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Scarlet Knights fight to make it a close game until Cardinals pull away at end, 76-60
BY KYLE FRANKO
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The road can be a cruel, cruel place.
Fred Hill knows and Rutgers know this all too well. A 76-60 defeat Saturday afternoon at Louisville only reiterated it.
The Scarlet Knights have lost six of their seven true road games by double-digits — the other a nine-point loss to South Florida where Rutgers trailed by 17 with five minutes left — and have been largely non-competitive in all of them.
Give Rutgers some credit. It had won two straight at home prior to the trip to Louisville and when the Cardinals ran out to a 17-point first half lead it didn't fold. The Scarlet Knights cut into that lead, pulling within four early in the second half.
Louisville's Jerry Smith answered with a three pointer and Rutgers never got any closer. But, then again, that's how things work out on the road and when you lose by an average of 19.1 points per game away for home.
"The road is always difficult and again this isn't a typical 16-point loss," said Hill said. "It was 45-40 - it's a shot here and a shot there. You've got to foul a little at the end, you've got to press and gamble to get a layup. This is one of those where you're in the game right until the end battling on the road.
"I think it's a step forward for our guys on the road, because in some games it's been over before it started. Again, 17 down, we never quit and we cut it to 11 at the half."
If there is silver lining, that's it. Hill's right in saying his team never quit. This was probably its best performance on the road this season.
BOXSCORE: Louisville 76, Rutgers
Just look at the box score. The Scarlet Knights (11-12, 2-9) attempted 10 more field goals, had five fewer turnovers and came up with nine steals. Not even the eye test Saturday afternoon would have showed that Louisville was nearly 20 points better.
Dan Miller threw down four ferocious dunks as he and Jonathan Mitchell both scored 17 points. Mike Rosario followed up his career-night with just 13 points but was unlucky to see several of his shots go in and out.
"We felt like we had a chance," Miller said. "We were right there. We just missed a couple opportunities where we had a chance to get back in the game."
Rick Pitino even called this a trap game for his team crediting Rutgers afterwards for keeping it close.
"Going in this was our trap game," the Louisville head coach said. "There's always a [trap] game mentally and we talked about it all week. The coaches said we had some wars that have taken a lot out of us and this is our game that was very similar to what can happen in the Big East. You have to come through that trap and play good enough defense to get a ‘W' and get out."
This season is at a point where moral victories and pats on the back from future Hall of Famers aren't going to make anybody feel any better. The bottom line, fans don't like 16-point losses even if it flatters the opponent a little bit.
But that's been life on the road for Rutgers — a cold, dark road with the light no where in sight.
"Anytime you play on the road you know it's going to be a challenge," Mitchell said. "Tonight Louisville came out and they were the better team. They scored more points tonight."
