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UH can't fly with Cardinals

Coogs' road woes continue at Louisville

Cougar Sports Services

If the Cougars thought the absence of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino would give them an advantage Wednesday, they learned their lesson quickly.

If they thought Louisville could not win without its starting backcourt of Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean, they were sorely mistaken.

UH learned that the Cardinals are faster, stronger and have far superior depth than the Cougars, who lost 64-48 to the red-hot Cardinals at Freedom Hall.

Louisville came into the game at 15-1, having won 15 consecutive games, and 5-0 in Conference USA. The Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.

But they were playing without Pitino, who missed the game because of health reasons. Frank Willard, an assistant to Pitino, coached the Cardinals in his stead. He managed to do just fine.

Dean and Garcia missed the game because of injuries, but their backups were more than capable of handling the Cougars' backcourt.

UH, on the other hand, came into the game having lost six of its last seven games and having been winless on the road this season -- 0-4 in games away from Hofheinz Pavilion. They ended the night 0-5, and have now lost seven of eight.

The beginning of the game showed promise for Houston, as the Cardinals got off to a slow start, missing eight of their first 11 shots and turning over the ball five times early. But UH returned the favor, hitting only four of 10 shots from the field and committing five turnovers in the first nine minutes.

Willard called a time out with nine minutes and 56 seconds left in the opening half and the Cardinals responded with a 23-5 run, using the full-court press to destroy the Cougars' offensive timing.

The Cardinal defense limited Houston to three field goals and forced three turnovers during the final six minutes of the first half.

Houston had a 7-0 run early in the second half to trim Louisville's 41-33. But the Cardinals responded with six consecutive points for a 14-point lead.

Louisville went the next five minutes without a field goal, but the Cougars never took advantage of the ice-cold Cardinals, turning over the ball four times during the final five minutes.

Louisville shot a season-low 34.5 percent (19-of-55) and committed 15 turnovers but made up for the sloppy offensive play by forcing 22 Houston turnovers, which led to 20 points by the Cardinals.

Junior guard Andre Owens led the Cougars with 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting, and senior guard Marcus Oliver chipped in with 13.

Larry O'Bannon and Nate Daniels each scored 17 points for Louisville.

The Cougars will next be in action against South Florida at 6 p.m. Saturday in Tampa, Fla.

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