On a day the nation's top-ranked team was upset by a mid-major program, the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals nearly followed suit. Instead, Rick Pitino's squad put together a furious rally in the second half to knock off the Memphis Tigers, 87-78, Saturday afternoon.
No. 6 Louisville vs. Memphis final score: 2nd-half rally propels Cardinals to 87-78 win
The Cardinals rallied in the second half to avoid what would have been a big upset on the road.
Stacy Revere
Louisville trailed by seven points at halftime, but outscored the Tigers, 59-43, in the second half. For a team that has really struggled to score the ball at times this season, the Cardinals put on a dominant display in front of a hostile crowd.
The true difference in the game was free-throw shooting. Louisville got to the line an astounding 46 times, and hit 38 of them. Memphis, on the other hand, went to the charity stripe just 20 times, converting 14 of those opportunities.
Chane Behanan led the Cardinals with an efficient 22 points. Peyton Siva and Russ Smith both chipped in 19 points each, with 21 of the 38 points coming via free throws.
Once Louisville really began making its push, Memphis got sloppy with the ball. Josh Pastner's bunch turned it over 24 times, and also committed 33 fouls. Joe Jackson had a big day with 23 points and eight assists, while forward Tarik Black had 21 points off the bench.
Louisville is now 9-1 on the year. Memphis dropped to 6-3 with the loss.
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