PORTLAND — Louisville is quickly turning into Loserville for legendary coach Rick Pitino.
The Cardinals’ new leader suffered the first loss of his Louisville tenure as the Oregon Ducks (4-0 overall) toppled the Cardinals (1-1) 90-63 in the second game of the Papé Jam in Portland on Saturday.
Louisville’s players missed 40 shots as the Ducks picked up their fourth win of the season with tenacious defense and patience on offense.
“The most impressive thing for us was that our stat sheet looked identical to our first five games,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said, referring to Oregon’s two preseason wins and three regular-season blowouts. “It’s encouraging to play that kind of basketball this early on.”
Though the teams were billed as fast, up-and-down offensive squads, the game was won with defense and big men. Oregon established its post game early, as 7-foot-2 center Chris Chistoffersen scored the first four points of the game.
Louisville tied the game with an Erik Brown three-pointer at the 17:28 mark. Oregon answered with a trey from Luke Ridnour and a Robert Johnson lay-in. At the 13:43 mark of the first frame, Ellis Myles converted a free throw for a three-point play, and the Cardinals tied the game at nine. It would be the last time Louisville would come close to Oregon.
Shortly after Myles’ points, Oregon senior Freddie Jones converted a three-point play of his own after sinking a jump shot with three defenders hanging on him. The Ducks took control of the rest of the half and hit the locker room with a 48-30 lead.
Jones ended the game with 20 points and his second-straight Papé Jam Most Valuable Player trophy. The senior from Gresham earned co-MVP honors for his 23-point performance against Massachusetts in the Papé Jam last season.
“It’s special coming home,” Jones said. “But I feel like I have support all throughout the state.”
The Louisville defense stymied Oregon’s guards in the first half, but after the Ducks’ big men opened things up down low, Jones and the other guards had free reign in the second frame. Jones had his first dunk — a reverse jam on a break after he stole the ball — four minutes into the second half. The senior showed his acrobatic skills later when he took an off-target pass from Ridnour and converted it into a reverse lay-in on a fast break.
“We knew that if we just kept going, that later in the game we’d get some easy buckets,” Jones said.
Pitino had few positive things to say about his team, but gushed over the play of the Ducks.
“They’ll be the best offensive team we will face all year,” said Pitino, whose Cardinals play in Conference USA. “They’re fun to watch on film, not fun to play against.”
The coach said he was most impressed with the play of Oregon’s point guard and floor general.
“I love Ridnour,” Pitino said. “He’s got great savvy. He stayed within himself tonight and made everybody else better.”
The Cardinals’ breakdown came when they failed to implement Pitino’s trademark full-court press. Louisville’s players were not fast enough to keep up with Oregon’s guards, and they were too small to defend Oregon’s big men. The result was a far cry from Louisville’s season-opener, when the Cardinals beat South Alabama 92-38 in Kentucky.
“I didn’t pay attention to that game,” Pitino said. “I pay attention to practices, and we had an awful practice (Friday). Somewhere in the middle of all the situations is the truth.”
The Ducks, meanwhile, will head out on their first road trip of the season this week as they travel to U-Mass for a rematch with the Minutemen on Tuesday. Oregon will face Portland in the Rose City on Sunday, and head to Minnesota to play the Golden Gophers on Dec. 10.