Louisville 107, Morehead State 57.
The game, frankly, wasn’t that close.
The Cards were ahead 46-33 at intermission.
U of L registered points on their first 3 possessions after the break.
With 17:49 to go, the Eagles’ first deuce after halftime cut the margin to 53-35.
State’s next tally came with 6:48 to play.
During that interim, Louisville netted 33 in a row.
Such was the level of domination, that’s not even the most lopsided stat of the afternoon.
U of L grabbed 59 rebounds against the height challenged
visitors.
That’s two more boards than the vanquished scored points.
The 2011 NCAA Regional this was not.
Even balanced — moving the orange against such a lesser foe wasn’t an issue — seven Cardinals tallied double digits.
Led by Obi Ekezie’s 20, and Karter Knox’s 15.
Will Hanke scored on a nifty up and under the first time he touched the rock.
Obi snared 13 boards. Flory Bidunga grabbed 7. Four guys had six, including Isaac Ellis. A couple more had five.
It was a team effort. Every guy on the floor contributed.
Defense was played.
* * * * *
Moments/ Trends that stood out:
Alvaro Folgueiras’s skip pass to Jackson Shelstad for a wide open triple on the first possession of the 2d half.
Our resident Real Madrid fan, with whom the offense starts more often than not, led U of L with 6 assists. Three during the Cardinals’ 11-2 run that opened play after the break.
Louisville ended up a “respectable” 20/28 at the charity stripe. That is also deceptive.
It could prove to be this squad’s Achilles Heel. The guys who tend to get hacked the most are not the best at the line.
Seth Trimble, not Chucky Hepburn at FT line.
To be monitored.
Another bad habit: Flory Bidunga slaps and reaches at the ball. Will foul trouble be an issue in a big game?
Karter Knox has a scorer’s mentality.
The team appears legitimately unselfish. 21 assists.
Eight minutes into the game, U of L had turned it over already four times. But only coughed it up three more times the rest of the tilt.
De’Shayne Montgomery’s stint on the IR does have one blessing. Isaac Ellis is getting more PT early than he might otherwise.
Such that my peeps and I have been trading possible nicknames.
Doc: The Pebble. Gets in your shoe and bugs the shit out of you.
Smarts: Mayhem. Ellis is clear team leader in floor burns.
A fun afternoon, a walkover, one filled with positive signs.
— c d kaplan
