Rozier scores 22 as No. 8 Louisville topples Miami
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Louisville basketball team came to the Miami area late Sunday and spent the past 48 hours or so soaking up the 70-degree weather and the chance to get away for an extra day.
But when the time came for the business aspect of this trip, Louisville delivered again on the road, this time fighting past Miami 63-55 on Tuesday in front of a nearly full BankUnited Center here in picturesque South Florida.
Guess who Louisville asked to close the deal?
Yes, it was one of Louisville's guards, the guys who coach Rick Pitino says he can always count on for big baskets when his team needs them the most. Miami (14-8, 4-5 in the ACC) gave Louisville everything it had in the second half, fighting back within three points on one occasion late in the second half.
Yet every time Miami seemed to have some momentum, Terry Rozier collected the ball, made something happen and kept eighth-ranked Louisville (19-3, 7-2 in the ACC) in the driver's seat.
Rozier (22 points, five rebounds, three steals) looked every bit of the first-round NBA draft pick that Pitino believes he is. The 6-foot-1 sophomore scored 12 second-half points and hit shot after shot to kill rallies. On one sequence, he corralled a steal on one end and turned it into a finger-roll layup on the other. Another time, he came off a pair of screens, squared up and splashed a jumper to end a U of L scoring drought.
His best moment? A post-up catch, a fake with his back to the basket, and then a spin back around to his right, where he calmly dropped in a floater over a defender and drew a foul.
Rozier was everything Louisville could've asked for on Tuesday, and once again, he helped U of L hold off a scrappy opponent on the road.
Harrell's bumps and bruises. Pitino said after the UNC game that weeks like this are tough on teams, because of the back-to-back road trips and the little nicks that the players get along the way. On Tuesday, Montrezl Harrell caught his fair share of them, clattering to the floor on two separate occasions and requiring attention from U of L trainer Fred Hina. The first time, Harrell popped up after a few seconds. The second time, he went to the locker room. Both times he returned.
Bench options? Louisville got some help from Shaqquan Aaron and Mangok Mathiang in the weekend win over UNC, but there was zero bench impact on Tuesday. Quentin Snider and Anton Gill hardly played, and Aaron looked rushed and uncomfortable, with the exception of one late-shot-clock drive. This has been repeated a lot in this space, but here it goes again: If Louisville wants to do much in March, it doesn't need a huge bench effort, but it can't go entirely without a bench, either.
First-half shooting. Louisville's had some hot-shooting halves in ACC play, and Tuesday produced another one. The Cards made 15 of 22 shots in the first half. That's 68.2 percent, and just shy of the best half they've had this season, when they hit 70.8 percent of their shots in the first half at Pitt. They also made 63.6 percent of their shots in the second half at BC.
Jeff Greer writes for The Louisville Courier Journal.