BOSTON -- Rick Pitino is taking a page from the Bill Belichick playbook as his Louisville players battle the injury bug.
Playing without second-leading scorer Quentin Snider and Tony Hicks among others, the Cardinals are successfully employing the New England Patriots coach's "next man up" mantra.
Deng Adel and Donovan Mitchell answered the call on Saturday, scoring 19 points a piece to lead No. 6 Louisville to a 90-67 rout of Boston College at Conte Forum.
"Sometimes you get surprised in this game and we're out four scholarships right now -- our point guard (Snider) and our backup point (Hicks) -- and we're playing great basketball," Cardinals coach Pitino said.
"It's by far the best offense we've had the last three weeks, and it really has to do with passing, sharing the ball. When we do that, we get great shots."
Pitino will forever be remembered in Boston for his disastrous tenure as the Celtics' coach from 1997 until 2001, when he resigned in the middle of the season.
But he will still root for the hometown team and plans to watch the Patriots battle the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl on Sunday, one day before Louisville's important matchup at No. 9 Virginia.
"We'll practice, get on a plane (to Virginia) and watch the Patriots win," Pitino said. "I love Bill Belichick, so I'm hoping."
Adel's 19 points were a career high. He made his first seven shots and has scored in double figures in five straight games and 15 of the Cardinals' 23 games.
"Regardless of who's hurt and who's not hurt, coach has confidence in me," Adel said.
Mangok Mathiang added 16 points for Louisville (19-4, 7-3 in the ACC), which won its third consecutive game after a 73-68 loss at No. 10 Florida State on Jan. 21.
The Cardinals shot a blistering 57.6 percent (34 for 59) from the field, including 63.3 percent (19 for 30) in the second half.
"It's good for our confidence," Adel said of Louisville's hot shooting.
Ky Bowman scored 18 points, Jerome Robinson had 13 and Jordan Chatman added 10 points as Boston College (9-15, 2-9) lost its seventh in a row.
The Eagles' only win in their last 10 games came against North Carolina State on Jan. 11.
"The bottom line is our guys learned a valuable lesson today," BC coach Jim Christian said. "The lesson is how hard you have to play to beat a good team."
Robinson didn't start the second half after throwing up during halftime. Christian said Robinson was sick, but hadn't consulted with a doctor on an official diagnosis.
Louisville led 39-30 at halftime and Bowman's layup with 18:54 to go brought Boston College to within 42-34. Anas Mahmoud answered with a jumper on the other end, and the Cardinals led by double digits for the rest of the outing.
Mathiang's layup with 2:02 to play gave Louisville its biggest lead at 29.
"We didn't play nearly hard enough to compete with Louisville," Christian said.
Adel slammed home an alley-oop and hit a 3-pointer to spark Louisville's 10-0 game-opening run. Nik Popovic's 3-pointer with 11:39 to play in the first half drew the Eagles within 13-9.
The Cardinals stretched their lead to as many as 15 points in the half before allowing Boston College to cut it to single digits in the closing minutes.
Connar Tava's layup with 1:07 left before intermission brought the Eagles to within 34-30, but Louisville pushed the lead back up to nine entering halftime.
"Defense was very good in the first half, second half it was OK -- we traded a lot of buckets," Pitino said. "Guys are playing great. It's a big treat to coach these guys."
NOTES:
-- Louisville is 5-3 all-time against Boston College.
-- Cardinals G Quentin Snider (strained hip flexor) missed his fifth straight game. The Cardinals' second-leading scorer shot on the court before the game for the first time since sustaining the injury on Jan. 14 against Duke, but is expected to miss another game. "It's a day-to-day thing," Louisville coach Rick Pitino told The Courier-Journal on Friday. "But he is shooting and moving." Snider could return next Saturday against Miami.
-- G Tony Hicks (broken bone in right hand) was sidelined for his second straight game. He sustained the injury on Jan. 24 at Pittsburgh.
-- Courtney Ramey, a four-star (247 Sports) point guard from St. Louis, Mo., verbally committed to Louisville on Friday.
-- Boston College honored its 2016 football team on the court during a first-half timeout. The Eagles (7-6) beat Maryland 36-30 in the Quick Lane Bowl.
-- Former Louisville G Terry Rozier, now with the Boston Celtics, sat courtside with Celtics star Isaiah Thomas.
-- Boston College hosts Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
