By Russ Brown
NKyTribune correspondent
LOUISVILLE — If, as coach Rick Pitino suggested a few days ago, the disappointment of a postseason ban was weighing heavily on the psyche of his University of Louisville basketball players, it certainly didn’t show Wednesday night.
The No. 18 Cardinals (20-6, 9-4 ACC) looked like the picture of mental health — especially in a devastating second-half — in rolling over Syracuse (18-9, 8-6) 88-72 in the KFC Yum! Center.
On Sunday, the day after a 71-66 loss to Notre Dame that came on the heels of a defeat at Duke, Pitino met with his team. His message in a nutshell:
Don’t be bitter, get better.
“I told them, look we’re all emotionally drained,” Pitino said in his post-game press conference. “Bitterness gets you nothing; getting better is what it’s all about. So let’s just finish the season like we started it, with everybody trying to get better. Let’s execute. We had two losses, but you played your asses off from a work ethic standpoint. Let’s just continue to play hard basketball and get better.”
It didn’t start out that way, with UofL missing nine of its first 10 shots, committing seven turnovers in the first nine minutes and falling behind 18-6. But the Cards clawed back and took their first lead on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Trey Lewis to end the first half on top 28-27.
Then came a spectacular second half that featured six dunks, three consecutive threes by Damion Lee, exquisite passing, 55.6 percent shooting (20-36)and tenacious defense. UofL used a 12-3 surge to take a 44-35 lead, then siezed total control with an 11-3 run to build a 60-44 cushion with 8:40 left.
After that it was just a matter of how much as Syracuse saw its five-game winning streak snapped and suffered by far its worst loss of the season.
“Needless to say it was a very exciting game,” Pitino said. “I’m very proud of our guys. The defensive intensity, the offensive passing was so much fun to watch. Just a really, really special performance.”
Sophomore center Chinanu Onuaku was particularly effective, posting his ninth double-double of the season, but his first in four games, with 13 points and 15 rebounds. He also had four assists, including the best one of the night.
After grabbing a rebound, Onuaku was surrounded by three Syracuse players just outside the lane. He held the ball high for several seconds trying to keep it safe, then flipped a behind the back pass to Trey Lewis, who was cutting along the baseline and scored on a reverse layup.
“I knew he was gonna throw it once he got it, because he gave me a look and then he looked the other way, so I just stayed ready for it,” Lewis said. “He’s such a great passer that’s something I expected.”
“Nanu is a very good passer,” Pitino said. “He got back to doing what he’s doing. He’s still only scratching his potential. Stamina is the key to his game. Once he gets to the point where he doesn’t get physically tired, look out, because he can influence every play with his passing, his defense, his shot blocking and his rebounding. Tonight he played brilliant basketball.”
Onuaku wasn’t the only Cardinal passing — they had a season-high 21 assists on their 32 field goals.
The second half was one continuous highlight reel for the Cards and ended with a flurry of four dunks in 2 1/2 minutes, two each by Donovan Mitchell and Jaylen Johnson. Mitchell had gotten another dunk earlier in the half and Onuaku accounted for the sixth slam.
“That was a lot of fun,” Lee said. “Definitely a game we needed. We just want to go out there and have fun when we can. Second half we really focused on making sure we locked in on our defensive assignments and we knew our shots were eventually going to fall. It just took a few minutes.”
Lee finished with 15 points, four assists and two steals, while Lewis added 14 points and five rebounds. Quentin Snider scored only three points on 2-of-10 shooting, but he had six assists with just one turnover, and his 3-pointer at the 8:58 mark “broke the lid off the basket for us,” according to Lee.
Lewis had complained after the loss at Notre Dame about being on what he termed a “leash” and “in shackles.” Naturally, he had a session with Pitino about his remarks, and after Wednesday’s game, he called it a learning experience.
“What that was is frustration, as a player and a competitor,” Lewis said. “That’s something I shouldn’t have said. I regret it. Its been a challenge. So much going on. But at the end of the day you have to take a perspective and realize that I am playing at the highest level of college basketball. I’m really in a blessed situation. So I’m just learning. Everything is a learning experience. That’s how I’ve been taking it. I’m just grateful to have teammates who support me and a coach who cares about me.”
Thanks to its overwhelming second-half performance, in the end Louisville dominated in nearly every facet. The Cards outscored Syracuse 50-20 in the paint, 17-8 off second-chance points, 10-2 on fast breaks, 25-7 in points of the bench, outrebounded the Orange 41-30 and outshot them 47.8 percent to 38.0.
Trevor Cooney led Syracuse with 19 points, while Michael Gbinije had 13 and Malachi Richardson 10.
“Louisville got going and played much better offensively in the second half,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “And we went back to about 10 games ago when we didn’t rebound. We just had a bad night. But Louisville has played well all year and they’ll play well the rest of the year.”