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No. 5 Louisville struggles with fundamentals in upset loss to JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova

Villanova Louisville

Five players scored in double figures for Villanova as the unranked Wildcats upset No. 5 Louisville, 73-64, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn.

JayVaughn Pinkston brought the interior presence that Villanova needed against the Louisville frontcourt, tallying 13 points and seven rebounds. He worked through foul trouble in the second half and managed to stay on the floor.

Trailing by two points at halftime, Louisville fought back in the second half to gain the lead and push it to six points, 52-46, with 8:28 to play.

But the lack of fundamental discipline began to eat away at Louisville. Villanova went on a 7-0 run over the next four minutes. In that time span, Louisville missed four free throws and turned the ball over twice.

The Cardinals forced Villanova into foul trouble and got to the line Tuesday night, but were unable to convert.

While Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu and Achraf Yacoubou fouled out and Pinkston struggled with foul trouble, Louisville shot just 12-of-24 from the line for 50 percent.

Coach Rick Pitino’s team came into Tuesday’s game shooting 71 percent as a team from the free throw stripe.

To add to that struggle, Louisville turned the ball over 17 times, up from their team average of 12 on the year. The veteran backcourt of Peyton Siva and Russ Smith combined for eight of those turnovers.

For more analysis, check out the Instant Replay from CSNPhilly.com.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_