By Chris O’Grady

                In matchup between two former head coaches of the NBA’s New York Knicks, Louisville men’s basketball rolled over Florida International University 92-55.

                FIU’s head coach is former NBA star Isiah Thomas.  Louisville head coach Rick Pitino coached the Knicks from 1987-89.  But Wednesday night, the Cards (5-0) had all the NBA-style moves, jumping out to a 33 point lead by halftime on the Panthers (4-3).

                “I don’t know exactly what to say,” said Pitino.  “That was just a different game than I’ve seen in a while.  It just wasn’t their night, they couldn’t get anything together offensively.  We just have to take the win and move on.”

                Thomas, in his second year at FIU, said his team was evidently nervous playing against the Cardinals in the hostile road environment.

                “Clearly we were outplayed tonight, but I think our guys were just a little shell-shocked,” said Thomas, who was named as one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players from his career with the Detroit Pistons.  “That’s a good basketball team in Louisville.  They play with a collective will and a great confidence right now.  They can play with anybody in the nation.”

                Senior guard Preston Knowles led the way for the Cards, scoring 18 points with six rebounds and three assists.  Pitino has talked all season about asking the guard to improve his shot selection.

                “I thought this was his most complete game of the season,” said Pitino.  “He is like the quirkiest shooter, he won’t shoot when he’s wide open, he likes somebody in his area to shoot the basketball.”

                The blowout allowed Pitino to play every player dressed, and he noted the valuable experience for guards Chris and Russ Smith.  Chris Smith, a transfer from Manhattan College scored ten points in 19 minutes, both career highs.  It was freshman Russ Smith’s first game as a Cardinal, after missing practice and games since October with a broken foot.

                Freshman center Gorgui Dieng performed admirably in the second half, scoring also a career high 15 points, with five rebounds and seven blocked shots. 

                Junior forward Eric Frederick was the leading scorer for the Panthers with 12.  He also had 12 rebounds.  The Panthers scored 15 points in the first half.  They also had 16 turnovers in the same amount of time.  They shot only 28 percent in the game. 

                The Cards return Saturday Dec. 4 at the Yum! Center against the University of South Alabama at 1 p.m.