BACON'S BITS: Cards Ground Eagles, 86-53

By Mark Bacon

On Wednesday, December 9, my colleague at Main Event Sports Radio, Raashaan Myer posted a piece on our blog, “U of L Basketball showing early Final Four DNA.” Raashaan is not only a great friend, but an astute observer of basketball. Mr. Myer has been saying since the summer Louisville is a very special team.

I’m a believer. As guard Trey Lewis has stated, there is no limit to what the team can achieve. Final Four? Believe it.

• The Cardinals' wins have have all been by a least 20 points; their one loss? By four-points at number one ranked Michigan State. Yesterday, Louisville began slowly in an 86-53 rout of Eastern Michigan, but once they got going, the EMU Eagles could do nothing about it.

• U of L garnered a season high 20 assists on 31 made field goals. They also had 7 blocks and 11 steals, hit 54% from the field, 36% from beyond the arc, and shot 16/21 from the free throw line: 76%. 

• A pair of freshmen led the way, Donovan Mitchell and Raymond Spalding, who is quickly becoming my favorite Cardinal.

• Mitchell, a 6-3 freshman, showed more than the aerial artistry one can see on YouTube from his prep days. He handed out seven assists, grabbed six rebounds and two steals. He was on the deck, literally, maybe a half-dozen times in 28 solid minutes to help the Cards to another shellacking of an inferior opponent.

• Mitchell scored just five points, going 2 of 7 from the field, but matched starting PG Quentin Snider for playing time at the point guard spot, which tells something about what Coach Pitino thinks of his recent efforts.

• Pitino said “He had a practice the other day, we had a pro scout in and he said, ‘Boy, I didn’t realize he (Mitchell) was that good.’ He just had an unbelievable practice that day, and actually the last week of practice he’s been great. He’s getting more comfortable handling the basketball, he’s improved his shot immensely, he’s improved his passing.”

• Raymond Spalding, the 6-foot-10 freshman from Louisville’s Trinity HS, had a fantastic first half, snapping U of L out of its early-game funk. Spalding had six points (3-3 FG), two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. That stat line doesn't fully tell the story of his influence on the game. He blocked one shot into the stands. His steal off Eastern Michigan's inbound pass, which he immediately dunked, brought the house down. Another nice catch on a pass from Donovan Mitchell was slammed home, too. Another sterling performance from the Louisville native. Spalding finished with 11 points. 

• Pitino said after the game, “Ray is (an). . . outstanding basketball player. I think Louisville fans are going to see one of the best forwards in quite some time here. We’ve had some great ones with Scooter and Rodney (McCray), and going back before that. We’e had some terrific basketball players, but this young man has got a great career ahead of him.”

• Even Chinanu Onuaku, the 6-10 center, ended his run of foul-laden performances. He went 6 for 10 from the field, with 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes. He looked confident in the post, making nice moves to get his shot off in traffic. When Onuaku is dialed into the game, he can be a serious difference-maker. He was on Saturday.

• The Cardinals put five players into double figures. After a scoreless first half, Lee had 16 in the second to lead the Louisville. Quentin Snider added 13, Chinanu Onuaku 12, and Trey Lewis had 11.

• Louisville's Championship DNA is for real.

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