LOUISVILLE – Last year the Big East champions and No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament opened their season with a seven-point exhibition win over Georgetown College.
What would this year’s edition of the Louisville Cardinals – minus NBA first-round draft picks Terrence Williams and Earl Clark – do?
How about beat Georgetown by 12?
That’s what happened Wednesday when U of L defeated the Tigers 80-68 in an exhibition at Freedom Hall, but the victory was far from easy.
Georgetown, which opened its season Oct. 22 with a 115-47 win over Temple Baptist, held a four-point lead at halftime against the Cardinals.
None of that was a surprise to Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
“We had big-time jitters,” Pitino said. “Our players got very nervous. I didn’t think we’d win this game. When you play Georgetown they’re very, very physical. They play the way the Big East plays, except the Big East has more size.
“Every game (with Georgetown) is a great battle,” he added, “and that’s exactly what we wanted. When you win by 50, 60 points it doesn’t do you any good.”
There was no chance of that happening Wednesday.
The Cardinals had three new starters in their lineup – senior guard Edgar Sosa, who played behind senior Jerry Smith and now-graduated Andre McGee last year, and forwards Jared Swopshire, a sophomore, and senior Reginald Delk.
They joined Smith at guard and sophomore Samardo Samuels at center.
And other than Samuels, they all struggled in the first half.
Louisville shot 32 percent from the field, just 53 percent from the foul line, and had eight assists and 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Samuels was the one bright spot, shooting 5-for-8 and scoring 11 points in the first half.
Georgetown’s numbers weren’t much better in the first half, except the Tigers shot 44 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the line.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, their numbers stayed pretty much the same in the second half while the Cardinals’ improved.
“In other seasons we were ready for opening night,” Pitino said, “but we weren’t ready tonight. We experimented with playing time, and we did a much better job in the second half.
“We’re a very good shooting team, but we were very nervous,” he added. “I think our offense is going to be very good. Last year at this time we’d put seven or eight sets in, and this year it’s two. We’re taking it very slow because we’re so young.”
Georgetown’s last lead came on a layup by Vic Moses with 10 minutes left in the game. That put the Tigers up 53-51, but over the next 2½ minutes Louisville scored six straight points, all on layups, for a 57-53 lead.
Over the next 5½ minutes Louisville went on a 19-7 run for a 76-60 lead with two minutes left.
“We couldn’t stop their run,” Georgetown coach Happy Osborne said. “We were 22 for 41 from the foul line. We make our foul shots and we’re right there.”
Louisville’s athleticism and size wore down the Tigers, who shot 32 percent from the field in the second half and were 9 for 23 from the line.
The two teams were tied in rebounding at halftime, but Louisville outrebounded Georgetown 50-38 for the game with Samuels grabbing 11 boards and Swopshire with 10.
Samuels finished with 20 points, Sosa had 12, and sophomore Kyle Kuric came off the bench to score 15 on 6-for-11 shooting.
Freshman point guard Peyton Siva, a McDonald’s All-American, came off the bench and electrified the crowd with his eight assists. He also had six steals and six points, but he finished with a game-high seven turnovers. Louisville had 21 assists and 21 turnovers for the game.
“He’s turning the ball over too much, but you have to give him his turnovers,” Pitino said of Siva. “He plays so hard and is so aggressive you have to give him his due. You can’t try to harness him. You have to let him learn from his mistakes, and he’ll be OK.
“He’s going to be a great player, one of the best I’ve coached at that position.”
Louisville opens the regular season Nov. 17 against Arkansas at the Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis.