Cardinals turn slow start into anguish for IU

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Eight minutes of anguish. \nThat was the feeling for the IU men's basketball team and their fans after the No. 19 Hoosiers let a lead as large as 16 points dwindle to zero as IU gave into the No. 8 Louisville pressure in the second half. The Hoosiers lost the lead, their shot and, for the second time that week, the game. Louisville won 95-76.\nThe Cardinals (16-1, 6-0 Conference USA) started slow in the first half, but finally got into their game plan, and prevented IU from scoring another field goal past the 7:55 mark in the game. The Hoosiers (14-6, 4-3 Big Ten), who had won the rebounding game in the first half, let up on defense enough to allow Louisville to go on 17-0 run for the 19-point win.\nEight minutes in hell.\n"Louisville turned around in the second half," IU coach Mike Davis said. "They are very good. They attacked us. (Their defense) never stops. Maybe we were able to overcome it in the first half, and in the first five minutes of the second half, but it never stops."\nThe Hoosiers started the game with the same focus they had shown the previous week during their intensity-packed practices and were determined to end the road game losing streak. For the past three road games, IU has found zero success.\nIn the first half, it appeared the drought would soon be over.\nThe Hoosiers had connected on over 50 percent of its field goals and went 4-for-12 from beyond the arc for an eight-point halftime lead.\nDefensively, IU outshined the Cardinals in the first half by grabbing 22 boards compared to 15 in the first half. Like every other aspect of the Hoosiers' game, however, Louisville put an end to IU's rebounding advantage and picked up 24 rebounds in the second half. The Hoosiers added a mere 11 defensive boards to finish the game but didn't pick up a single offensive rebound after seven in the first.\n"It's been happening to us every game," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "It's just letting up on defense. It's the same story again. We can go through any possible excuse."\nThe Cardinals, who enjoyed a school-record crowd of 20,086, had been in the position of coming from behind before. Six times, to be exact. And each time, Louisville has overcome a double-digit lead for the win.\nDespite throwing the full-court press and fast pace at the Hoosiers early in the game, IU was able to execute its own game plan and shut down the Cardinals. The Hoosiers got the ball to the front-court and found shots for their guards. For some unexplainable reason, that game plan was left in the locker room, along with any calmness IU had prior to the break.\nThe Cardinals capitalized on the Hoosiers breakdown to take their first lead in the game with 7:04 left. The Hoosiers, plagued with a panicked attitude, were unable to make a basket as Louisville heated up.\n"We flat-out got after it in the second half," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "I'm really proud of these guys. Their desire to win is tremendous."\nOne of the biggest contributors to IU's loss was the amount of turnovers IU committed. Each Hoosier that took the court had a least one turnover, including a team-high five by Coverdale, who also led the team in scoring with 15. The team finished with 20 turnovers which resulted in 21 points for the Cardinals.\nThe Hoosiers get another chance for a road victory on Wednesday when they travel to Evanston, Ill. to face the Northwestern Wildcats. Regardless of the loss, the players acknowledged that they had more of a fighting attitude than in the previous three games.\n"We just showed ourselves we can play hard and we can be a great team," Coverdale said. "We have to learn to put it together for 40 minutes, and we have to learn to finish games off. We got a big lead, and we let it slip away. Instead of going out to try and win the game, we were trying not to lose it. There's a big difference in that"