Quick Reaction: Louisville Bullies Indiana, 94-74

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the Louisville Cardinals beat the Indiana Hoosiers, 94-74. With the win, the Cardinals kept their undefeated record alive, pushing it to 9-0.

Here are some quick reactions to what went on in those 40 minutes.

Indiana Hoosiers

Scoring

The one thing I said before the season about the Hoosiers is that they are going to be able to score, and score a lot. So far, they have lived up to the bill. They are currently fourth overall in total points (781) through the opening nine games of the season, and Tom Crean’s “check ’em if you got ’em” offense is working like a charm. The Yogi Ferrell, Robert Johnson and James Blackmon Jr. backcourt has been fantastic. The trio are combining for 46.5 points per game and have shot a total of 53-for-116 from three-point land — an amazing 45.6% from deep.

Rebounding

The lack of interior height for the Hoosiers is and will be their Achilles heel all season. Against the Cardinals, they grabbed 24 defensive rebounds and a total of 34 rebounds. The Cardinals grabbed 26…offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers couldn’t keep anyone off the boards. Chris Jones and Terry Rozier, the starting backcourt for the Cardinals, had nine and six rebounds respectively. Granted, the Cardinals are one of the better rebounding teams in the country, but so far the Hoosiers have been out-rebounded in five of their nine games. It’s a worrying sign.

Oh, Stanford, where art thou?

Stanford Robinson, where in the world are you? The sophomore is logging only 10 minutes per game and scoring only three points per contest. Coming into the season, it seemed like the Hoosiers coaching staff had high hopes for the second year player. It’s still early, so maybe something will click for him, but that’s not going to happen while he’s turning the ball over five times in nine minutes like he did on Tuesday.

Louisville Cardinals

Dunking machine

Montrezl Harrell is amazing at dunking. Water is wet. Grass is green. Montrezl had seven nasty dunks against the Hoosiers, and an eighth that was called back due to a phantom charge call. He can get his dunks off in traffic, put-backs and alley-oops. However, none are better than when he silently roams the baseline, just waiting to get the ball. He is one of the best I’ve seen that has that type of skill since Tyrus Thomas back in 2005-2006.

The offense is coming

As much as they are known for their defense, the Cardinals are showing that they can score at a high clip when they need to. Every night they could easily have three or four guys that can get into double figures. Chris Jones, Terry Rozier and Wayne Blackshear can all get hot from three — as they showed on Tuesday, combining for eight made three-pointers.

Dynamic duo

Speaking of Terry Rozier and Chris Jones, they might just be the best and fastest backcourt in college basketball this year. The two combined for 50 points and 15 rebounds against the Hoosiers, and I’m not sure what other backcourt in America can do that. Rozier was touted as one of the best prospects heading into this season, and he is showing he is capable of running a team.