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Louisville basketball’s top 5 March performances of the last decade

By Taron Long

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 08: Luke Hancock #11 (C) of the Louisville Cardinals is interviewed by CBS announcer Jim Nantz as he celebrates with teammates after they won 82-76 against the Michigan Wolverinesduring the 2013 NCAA Men's Final Four Championship at the Georgia Dome on April 8, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 08: Luke Hancock #11 (C) of the Louisville Cardinals is interviewed by CBS announcer Jim Nantz as he celebrates with teammates after they won 82-76 against the Michigan Wolverinesduring the 2013 NCAA Men's Final Four Championship at the Georgia Dome on April 8, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 14: Russ Smith #2 of the Louisville Cardinals jumps for a rebound against Danrad Knowles #0 of the Houston Cougars during the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament at FedExForum on March 14, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 14: Russ Smith #2 of the Louisville Cardinals jumps for a rebound against Danrad Knowles #0 of the Houston Cougars during the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament at FedExForum on March 14, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

March 14th, 2014: Russ Smith torches Houston for 42 points in AAC Tournament

If the first minute of the game was an indication of things to come, Houston, in fact, had a problem (insert Tom Hanks gif).

That was bad, but Russ Smith wasn’t against the Cougars, as two easy buckets in the first 60 seconds set the tone for a career-high 42 points on an efficient 14/22 shooting (5/7 from deep). The game was pretty much in hand with the Cards holding a 12-point lead just 10 minutes in, and the zestful guard had free reign to do what he does best: get buckets.

“You can’t describe Russ’ game. That’s Russdiculous,” former MOP Luke Hancock said after the win over Houston. “The moves he makes, and the way he gets to the places he does on the floor, the shots he gets for himself and for his teammates is unbelievable.”

The look on Rick’s face as he watches his star player launch shots left and right in hopes to hit the 40-point mark while his team is up by 25 points perfectly embodies the two’s relationship.

For any Office fans reading this, it reminded me a lot of the dynamic between Jan Levinson and Michael Scott (I’ll let you decide who’s Rick and who’s Russ). Regardless, the 42-point performance ranks highly on the resume of the former First-Team AP All-American.

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