Louisville is coming off an impressive win against a solid UNC team, proving a lot for the Cardinals. Miami struggled last game against Georgia Tech and was looking for another top 10 win. The game was close down the stretch, but Louisville's defense was too much.
The Cardinals built a 13-point lead early and shot nearly 68 percent in the first half. But scoring 31 percent in the second half showed how quickly things could change. Miami cut the lead to three points until Louisville took over and ran away with the game.
Montrezl Harrell had 18 points and nine rebounds, as he played another excellent game in the post. Chris Jones had 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in 40 minutes. Jones played excellent defense, holding Rodriquez to six points on 2 of 9 shooting.
The most surprising thing was that only four Cardinals scored, and they still found a way to win. Since everyone else was struggling, Rozier had to play 38 minutes and Harrell played 39 minutes. Keep in mind that there are only 40 minutes in a college basketball game.
Davon Reed was the only Hurricane who could find something offensively. He made five shots beyond the arc. Tonye Jekiri added 10 points and 10 rebounds, grabbing a lot of offensive boards. But regardless of these stats, Miami only shot 34 percent.
Sheldon McClellan scored six points, and Angel Rodriguez continued his shooting slump, even though these two are the Hurricanes' leading scorers. Neither player could help Miami, as Louisville dominated on the defensive side.
Louisville sank 8 of 10 free throws in the final minutes to seal the victory. Miami came back into the game, but Jones shut down the guards of Miami. He contributed five steals to his already impressive stat line. Louisville went on to win the game with a score of 63-55.
Next games:
Louisville at Virginia 2/7/15
Miami - Clemson 2/8/15