Both teams made 13 field goals, but Louisville took 36 shots to JSU’s 22. Senior Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points and grabed five rebounds in the first round victory.
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The Louisville Cardinals won their first-round game over Jacksonville State, without help from any spies.
CBS’ Wolfson said via Twitter she found Pitino’s assertion humorous, though the coach was not joking, according to a Louisville spokesman.
“I used to go to MI games like, ‘Man, I want to play here”.
Michigan-Louisville will be a tale of a great offensive team facing a great defensive team.
MI head coach John Beilein isn’t falling for it … specifically, Louisville coach Rick Pitino’s comments comparing the Wolverines to the Golden State Warriors.
For Michigan, this will be a juicy opportunity to get revenge for the championship game loss in 2013, but it’s also just another chance to keep proving themselves.
“I’m not really anxious about the story behind the game”, Johnson said.
He also said this weekend that John Beilein was “the toughest guy to prepare for of any coach I’ve ever gone against”. “Just to be able to play, hopefully two games at home, that is huge”.
On paper, Louisville’s statistical resume appears to match the stereotype of a Rick Pitino coached team.
“I just got on my hands and knees and begged him”. None are explosive scorers but each knows his role: Ray Spalding as a rebounder (5.7 per game), VJ King and Ryan McMahon as occasional three-point shooters and Anas Mahmoud as a shot blocker. Derrick Walton is playing the best basketball of his career and Irvin has really come on after struggling for a long stretch of the season. Junior Malcolm Drumwright finished with 12 points and six assists.
“We represented our university, our city and our community in a class manner”, Jacksonville State coach and former Western Kentucky coach Ray Harper said. They did just that in their opening round tilt vs. Jacksonville State. The Wolverines held off Oklahoma State with a thrilling 92-91 win.
“We have a scheme that we think will be successful”, Rick Pitino said, “but you just don’t know due to their shooting ability”.
“When they shoot 50 percent, go 10-for-19 from the 3 and you still win by 15, you have to take it”, Pitino said.
Joe White: On Thursday, Michigan basketball answered my biggest question, which was “did they have anything left in the tank?” “We knew they were coming”. Louisville rallied a 20-point first half deficit to force the overtime against Beilein when he was still with West Virginia.
“My teammates kept finding me; I kept shooting”, Giga said. The Cardinals create a lot of their offense through turning the ball over, so MI can force Louisville to create more in the half court.
Johnson said the week that he was ready to make his college decision then-UM assistant Bacari Alexander came to watch him play in an open gym and offered a scholarship.
Four minutes into the half, the Cardinals used a 6-0 run to push their lead to 46-33. Three minutes later, Snider’s 3 increased the Louisville advantage to 55-38. His third trey, from the top of the key, cut Louisville’s lead to 61-52 with 6:53 to play.
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However, now MI will be dealing with a complete change in pace and style in Louisville.
