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 Louisville (15-3, 4-1 American Athletic Conference), which ended
up shooting 51.5 percent from the field (34 of 66 ), was led by
junior forward Wayne Blackshear with a career-high 23 points.
Senior guard Russ Smith, a preseason first-team All-American, had 18
points despite sitting out most of the second half.
"I was really happy with everyone," Louisville coach Rick Pitino
said. "The enthusiasm and effort was off the charts. All the guys
played terrific. It's not usual that a team wins the second half
after having a big lead at the half."
Houston (10-7, 2-2), which shot 30.8 percent from the field (16 of
52), was paced by junior forward TaShawn Thomas with 16 points.
Sophomore guard Jherrod Stiggers had 14.
Louisville streaked to a 12-2 advantage and never looked back. The
Cards had subsequent runs of 8-0 and 11-0 in the first half.
"Louisville played great," Houston coach James Dickey said. "They
came out and punched us in the mouth."
The game got sloppy in the second half as Louisville substituted
liberally, with seldom-used guard Anton Gill (six points), forward
Akoy Agau (four points) and guard David Levitch seeing action. All
three are freshmen.
Blackshear came off the bench after starting each of the 18 previous
games. Pitino said it was because Blackshear was getting into foul
trouble. He had fouled out in three of his previous four games.
"He was aggressive tonight," Pitino said. "What happens is, when you
get in foul trouble you lose your aggressiveness."
Dickey said, "Obviously, Blackshear got the message, whatever it
was."
Louisville did a good job of distributing the ball. The Cards had 23
assists on their 34 baskets. Freshman guard Terry Rozier, who
started because of an injury to junior Chris Jones, had eight
assists and only one turnover. He also had nine points.
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Louisville had just nine turnovers compared with Houston's
16. Louisville had nine steals.
"They shared the ball well," Dickey said. "We didn't. They're an
extraordinary 3-point shooting team. We didn't get out on them
and contest the shot. We've got to be more aggressive.
"We can't let this game set us back. We've got to be ready for
Rutgers on Sunday."
Louisville hit 11 of 15 3-pointers in the first half. Many were
wide-open after a pass.
"When you can step into your shot off a pass, you shoot better,"
Pitino said. "We had 23 assists. We were very unselfish."
Senior forward Luke Hancock added 10 points and senior center
Stephan Van Treese had a team-leading seven rebounds for the
Cardinals. Louisville's bench outscored Houston's 41-22. The
Cardinals also had three blocks.
"I can't find fault with anything," Pitino said.
NOTES: Louisville G Chris Jones did not play because of a
strained oblique suffered against SMU on Sunday. The junior is
averaging 11.3 points per game, third on the team. He was
replaced in the starting lineup by freshman Terry Rozier (6.7
ppg). ... Houston sophomore G L.J. Rose missed his sixth
straight game because of a foot injury. He started every game
before being hurt and was averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 assists
per game. ...Houston sophomore F Daniel House missed his 10th
straight game because of a knee injury. He is averaging 15.6
points-per-game, second on the team. F J.J. Richardson, a senior
transfer from Pittsburgh, missed his fifth straight game because
of a foot injury. A part-time starter, Richardson is averaging
4.4 ppg. ... Louisville's next game is Saturday at Connecticut.
Houston's next game is Sunday when the Cougars host Rutgers.
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reserved.]
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