NCAA Basketball: Louisville keeps Indiana offense in check in victory

By Andrew Nostvick | Dec 31, 2016

Dec 31, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers coach Tom Crean coaches on the sidelines against the Louisville Cardinals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Louisville took advantage of Indiana’s rough first half to pull away in an NCAA basketball neutral site game.

The rough patch continues for the No. 16 ranked Indiana Hoosiers as they lost their second straight game Saturday afternoon in a 77-62 neutral site game to the No. 6-ranked Louisville Cardinals.

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The first half was a nightmare for the Hoosiers. Indiana trailed by 12 (39-27) at the break, thanks to 14-3 run by the Cardinals to end the half. The Hoosiers made two field goals in the last 10 minutes and zero in the last five. Indiana went 7-for-29 from the field, including 3-for-13 from three, in the first half.

Even worse for Indiana, they had trouble with holding onto the ball, turning it over 11 times in the first half.

Indiana settled down early in the second half though, slowly battling their way back into the game, and getting the lead down to six points (50-44) with more than 12 minutes left.

However, Louisville’s defense stepped up and slowed down the offensive effort by Indiana. That in turn allowed the Cardinals to pick up the pace on offense.

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Donovan Mitchell set the tone for the Cardinals, recording 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. Of Mitchell’s eight field goals, four came from three-point range. Deng Adel, meanwhile, had 17 points for Louisville.

Louisville also pulled away thanks to their ability to get to the free throw line in the second half. The Cardinals went 12-for-14 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, as opposed to 3-for-4 in the first.

The Cardinals, fresh off the loss to Virginia to start the ACC season, mixed up their lineup against Indiana. Anas Mahmoud, Raymond Spalding and V.J. King all got the start Saturday. Of all three, Mahmoud had the best day, scoring 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting with three blocks. Spalding and King each scored two points.

The changes in the lineup by Louisville coach Rick Pitino led to a solid bench effort for the Cardinals, scoring 39 points.

Jaylen Johnson benefited from coming off the bench as he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Johnson had a much better game compared to Virginia on Wednesday when he only scored four points.

As for Indiana, they finished the game shooting 32 percent from the field.

OG Anunoby led Indiana with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. James Blackmon, Jr. had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the double-double.

Indiana did gain the edge in rebounding over Louisville. The Hoosiers grabbed 39 rebounds in the game, including 19 off the offensive glass, compared to 28 total rebounds for the Cardinals. Because of those offensive rebounds, Indiana had 21 second chance points.

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The loss marks the second in a row for Indiana, who fell 87-83 earlier in the week to Nebraska at home. Indiana returns to conference play Tuesday night when they play No. 14-ranked Wisconsin. Louisville returns to conference play Wednesday night when they stay in the state of Indiana to play Notre Dame.

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