No. 6 Louisville rolls over Missouri-Kansas City

C.L. Brown, USA TODAY Sports

Russ Smith scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Cardinals
Louisville scored 25 points off of 16 Missouri-Kansas City turnovers
Louisville's only lapse in the game was allowing a 12-4 run by UMKC in the first half

Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith (2) shoots a three pointer against UKMC Kangaroos guard Estan Tyler (11) during the first half at the KFC Yum! Center. Smith finished with a career-high 31 points.

Russ Smith scored the game's first eight points and the University of Louisville kept rolling as it dismantled Missouri-Kansas City 99-47 Saturday in the KFC Yum! Center.

Smith finished with a career-high 31 points and at times the game's only intrigue was how long could he singlehandedly outscore the Kangaroos. (It lasted nearly 12 minutes until Nate Rogers' 3-pointer gave the Roos a 16-14 lead over Smith.)

The sixth-ranked Cardinals (8-1) only stayed in their full court pressure in the first half and turned the Roos (4-5) over 16 times, scoring 25 points off those turnovers.

Louisville had one stretch in the first half when it seemed disinterested. After jumping out to a 30-9 lead, the Cards allowed the Roos a 12-4 spurt that cut their deficit to 13. It made the Cards get serious again and they ran out to a 53-28 halftime lead.

How bad did it get for the Roos? Even Luke Hancock, noted for his "old man's game" by teammates, sliced through the UMKC defense for a dunk that got the Louisville bench out of their seats.

Brown writes for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

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