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The word of the week was signature for the University of Louisville.
“We had to play Pitt, or someone like Pitt, because everybody is talking about signature wins and not paying attention to us,” said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.
The Cardinals got their signature win with a 66-53 victory over the then No. 5 ranked University of Pittsburgh Panthers. It was the first time the Panthers had lost at home by double figures since 2001.
“I told the guys that if you want to dance [in the NCAA], you’ve just had Christmas come early because you have to play Pitt, and you have to beat them,” Pitino said. “And that’s the hard part because they are a great team.
Louisville freshman Jerry Smith had his signature moment at the University of Louisville. In front of 18,904 fans, he hit a three-pointer with .2 seconds on the clock to defeat No. 12 Marquette University. Smith went to Wauwatosa East High School in Milwaukee, just miles from Marquette’s campus.
Smith was the first three-time All-State selection in Wisconsin state history. Marquette head coach Tom Crean offered him a scholarship when Smith was in eighth grade, but then backed off after receiving commitments from Dominic James and Wes Matthews.
“This is the best homecoming that he could ever imagine, hitting the game-winning shot in his hometown,” said fellow freshman guard Edgar Sosa. “Everyone’s loving him right now.”
Smith has been the three-point threat that the Cardinals were missing early in the season. He shot seven shots against Pitt and Marquette, all of which were three-pointers. Of the seven, he hit five. Smith is not the only freshman having a major impact on the Cardinals.
The four freshmen that get significant playing time, Smith, Sosa, Derrick Caracter and Earl Clark, were a combined 17 of 25 from the field and scored 44 of Louisville’s 61 points against Marquette.
Caracter scored 14 points in 27 minutes against the Golden Eagles. The Cardinals are 3-0 since Caracter was reinserted into the lineup against South Florida. In those three games he averaged 12.7 points per game on 57.7 percent shooting while playing just under 20 minutes a game.
Caracter teamed with David Padgett to slow down Aaron Gray in the game against Pittsburgh. Caracter’s physical style of play got both Gray and his roommate and fellow senior big man Levon Kendall in foul trouble. Padgett took advantage of Kendall and Gray being on the bench by scoring a game high 16 points.
Padgett was the team’s leading scorer in a 74-66 loss to Marquette at Freedom Hall earlier in the season. He got in early foul trouble against Marquette the second time around. He got three fouls in the first two minutes of the game. With Padgett’s playing time limited, Caracter took over at center.
The struggles continue for Louisville’s leading scorer Terrence Williams. In the Cardinals three-game conference winning streak, Williams has been far from leading in the points column. He averaged 4.3 ppg on 27.7 percent shooting in the three games. He missed all four of the threes taken in that span and turned the ball over nine times.
Even though Williams’ shooting woes continue, the rest of the team has been shooting extremely well. The Cardinals shot 53.3 percent from the field and 7-17 from three against Marquette. They shot 48.1 percent against Pittsburgh. Prior to those two games, the Cardinals struggled mightily from the field against ranked opponents. In their three previous games against ranked opponents Arizona, Notre Dame and Georgetown, they shot 37.9 percent from the field.
While Louisville shot uncharacteristically well against Pitt and Marquette, defense was a major reason why the Cards came out with two big road wins. The Cardinals had seven steals and forced 19 turnovers against the Panthers. They held Pitt, who came into the game shooting 42.6 percent from behind the arc, to 14.3 percent. They forced 16 turnovers and had 11 steals against the Golden Eagles.
Louisville is now 9-4 in Big East play and 19-8 overall. The Cards have three conference games remaining, the next of which is against St. John’s on Wednesday at Freedom Hall. None of the Cardinals’ remaining three opponents have a winning record in the conference, giving the Cards’ a chance to finish strong.
