Louisville Cardinals romp to a 54-27 win over Arkansas State
Red Wolves: NCAA Basketball
Kyle Kuric added a game-high 12 to lead Louisville Cardinals in a 54-27 victory over Arkansas State Red Wolves in the opener of a 10-game home stand on November 22, 2011 at the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville. It was the lowest-scoring
contest for the Arkansas State since 1986.
The Cardinals' defensive effort has been outstanding this season as they did not allow more than 54 points to anyone this season.
"I think we are playing awesome defence. We have been in every game," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "We did a lot of good things defensively. That sticks out to me. Any time you play great defence you have a chance to win."
Gorgui Dieng chipped in 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked four shots and stole the ball twice for the short-handed Cardinals, who last held a team to fewer than 27 points in 1947. Louisville played the game without guard
Peyton Siva who missed second consecutive game of this season with a severely sprained ankle.
Not even a single Arkansas player reached double figures. Marcus Hooten was the top scorer for the Red Wolves with just seven points while Brandon Peterson scored 10 rebounds and six points in the loss. Additionally, the Red Wolves
shot just 24.4 percent (10 for 41) from the field and committed 22 turnovers for second consecutive game.
"I have coached a long time and all kinds of teams," said Red Wolves coach John Brady, who took the Louisiana State Tigers basketball team to the Final Four in 2006. "I don't think I have ever had a team so anaemic offensively.”
Arkansas State had the early momentum, jumping out to a 7-3 lead with five consecutive points at the start. However, the Cardinals turned up their defensive pressure with a 16-0 spurt and went ahead by 19-7. The Red Wolves punctuated
the next five points of the first half in a bid to mount a comeback but Kyle Kuric produced a three point play to counter it and push Cardinal’s lead to 22-12 at halftime.
Louisville widened their lead to 23 points, 39-16, within the first nine minutes of the second half and were never threatened after that.
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