|
High-speed Game Not a Problem for Pitino By
JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI (AP) � With the score accelerating at an NBA
pace, Louisville coach Rick Pitino was reminded of something he learned long
ago about college tournament games in March.
They're often decided by a player having a big game � like
the one Bryant Northern and Reece Gaines had Wednesday.
Gaines had 30 points and 10 assists, and Northern scored a
career-high 25 and led a 3-point shooting binge that swept Louisville to a
110-86 victory over Texas Christian in the first round of the Conference USA
tournament.
It was Louisville's highest point total of the season.
Louisville (18-11) took advantage of the conference's worst
defense, hitting 15 of 30 3-pointers as it made another breakthrough in
Pitino's first season.
The Cardinals will play No. 13 Marquette (24-5) in the
quarterfinals Thursday.
The Cardinals went 12-19 last season under Denny Crum and
lost in the first round of the conference tournament. Pitino, who led
Kentucky to the 1996 NCAA championship, is 25-6 in conference tournaments,
where most teams like to play it conservative.
Not Pitino, who let his team shoot away.
``There are so many buzzer-beaters because everybody plays
it close to the vest,'' he said. ``This time of the year is the players'
time. I have confidence in them. They know they have the freedom.''
Gaines went 11-of-16 from the field, while Northern led the
spurt that left TCU too far behind. Northern missed only one of his nine
shots and was 6-of-7 on 3-point attempts.
``I was just at the right place at the right time. I've
always shot with confidence,'' Northern said.
Coach Billy Tubbs sat on the scorer's table, crossed his
legs and grimaced as TCU (16-15) struggled to keep up. He and leading scorer
Junior Blount (31 points) got technical fouls as the frustration mounted in
the second half.
Tubbs announced before the season that this would be his
last at TCU, where he went 156-95 with one NCAA tournament appearance.
Overall, Tubbs is 595-297 in 28 seasons at Southwestern Texas, Lamar and
Oklahoma and TCU.
Tubbs isn't sure whether he'll retire from coaching or go
somewhere else.
``There's a chance, but it's very, very slim,'' he said. ``I
can't put a percentage on it, but I'm not looking for a job and I don't know
if I will.''
TCU's frenetic style kept it close at the outset � there
were four ties and eight lead changes in the first nine minutes. When TCU
pulled in its defense to keep Louisville away from the basket, the Cardinals
pulled away.
The Cardinals ran off four consecutive 3-pointers, the last
two by Northern, during a 12-3 run that made it 43-30. Gaines had 20 points
in Louisville's highest-scoring half of the season, which ended with a 56-43
lead.
Northern hit five of his first six shots in the second half
� three of them 3-pointers � for a 69-47 lead.
The same thing happened during Louisville's 93-85 win over
the Horned Frogs on Jan. 12, when the Cardinals shot a school-record 40
3-pointers and made 11 of them.
The run-and-gun pace was typical for TCU, which led the
conference in scoring (81.2-point average) and was last in defense (83.4
allowed).
Louisville reached the 100-point mark for the first time
this season when Ellis Myles hit two free throws with 4:30 to go, making it
101-78.
Copyright 2001
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:50:08 AM
|
