After a couple of weeks where the majority of the discussion surrounding the Louisville basketball team centered on its shooting struggles, Florida International may have provided the Cards with the confidence boost they needed.
U of L shot 57.1 percent from the field, hit eight 3-pointers and won 82-57 after back-to-back games in which they scored less than 65 points.
Anton Gill, who was celebrating his 20th birthday Friday night, may have been the biggest beneficiary of the offensive surge. Gill entered the game shooting just 1-for-13 from behind the 3-point line, but drilled three of his five attempts from deep and finished with a team-high 15 points. Montrezl Harrell (13), Wayne Blackshear (12), Terry Rozier and Chris Jones (11) also scored in double figures.
In addition to Gill's performance, freshmen Quentin Snider and Jaylen Johnson also came off the bench and gave performances that many Cardinal fans will be talking about tomorrow. Snider ran the show for large chunks of time in both halves, hit both of his field goal attempts and committed just one turnover. Johnson, meanwhile, displayed the type of skill and athleticism that made him a four-star recruit on two finishes around the rim late in the game. He finished with six points.
Rick Pitino also continued his annual holiday tradition of starting a walk-on guard, this time going with David Levitch and assuring that the game's final outcome was decided before the opening tip.
Here's your box score:
Florida International Golden Panthers | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
STARTERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
Adrian Diaz, F | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
Larry Dennis, F | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Dennis Mavin, G | 7-16 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | ||
Dominique Williams, G | 2-5 | 0-2 | 4-5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
Tashawn Desir, G | 3-7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | ||
BENCH | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
Michael Phillip, C | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Daviyon Draper, F | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | ||
Marco Porcher Jimenez, G | 4-6 | 4-6 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | ||
Kris Gulley, G | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Ray Rodriguez, G | 0-4 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
Jason Boswell, G | 2-5 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
20-54 | 5-15 | 12-18 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 14 | 57 | |||
37.0% | 33.3% | 66.7% | ||||||||||||
Louisville Cardinals | ||||||||||||||
STARTERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
Chinanu Onuaku, C | 3-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
Wayne Blackshear, F | 5-13 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
Montrezl Harrell, F | 6-9 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | ||
Chris Jones, G | 3-6 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | ||
David Levitch, G | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
BENCH | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
Akoy Agau, F | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Matz Stockman, F | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
Jaylen Johnson, F | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
Anas Mahmoud, F | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
Terry Rozier, G | 4-7 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
Anton Gill, G | 6-10 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 15 | ||
Quentin Snider, G | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
32-56 | 8-20 | 10-15 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 21 | 14 | 9 | 20 | 20 | 82 | |||
57.1% | 40.0% | 66.7% |
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: None - TEAMS: None