Wrapping up LouisvilleFirst off, coach Tom Crean had no definitive diagnosis on Dominic James afterward, other than to say he aggravated his sprained right wrist.
The junior point guard went down hard after being fouled on a drive to the hoop with 6 minutes 7 seconds remaining in the game, and was eventually helped off the court clutching his right arm.
James remained on the bench the rest of the way, and Crean said afterward he wasn't sure if he'd be X-rayed or examined in Louisville, or if the team's medical staff would wait until arriving in Milwaukee to get him looked at.
"He couldn't go back in," Crean said. "It's been bothering him, and he landed on it the wrong way."
James was slapping hands with his left hand in the post-game line, so it's clear it was still bothering him a good deal afterwards.
-- Crean said his team's failure to attack was its most costly downfall on offense.
"It was a poor start because you can't settle for mid-range jump shots against very good defense. And that's what they had tonight - very good defense," he said. "Regardless of whether it's man or zone, you're not going to win a lot of games taking free-throw-line jump shots. Attack with the ball. It should have been a game where we were in the mid-30s at the free-throw line because we were attacking. Every time we did attack, even if we didn't score we got something that we wanted or we got the kickout, and that's how we play.
"We settled too much."
-- Crean also left little doubt as to where he needed to see the most improvement -- up front. MU was out-rebounded, 43-30, and was basically manhandled by Louisville's big men.
"Our front line has to play better. It has to play better," he said. "Whether we're sealing, whether we're in the alley, whether we're screening. It's a team loss - players, coaches, you name it. But bottom line is our inside position has got to improve in a hurry in the things that we're capable of doing. It's not like we have someone right now that's capable of putting up 20 points on a given night. But we certainly can't be giving that up to other people as well. And that's where we've got to improve."
-- The lack of quality play inside will undoubtedly be a storyline on Sunday at Connecticut, which is stocked with even bigger and more talented frontline players than Louisville.
"That's where the rebounding's crucial," said Crean. "You can't win getting out-rebounded by 13. What's disgusting with it is there were too many easy rebounds for them. We weren't nearly physical enough, and we have to keep addressing that all the time."
-- Crean was clearly troubled by his team's inability to take advantage of the momentum it had in its favor after Wesley Matthews' three-point play with 17 minutes 52 seconds remaining in the game pulled the Golden Eagles to within 30-26.
Almost immediately thereafter Louisville went on a game-clinching 12-0 run, prompting the question of whether he was disappointed the Golden Eagles' juniors and seniors hadn't stepped up more sufficiently to answer the challenge.
"It's a process, that's all I can say. It's not like they're not trying hard," he said. "It's not like they're not playing hard. We're not staying committed to the game plan, but more importantly, we're not staying committed to what we do. We're a rotating defensive team, we're a team that has to create deflections. We have to create turnovers, we have to distort passing lanes, bust up entries.
"Tonight it really came down to we did not play the ball. And when you don't play the ball, and you've got a guy that can screen and roll like David Padgett can, you've got some problems."
-- It took some scrambling afterward, but it's believed the last time MU didn't hit a three-pointer in a game was on Dec. 23, 2000 against Wisconsin. It was also the first time Louisville had held an opponent without a trey since Jan. 6, 2001 against Saint Louis.
-- One game after scoring 92 points and dishing out 23 assists against Notre Dame, MU scored a season-low 51 points and dished out a season-low two assists against Louisville.
-- Jerel McNeal had a fabulous offensive stretch midway through the second half, and finished with 14 points. His turnover problems continue, though; he had seven against the Cardinals. His collegiate high is eight, which he had in his first-ever game at MU.
-- James finished just 1 for 5 from the field, and added five rebounds, an assist and a steal before he aggravated his wrist injury.
-- Dan Fitzgerald has scored just two points in his last two games. The Golden Eagles need him to step it up, especially heading into Connecticut.
-- Once again, Trend Blackledge had some productive first-half minutes in relief of Barro and Dwight Burke, scoring four points, grabbing two rebounds and blocking a shot in seven minutes.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/01/17/wrapping-up-louisville.aspx
