“It’s going to be a fun trip, but we’ve still got to take care of business.” These sentiments of Terry Rozier, following the 30 point annihilation of a talented Missouri State team, were echoed throughout the locker room as the Cards prepared to embark for South Beach. Wednesday night the team took in a game at AmericanAirlines Arena that saw the Miami Heat, a popular team among this squad of Cardinals, stage a dramatic comeback to top the Indiana Pacers 97-94. While the team is enjoying the Sunshine State, they are fully aware there is a purpose to this trip: the first true road game of the season. You’ll no doubt recall the Cards, now 10-1, falling to North Carolina 84-93 at the Mohegan Sun, in Connecticut nearly one month ago. Saturday evening’s 6:00 pm tipoff at U.S. Century Bank Arena, broadcasted on FOX Sports One, vs. the Florida International Panthers, will give the 2013-14 Cards a taste of life in a hostile environment as the university is calling for a white-out while they play host for the first time to a defending national champion.
It’s a challenge Coach Pitino purposefully sought out, saying after Tuesday’s victory, which he deemed the best game his team had played so far this season, that he “wanted to get [the team] out of town before the UK game.” Not only to prepare for playing a road contest, as this team is an experienced bunch, but even more importantly to eliminate the distractions of playing Kentucky one week later. Coach P. jokingly “thought they’d start chanting ‘Beat FIU’” in reference to the cheer that enveloped the KFC Yum! Center in the waning moments of the Missouri State game. He certainly has a point. December 28th is a date in the forefront of the minds of fans on both sides of the battle lines, and Pitino wants, and needs his players to take on the attitude of Luke Hancock who said in reference to the UK/UofL game “this state is so involved, and it’s just another basketball game for us.”
Whether or not that statement is actually true, the Cards cannot overlook FIU. The Panthers (8-4), though no longer coached by Richard Pitino, now in Minnesota, still have a familiar face on their roster and one who has found success. Senior power forward Rakeem Buckles is a key fixture in the FIU lineup, averaging over 29 minutes a night, along with 14.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks, all while shooting 46% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. Despite a moniker for having hands of stone, there’s little question Rock, as he was affectionately known in The Ville, has all the tangibles to be a highly effective player. At 6-7, 215 lbs he is a force in the frontcourt court, but also possesses skill and a scoring touch. Several injuries including a fractured finger, and two major knee injuries derailed what could have been a very promising career as a Cardinal. His lone NCAA tournament appearance against California in 2010, in which he dropped 20 points and grabbed 9 boards, while being essentially the only Louisville player to actually show up for that game, proved what he could do when healthy. That he has been able to return to his hometown and become an effective player once more is terrific news; though it is horrendous the NCAA would not let him transfer to Minnesota to follow Richard Pitino, despite having granted that request to a fellow Panther teammate.
Pairing with Buckles to lead the Panthers is small forward and lone returning non-transfer senior Tymell Murphy. Murphy, hailing from Russ’ hometown of Brooklyn, leads his team in minutes (33.4), points (16.3), blocks (1.9), and field goal percentage (61%). Meanwhile two other players in junior guard Dennis Mavin, and sophomore forward Jerome Fink each average around 10 points while seeing about 30 minutes of game action on a nightly basis.
However, what has recently placed a damper on FIU’s success is the suspension of senior point guard Raymond Taylor. Taylor, a transfer from Florida Atlantic had been playing extremely well with 12 points, 6 assists, and only 2 turnovers a game; In short, the FIU offense was clicking. But just prior to the November 21 contest with Bethune-Cookman FIU head coach Anthony Evans was notified of eligibility concerns. Taylor had entered his name into the 2013 NBA draft, and though he did not hire an agent and did withdraw his name from consideration before the NBA’s college eligibility retention deadline, he did not do so prior to the NCAA’s deadline, which is in fact not the same day. One month later, his eligibility status is still under review.
The fallout has been considerable. Jason Boswell has been thrust into the starting lineup in place of Taylor, and has struggled in having to play 30 minutes a night after having played a total of 105 minutes in the team’s first seven games. The true freshman averages 7.6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, along with 2.6 turnovers. What’s more, Buckles and Murphy have been called upon to carry more of the burden, increasing their minutes to upwards of 35 plus per game while their offensive output has either held steady with previous averages or slightly diminished out of increased fatigue.
The absence of Taylor, coupled with an already short bench for the Panthers, has made life difficult for the program. The point guard position’s assist to turnover ratio has dropped from 1.8 with Taylor to .92 with Boswell, and overall the team has committed 102 turnovers in the six games since his suspension, with only 70 in the six games he played; one such game being an 18 point loss to Division II Nova Southeastern. Though the Panthers still possess two talented players at the 3 and 4 spot, and two reliable secondary contributors, their lack of depth and penchant for turning the ball over should be their undoing against the Cards’ aggressive defense and ability to force teams into mistakes. While being on the road and playing against a former teammate are not factors to discount, if the Cards can remember their own words of ensuring they’re ready to play and that there’s business to attend to, they should roll.
Side Notes:
- Reported as of about 1 pm Friday that forward Akoy Agau has been indefinitely suspended from the team. The university has not yet commented as to why the freshman from Omaha, Nebraska is facing the suspension.
- The Cards lead the overall series 2-0. The previous meeting was December 19 last year in The Ville, where the Cards won 79-55 with Blackshear scoring 18 points to lead the Cards.
- Speaking of Fat Wayne, he’s scored double digit points in three straight games, the first time he’s accomplished that feat as a Card. He’s also hit on 7 of his last 14 3-point attempts.
- FIU’s basketball team could give their football team a game. They didn’t even cross midfield during our 72-0 win in September.
- The Cards are the national leaders in turnover margin with +9.4 and fewest turnovers per game at 9.1. FIU, not so much as they had 23 vs. Nova Southeastern and 12 in their win over Florida Gulf Coast.
- With 20 offensive rebounds vs. Missouri State the Cards have now accomplished that feat 3 times this season.
- The FIU match up in Miami marks the first of 4 consecutive road games, spanning 23 days. The longest stretch since the 1980-81 season that the Cards will be playing games away from The Ville.
- Coach P. remarked that he doesn’t believe in Twitter or feel he’s significant enough to do it…meanwhile a fake Rick Pitino account, which has never tweeted, at last check has 21,722 followers. Not too shabby.
- Related quote from Coach: “If you stay humble, you’re going to do all the right things in your life.” Deep.
- Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, thoughts on modesty?
Word
Go Cards, Beat FIU!
Louisville Cardinals Season Statistics:
|
Player |
|||||||||||
|
11 |
26.4 |
16.6 |
3.4 |
5.2 |
1.8 |
0.1 |
2.4 |
.449 |
.738 |
.308 |
|
|
10 |
25.1 |
14.3 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
1.8 |
0.1 |
1.4 |
.469 |
.778 |
.410 |
|
|
11 |
24.5 |
12.7 |
8.6 |
1.0 |
1.3 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
.644 |
.535 |
1.000 |
|
|
11 |
21.1 |
10.0 |
3.0 |
0.6 |
1.5 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
.392 |
.871 |
.457 |
|
|
10 |
18.5 |
8.2 |
6.3 |
0.8 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
1.1 |
.667 |
.419 |
.000 |
|
|
10 |
17.6 |
7.9 |
1.9 |
1.2 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.7 |
.310 |
.919 |
.237 |
|
|
11 |
17.4 |
5.5 |
3.6 |
1.8 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
.359 |
.545 |
.300 |
|
|
11 |
17.0 |
4.9 |
4.5 |
0.6 |
0.1 |
1.3 |
0.5 |
.600 |
.563 |
.000 |
|
|
11 |
17.8 |
3.2 |
4.8 |
0.4 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
.714 |
.714 |
.000 |
|
|
10 |
6.1 |
2.0 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
.353 |
1.000 |
.375 |
|
|
10 |
5.2 |
1.7 |
1.0 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
.375 |
.375 |
.182 |
|
|
9 |
5.9 |
1.7 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
.375 |
.500 |
.000 |
|
|
7 |
2.9 |
1.1 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
.400 |
.500 |
.500 |
|
|
7 |
5.1 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
1.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
Totals |
11 |
— |
86 |
42 |
15 |
10 |
5 |
9 |
.475 |
.659 |
.341 |
Florida International Panthers Season Statistics:
|
Player |
|||||||||||
|
12 |
33.3 |
16.3 |
8.3 |
2.4 |
1.4 |
1.9 |
2.7 |
.610 |
.727 |
.357 |
|
|
12 |
29.4 |
14.7 |
10.5 |
0.5 |
1.3 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
.464 |
.742 |
.355 |
|
|
6 |
32.8 |
12.2 |
2.7 |
6.2 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
2.2 |
.358 |
.739 |
.364 |
|
|
12 |
31.2 |
10.0 |
4.0 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
0.0 |
2.6 |
.365 |
.526 |
.194 |
|
|
12 |
29.8 |
9.6 |
5.2 |
1.4 |
0.3 |
0.8 |
2.3 |
.537 |
.719 |
.286 |
|
|
12 |
19.4 |
7.7 |
2.3 |
0.6 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
.447 |
.600 |
.346 |
|
|
12 |
21.2 |
4.4 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
1.7 |
.514 |
1.000 |
.444 |
|
|
11 |
14.1 |
3.0 |
2.7 |
0.4 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
.367 |
.875 |
.364 |
|
|
4 |
5.0 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
.333 |
1.000 |
.333 |
|
|
7 |
5.9 |
0.9 |
1.9 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
.200 |
.333 |
.000 |
|
|
2 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
1 |
16.0 |
0.0 |
4.0 |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
3.0 |
.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
8 |
2.9 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
Totals |
12 |
— |
72 |
41 |
12 |
7 |
5 |
14 |
.461 |
.695 |
.326 |
Erich Kline
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