University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
#4 Louisville
Tigers Topple No. 4 Louisville, 80-73
Feb 19, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb 19, 2003
By CHRIS DUNCAN
AP Sports Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Louisville coach Rick Pitino went into Wednesday night's game with Memphis worried about the Tigers' 3-point shooting.
He should have been more concerned about their rebounding.
Antonio Burks scored 16 points and the Tigers outrebounded No. 4 Louisville 47-31 in an 80-73 victory.
Chris Massie had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Earl Barron also had 11 rebounds for the Tigers (17-5, 8-3 Conference USA), who won their sixth straight game.
"They just took us to the woodshed on the glass," Pitino said. "They deserved the victory. They beat the hell out of us."
Reece Gaines scored 19 points on 5-of-18 shooting for the Cardinals (19-3, 9-2), who lost at home for the first time in 12 games this season. Gaines went 1-of-9 from 3-point range and the Cardinals, the best 3-point shooting team in Conference USA, went 5-for-23 (22 percent).
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It was a huge win.
Billy Richmond
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"We shot way too many 3s," said Gaines, who hit a game-winning 3-pointer in a victory at Marquette on Saturday. "I shot too many 3s that didn't go in. I thought they'd go in, but they didn't."
Five players fouled out of the tightly called game which had 61 fouls called.
"Both teams fought like crazy," Memphis coach John Calipari said.
Massie fell awkwardly with 14:08 left in the game. He returned later, but Calipari said he played with a broken nose.
Louisville forward Ellis Myles left in the second half with a shoulder injury, but also returned for the final minutes.
The Tigers led 74-67 with 50 seconds left, when John Grice stepped to the free throw line. He made the first, then made a throat-slashing gesture, drawing a technical foul.
Calipari screamed at Grice, while Simeon Naydenov hit the free throws for Louisville. Gaines added another one seven seconds later to draw Louisville within five.
"He doesn't understand when you do that throat thing, you don't look classy," Calipari said of Grice's gaffe.
Burks missed a layup, Myles rebounded and Erik Brown made two free throws with 35 seconds left to cut the lead to three.
Louisville got no closer. The Tigers, the second-worst free throw shooting team in the conference, went 5-of-6 from the line over the final 20 seconds, including two by Grice.
"It was a huge win," said Memphis guard Billy Richmond, the only Tiger to foul out. "Everybody should be proud of us. We took away pretty much everything they they wanted to do. We wanted to be the aggressor."
 Coach John Calipari shows his excitement during the closing moments of his team's 80-73 upset of Louisville. |
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The Tigers rode an early 10-0 run to a 13-7 lead. They built the first-half lead to seven and could have led by more, but missed eight of their first nine free throws.
Memphis outrebounded Louisville 19-12 and forced 10 turnovers in the opening half, but led only 35-31.
The teams were tied at 59-59, but Grice made two free throws and Barron rebounded a miss by Myles and found Burks downcourt for a breakaway layup for a 63-59 lead.
The 7-foot Barron, who missed the last four games with a sprained ankle, hit two free throws with 3:58 remaining to give Memphis a 67-61 lead.
Louisville freshman Francisco Garcia made two free throws with 3:41 left, but Jeremy Hunt scored on a drive and drew a fifth foul on 6-foot-10 Louisville center Marvin Stone with 3:10 remaining.
While Pitino mulled a replacement for Stone, Calipari walked onto the court and embraced Hunt.
The Cardinals twice cut the Memphis lead to four, but the Tigers always answered. Rodney Carney made two free throws with 1:22 left and Burks added two more with 1:02 to go to push the lead to eight.
The Cardinals hadn't lost a home game since Temple beat them 65-62 in the second round of last season's NIT.
"They just wanted it more than we did. We played terrible," said Stone, who had 10 points and two rebounds. "There's no excuse for playing the way we did."
The Tigers have settled for the NIT the past two seasons, but Pitino said they earned their way into the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night.
"There is no more bubble for them," Pitino said.
The Cardinals were outrebounded for the third time in five games.
"We were expecting them to be a good team, but we've got to concentrate more on rebounding. All of us," said Garcia, who had 17 points and two rebounds. "We didn't play like ourselves tonight."
