FAST REACT: Louisville clobbers Marquette 70-51
With a whiteout in full effect in the stands, Louisville knocked off the Big East's top team, Marquette, Sunday. The Cardinals trailed early before blowing out the Golden Eagles with a 43-14 run.
HITTING THE BOARDS
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Why did Louisville dominate the first half against Marquette? Check the boards.
The Cardinals doubled Marquette's rebounding output 26-13. Louisville had nearly as many offensive rebounds (11) as Marquette had total rebounds (13). UofL dominated the points in the paint 28-12 despite Gorgui Dieng playing just 10 minutes.
The Cardinals held a 32-16 rebounding edge at one point in the game, before ending the game with a 38-26 edge. Marquette coach Buzz Williams said his team was done in by Louisville's size.
"Montrezl Harrell is really good. Gorgui Dieng is really good. Chane Behanan is really good," Williams replied when he was asked why Louisville was so effective on the boards. "They have a lot of talented players."
THE FIRST-HALF RUN
Starting at the 11:42 mark, Louisville went on a 15-2 run that was sparked by Russ Smith. The New York jitterbug had nine of Louisville's 15 points during the run, assisted another of the baskets and had two steals.
In all he scored nine points in under five minutes and the Cardinals held a 25-18 lead by the end of the run.
CRAZY GAMES
Louisville and Marquette have had some crazy games in the last two seasons. In 2011, Louisville was down by 18 points with 5:44 left before embarking on a comeback that was later labelled "The Miracle on Main." The Cardinals won 71-70 on a layup by Kyle Kuric with six seconds left.
Then last season, Louisville was ahead by 16 points in the first half before a furious Marquette comeback swamped the Cardinals in the second half. Louisville trailed by 16 with just under two minutes left before Marquette eventually won 74-63.
In Sunday's game, Louisville was down 9-1 before rolling 37-15 the rest of the half. The Cardinals' largest lead of the game was 23 at the 13:27 mark of the second half.
TURNOVER STAT MISLEADING
Both teams had 16 turnovers, but Louisville's turnovers weren't as bad as Marquette's. The Cardinals had turnovers in the frontcourt and dead-ball situations, and Marquette couldn't get on the break.
Louisville's had 11 steals and scored 32 points off Marquette's 16 turnovers. The Golden Eagles scored just nine points off Louisville's 16 turnovers.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Check out these highlights from Steve Ludden and @HSReplays....