By Russ Brown
Special to NKyTribune
LOUISVILLE — The University of Louisville basketball players stepped into a time machine, turned back the clock against Pittsburgh Thursday night and partied like it was 2015. Or 2013. Or any number of other seasons under coach Rick Pitino.
All that was missing was throwback uniforms in an intense, physical battle that was reminiscent of Big East slugfests when UofL was in that league.
And when it was over, the No. 20/17 Panthers (14-2, 3-1 ACC) were slinking back to the Steel City wondering what had suddenly become of their high-scoring, sure-handed, smooth-operating offense.
What happened was that it was reduced to rubble by a superb defense that had Pitt dissolving into a relentless series of bricks, turnovers and confusion as No. 21/20 UofL (14-3, 3-1) grinded its way to a 59-41 victory in front of 21,632 fans in the KFC Yum! Center.
It was a 180-degree turnaround from the Cards’ shaky defense in a 66-62 loss at Clemson four days earlier and was finally the type of performance coach Rick Pitino had been seeking from his young team.
“I feel like my long lost friend came back tonight,” Pitino said. “We’ve been waiting some time for us to play defense like that and it was exciting to see because that’s the way it’s been for four years.”
Louisville beat Pitt for the seventh time in a row and ended the Panthers’ 10-game winning streak.
The 41 points were not only less than half of Pitt’s usual 85.3 scoring average, but it was the second-lowest total by the Panthers in coach Jamie Dixon’s 13-year tenure, the lowest coming in a 62-39 loss to Rugters in 2012. Even more impressive, it was the fifth-fewest points scored by a Pitt team since the 1954-55 season.
Pitt came into the game with 50 assists and just 20 turnovers in its three previous ACC outings, but was limited to four assists on 14 baskets by the Cards, who also forced 19 turnovers resulting in 21 points. The bungling Panthers turned the ball over on 30 percent of their possessions while scoring a meager 0.64 points per possession.
The visitors were shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, including 37.9 from 3-point range, but UofL held them to 28 percent overall (14-49) and 1-of-11 from behind the arc.
James Robinson, Pitt’s senior point guard whose career assist/turnover ratio is the best in NCAA history, was emblematic of the visitors’ offensive woes. He missed all sixof his shots and had three turnovers with only two assists.
“If we play defense like that on a consistent basis, I don’t think anybody in the country can contend with us,” UofL senior guard Trey Lewis said. “We learned a tough lesson (in the loss at Clemson). We have to have a defensive mindset from the beginning and tonight we tightened up and executed.”
The Cards pressed full-court. They baffled the Panthers with their switching mathcup zone/man-to-man defense. They surrounded any Pitt player who got the ball in the paint. They swarmed ballhandlers to the extent that sometimes it looked like 10 defenders on the court instead of five.
“Coming out of the Clemson game, Coach was kind of iffy,” freshman guard Donovan Mitchell said. “He didn’t know if we could play defense after that game. We all wanted to prove to him we are the team he thought we could be. Now, everybody is high and positive. We’re happy with what we did defensively and that was the attitude we needed.”
Pitino said he delivered a simple, low-key message to his players after their uninspired defensive effort enabled Clemson to shoot 44 free throws.
“I didn’t yell at them at all after the loss,” he said. “I just said, ‘Look guys, if your identity is to outshoot people, then you may make the (NCAA) tournament, but you’re going to have an early exit. Unless you learn to play Louisville-type defense we’re never going to be a great basketball team.’ They took it to heart and worked really hard at it this week. They did a great job. Just a brilliant performance by our guys. Real proud of them.”
However, despite being presented with several opportunities in the post-game press conference, Dixon seemed reluctant to give UofL’s defense much credit for his team’s offensive struggles, preferring to blame his own players instead.
“I can’t think of anything we did well,” Dixon said. “We had a lot of travels, we had a lot of unforced turnovers, and our shot selection wasn’t very good. I think we just didn’t play well and it falls upon us.”
His players, though, were more complimentary.
“Their defense came out aggressive and physical,” said forward Michael Young, who led Pitt with 18 points and eight rebounds, but had four turnovers. “They really got after us and disrupted us.”
Even when the Panthers were unguarded, they misfired. The nation’s leading free throw-shooting club at 79.3 percent, Pitt made just 12-of-20. Not that a free more free throws would have made much difference.
After shooting only 28.1 percent in the first half (9-32), which ended with UofL on top 20-17, the Cards made a more concerted effort to go inside to center Chinanu Onuaku or on drives to the hoop. All but two of Louisville’s 39 points in the second half came in the paint or on free throws. The exceptions were an 18-foot jumper by Onuaku and Quentin Snider’s 3-pointer.
The 6-10 Onuaku was a dominant inside presence, getting 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks and two steals.
“Teams haven’t been going inside against them,” Pitino said. “We were totally focused on getting the ball to Nanu.”
With UofL held to its lowest point total of the season, the only other double-figure scorer was Damion Lee with 18 points, 14 of them in the second half, including nine in the final three minutes.
The Cards led by as many as 15 points, 43-28, with 7:13 to go before Pitt pulled to within 46-37 at the 4:08 mark. But Onuaku’s two free throws started an 11-0 surge that assured the victory.
The two teams will meet in a rematch on Feb. 24 at Pittsburgh. UofL’s next game comes Wednesday night against Florida State (10-5, 0-3).
PITINO MAKES UNPLANNED EXIT
Preparing for Pitt’s offense apparently had Pitino’s stomach in knots.
“They’re a scary team to watch,” he said. “I would say they made me sick to my stomach, and I did get sick to my stomach.”
Pitino rushed to the locker room during a timeout midway through the second half, but returned as play resumed after assistant coach Ralph Willard had taken over the huddle.
“I can’t eat game day,” Pitino said. “A 9 o’clock game kills me. I made a mistake, I went and ate something. I get sick if I eat something.”
He said he had endured about 30 similar incidents during his college and pro career.
But the Cards’ performance surely settled his stomach by the end of the evening.