No. 4 Cardinals slip past rival Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Russ Smith ranked Louisville's 80-77 victory over Kentucky on Saturday as one of the five favorites of his career.
That makes sense, considering the junior guard played a key role in ending the No. 4 Cardinals' four-game losing streak against the rival Wildcats.
Smith scored 21 points, including five of Louisville's final 13, and added seven rebounds to help the Cardinals hold off Kentucky in an up-and-down game.
Smith's performance came nearly a year after he scored 30 points off the bench in the Cardinals' 69-62 loss to the Wildcats at Lexington, one of two defeats last season to their in-state rivals that included last season's NCAA semifinal. Kentucky went on to win its eighth national title.
"It's not a conference win, but it's a great nonconference win," Smith said. "It's a great win for the city. We're actually more happy for our fans than for ourselves. ... I guess revenge is the word, but it feels good beating the team that knocked you out of the Final Four."
Especially since that team, Kentucky, resides about 80 miles east and had recently owned the Battle of the Bluegrass. Louisville now holds bragging rights, and Smith had help in getting them for the Cardinals.
Sophomore forward Chane Behanan had 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals, including a steal of Archie Goodwin's pass that led to his dunk with 18 seconds remaining that sealed the victory for Louisville (12-1) before a KFC Yum! Center crowd of 22,810.
Peyton Siva added 19 points before fouling out for the Cardinals, who had to withstand several charges. Kentucky trailed 51-34, but outscored the Cardinals 28-14 to get within 65-62 before Smith's two baskets keyed an 8-5 run that gave Louisville some breathing room.
The Cardinals won despite four fouls by Smith and junior center Gorgui Dieng, who returned from a seven-game absence (broken left wrist). Dieng had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
"A great win for us because we had to battle a lot of bad foul trouble," coach Rick Pitino said. "We survived with good plays from Chane and Russ."
Goodwin scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half for Kentucky (8-4), and Ryan Harrow added 17 points.
Poor foul shooting hurt the Wildcats' comeback. They made 11 of 23 (48 percent) from the line, matching their percentage from the field.
Kentucky trailed 77-74 following a rare four-point play, as Goodwin was fouled by Siva as he made a 3-pointer.
Wildcats coach John Calipari didn't call timeout after that, and Goodwin's turnover followed.
"Believe me, I was standing there thinking timeout and didn't call it," Calipari said. "That was the end of the game. I told them this one was on me, and hopefully I'll do a better job."
AROUND THE NATION
• CURRY CARRIES NO. 1 DUKE - At Durham, N.C., Seth Curry scored 12 of his season-high 31 points during a late run that lifted No. 1 Duke (12-0) to a 90-77 win over Santa Clara (11-3).
• NO. 2 WOLVERINES REACH 13-0 - At Ann Arbor, Mich., Trey Burke had 22 points and 10 assists as No. 2 Michigan gained an 88-73 victory over Central Michigan (7-6) to finish its nonconference schedule at 13-0. Freshman Glenn Robinson II scored 20 as the Wolverines continued the second-best start in school history.
• JAYHAWKS HOT FROM ARC - At Lawrence, Kan., Travis Releford scored 19 points, and No. 6 Kansas (11-1) hit 13 of its first 18 3-point attempts in an 89-57 win over American (4-9). Elijah Johnson (Cheyenne) scored 12 for the Jayhawks, hitting 4 of 5 3-point shots.
• BOEHEIM ON KNIGHT'S TAIL - At Syracuse, N.Y., Trevor Cooney scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and No. 9 Syracuse (11-1) gained a 57-35 win over Alcorn State (2-13) to give coach Jim Boeheim his 901st career victory. He is one win behind Bob Knight for second most all time. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has 939.
• HOT-SHOOTING BUCKEYES ROLL - At Columbus, Ohio, Deshaun Thomas scored 17 points, and No. 10 Ohio State (10-2) shot 57 percent from the field in an 87-44 blowout of Chicago State (3-12). The Buckeyes made 33 of 58 field-goal attempts.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
• NO. 14 GATORS TOP AIR FORCE - At Sunrise, Fla., Kenny Boynton made three 3-pointers and scored 14 points, carrying No. 14 Florida (9-2) to a 78-61 victory over Air Force (8-3). Michael Lyons scored 11 for the Falcons.
• RAMS ROUT D-II TEAM - At Fort Collins, Colo., Colton Iverson and Dorian Green each scored 17 points, and Colorado State (11-2) rolled to an 80-55 victory over Adams State (7-1), a Division II school in Alamosa, Colo.
REGIONAL
• COUGARS' HAWS SCORES 42 - At Salt Lake City, sophomore Tyler Haws scored a career-high 42 points, including six 3-pointers, and Brigham Young (10-4) gained a 97-71 win over Virginia Tech (9-4). Haws topped the 40-point game by his father, Marty Haws, for BYU in 1989. Erick Green, the nation's scoring leader, was held to 12 points for Virginia Tech.
