Bird Battalion in Louisville. This is a team that comes at you in waves. If they aren’t confusing teams with their multiple defensive sets they are dominating them on the glass and are currently #1 in the country in that category. Last night it was the Indiana Hoosiers who were the latest casualty of the Bird Battalion. The Cardinal defense forced 19 IU turnovers, had 10 steals, and 8 blocked shots. They out rebounded the Hoosiers 49-34.
The leaders of this Bird Battalion Montrezl Harrell, Terry Rozier, Wayne Blackshear & Chris Jones combined for 85 points and 33 rebounds last night. In my pre-game I said that these guys would need big nights and they had one of their best games of the young season.
Montrezl Harrell had his first breakout performance of his Louisville career in the Big East Title game a few years ago against Syracuse at MSG. It was only fitting that he would have a record breaking performance in his return to the Garden. Montrezl became the all-time dunk leader in school history last night. He had 7 dunks on the Hoosiers and now holds the school record with 163 in his career. He had 21 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot to go along with his record breaking moment. Also his 4th straight double-double.
Montrezl Post Game
Terry Rozier led all scorers with a career high 26 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He was a very impressive 8-17 from the field, and 5-8 from the 3 point line. Last night we all seen the Rozier that folks raved about during his summer workouts. His shot had been inconsistent through the first 7 games but last night it looked effortless for him.
Terry Rozier Post Game
Chris Jones or “Memphis Moxie” as I like to call him was 8-17 from the field for 24 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assist, 3 steals, and 1 blocked shot. Another guy who had been playing with some inconsistency really stepped up in his very first game in MSG. Jones had been criticized by Coach Pitino for staying on his phone too much. Jones got the message and said that he had taken his coach’s advice. It paid off last night.
Chris Jones Post Game
Wayne Blackshear also enjoyed his return trip to MSG. He had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocked shots. “Big Game Wayne” is showing what hard work and dedication in the off season can do for a players game. He has paid his dues and is now reaping the benefits. I couldn’t be happier for him.
My shout-out of the night would have to go to Mango.. On a sore ankle he came into the game off the bench and put it all on the line. He had 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. I really think he could be one of the best shot blockers in college basketball. He has that great wing span and has great timing.
Last night the college basketball world was formally introduced to the Bird Battalion. I think that has a much better ring to it than platoon. I know some won’t adapt this name but I like it. And like I mentioned above the way this Cardinal team comes at their opponents in waves I think it is fitting. If they don’t hurt you in one area of the game chances are they will find another way. Coach Pitino has always got a few tricks up his sleeve and he again has a group to utilize them. That game last night made a big statement to the rest of the college basketball world. Louisville is going to have something to say about how the season pans out. Don’t count the Bird Battalion out…. Go Cards!