Tag Archives: Louisville

No. 35: Louisville

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Charlie Strong’s not working wonders; not exactly, at least. The talent he’s brought into Louisville over the last two years might be young, but it’s certainly not lacking in ability: his most recent recruiting haul, from February, was studded with high-profile additions from Florida, where Strong has used his Gainesville ties to great effect. Regardless of the talent level, however, winning games in a B.C.S. conference, whether or not it’s the Big East, is no easy feat. The Cardinals won games last fall with a true freshman playing quarterback. With three freshmen leading the way at receiver. With two freshmen starting on the defensive line. With two freshmen starting in the secondary. So perhaps it’s not surprising to see that Louisville played its best football in October and November, a statement the team’s won-loss record backs up: 2-4 heading into mid-October, the Cardinals closed the regular season with five wins in six games. That this youth will be a year wiser come September, as well as the fact that Strong is still around — and that West Virginia is not — explains why most believe that Louisville will be the Big East’s best team in 2012.

Conference
Big East

Location
Louisville

Nickname
Cardinals

Returning starters
tk (tk offense, tk defense)

Last year’s ranking
No. 79

2011 record
(7-6, 5-2)

Last year’s
re-ranking
No. 49

2012 schedule

Sept. 2
Kentucky
Sept. 8
Missouri St.
Sept. 15
U.N.C.
Sept. 22
at F.I.U.
Sept. 29
at Southern Miss.
Oct. 13
at Pittsburgh
Oct. 20
U.S.F.
Oct. 26
Cincinnati
Nov. 3
Temple
Nov. 10
at Syracuse
Nov. 24
UConn
Nov. 29
at Rutgers

Last year’s prediction

Most are predicting a slight decline in the win column for Louisville in 2011, and while I’d love to play the contrarian, thanks to my respect for what Charlie Strong brings to the table, I have to get in line and follow suit. The major issue is really across the board, where U.L. lacks satisfactory depth. One thing a solid first year does do is raise expectations heading into year two; you’d never trade away the feel-good nature of a year ago, but the seven-win finish does set up the premise that the climb will continue with each passing year. I don’t see the progression continuing in the win column, but I do see continued progression in all facets not calculated in the standings. Louisville has a very nice future under Strong, whether this year finds the Cardinals at 5-7 or otherwise.

2011 recap

In a nutshell All seven-win seasons aren’t created equal, as Louisville illustrated in 2011. The Cardinals weren’t the best team in the Big East, nor the most experienced, and the latter showed during their foul start in September and early October. So how does the team that lost to Florida International and Marshall come within 60 minutes of the Orange Bowl? With coaching, terrific coaching, and with young talent that played beyond its years. The trick in 2012 will be putting everything together — coaching, offense and defense. Considering the early obstacles and the team’s inherent weaknesses, the 7-6 finish marks another impressive season for Strong and his staff.

High point A 38-35 win at West Virginia on the first Saturday of November. There wouldn’t be a finer victory all year, though the Cardinals did beat Rutgers, 16-14, in October.

Low point The loss to Cincinnati, which at the time was merely the third loss in a row for Louisville but was one that eventually decided the Big East championship.

Tidbit So just how young was Louisville last year? The Cardinals played 11 true freshmen over the season’s first six games, which was one more than Strong had used in all of 2010. In all, each of the 11 true freshmen made at least one start; 22 different players – freshmen or otherwise, primarily freshmen and sophomores – made their first career start; and 26 players, just a touch less than a quarter of Louisville’s roster, made their first college appearance. It wasn’t an exaggeration: Louisville was very, very young.

Tidbit (comebacks edition) The Cardinals have not played well from behind under Strong, partially as a result of the team’s so-so passing game over the last two years. Since 2010, Louisville is 2-7 when trailing at halftime and 1-9 when trailing after three quarters. Conversely, U.L. is 9-4 when leading at halftime and 12-4 when ahead heading into the fourth quarter. One positive development seen last season was the Cardinals’ ability to win close games; after going 1-4 in games decided by a touchdown or less in 2010, U.L. went 2-4 in such games a year ago.

Former players in the N.F.L.

23 K David Akers (San Francisco), TE Gary Barnidge (Carolina), WR Josh Bellamy (Kansas City), FB Brock Bolen (Jacksonville), WR Deion Branch (New England), RB James Bryant (Detroit), RB Michael Bush (Chicago), WR Harry Douglas (Atlanta), DE Elvis Dumervil (Denver), CB William Gay (Arizona), OT Breno Giacomini (Seattle), TE Cameron Graham (Tennessee), LB Dexter Heyman (Kansas City), LB Brandon Johnson (Pittsburgh), DT Amobi Okoye (Tampa Bay), CB Johnny Patrick (New Orleans), RB Bilal Powell (New York Jets), QB Chris Redman (Atlanta), S Kerry Rhodes (Arizona), DE Greg Scruggs (Seattle), OG Jason Spitz (Jacksonville), OT Byron Stingily (Tennessee), C Eric Wood (Buffalo).

Arbitrary top five list

College sports writers most likely to be Tweeting
1. Mark Ennis, Big East Coast Bias (@Mengus22).
2. Bryan Fischer, CBS Sports (@BryanDFischer).
3. Marc Morehouse, C.R. Gazette (@marcmorehouse).
4. Travis Haney, ESPN.com (@TravHaneyESPN).
5. Holly Anderson, Sports Illustrated (@SIHolly)

Coaching

Charlie Strong (Central Arkansas ’82), 14-12 after two seasons with the Cardinals. A very nice start for the far-too-long-overlooked coach. After winning seven games in his debut season, Strong followed that up with a seven-win finish last fall despite playing with one of the youngest rosters in college football. His major college coaching career begin at Florida in 1988, when he began the first of two seasons as the team’s outside linebackers coach. After spending one season at Mississippi, Strong returned to U.F. as the defensive ends coach (1991-93). He was promoted to assistant head coach in 1994, but left for Notre Dame in 1995. After four seasons (1995-98) as the defensive line coach – working alongside Urban Meyer – Strong earned another promotion, moving to South Carolina as its defensive coordinator. While with the Gamecocks, Strong’s defense went from allowing 25.3 points per game in 1999 to fewer than 19.2 in each of the next two seasons; not surprisingly, U.S.C. improved from 0-11 in 1999 to a combined 17-7 from 2000-1. Strong leaped at the opportunity to return to Florida in 2003 as the team’s defensive coordinator, and added the title of assistant head coach upon Meyer’s arrival in 2005. While the Florida offense earned the headlines, it was the defense that separated the program from the rest of college football over Strong’s final five seasons in Gainesville. The Gators went 52-10 over that span, winning 13 games three times (2006, 2008-9) and a pair of national championships. Outside of an atypically poor output in 2007 (25.5 points per game), the Gators allowed fewer than 19.0 points per game in each of Strong’s final five seasons as coordinator, culminating with the fourth-best defense in the nation in 2009. With this resume, one can only ask why it took so long for Strong to finally get his chance as the face of a program. Other program’s hesitation has been Louisville’s gain.

Tidbit (coaching edition) Shawn Watson will continue serving as Louisville’s offensive coordinator, a task he took over last October after then-coordinator Mike Sanford was relieved of his duties. Formerly of Nebraska, Watson left Lincoln under a bit of a dark cloud; he was blamed for the Cornhuskers’ offensive failures in 2009 and 2010, though it was obvious that his philosophy didn’t jibe with what Bo Pelini was looking for from his offense – Watson is a nice pro-style coordinator, but not someone who necessarily fit into what Nebraska wanted to accomplish. Strong filled the empty spot on his offensive coaching staff by promoting former graduate assistant Sherrone Moore to his tight ends coach.

One other coaching change: Larry Slade, one of the great position coaches of this past generation of college football, retired in March after three seasons as the Cardinals’ secondary coach. Slade, who transitioned into a role as the program’s Director of Community Relations and Career Preparations, will be replaced by former quality control assistant Tommy Restivo.

Players to watch

Watson had a noticeable impact on last year’s offense, even if the numbers imply otherwise. But one area where Louisville clearly improved with Watson running the offense was in simple balance: Sanford’s offense lacked a clear commitment to the running game, even if the Cardinals ran the ball well against Kentucky; Watson placed greater emphasis on running the football, helping U.L. average 121.9 yards per game on the ground over his nine games as coordinator, cracking the 100-yard mark in each of its last seven games – led by a high of 187 yards in the season-changing win over Rutgers.

Part of Watson’s altered philosophy was based out of necessity, to be fair. Junior Will Stein was Louisville’s starting quarterback coming out of fall camp, and he remained the starter until suffering an injury against the Wildcats – and rapidly lost his tenuous grasp on the starting job. From that point forward, and from that point through the next three seasons, Louisville’s starting quarterback was and will be sophomore Teddy Bridgewater, who helped lead U.L. to a win over the Wildcats and another five victories down the stretch to clinch bowl eligibility.

He started slowly, as most true freshmen do, tossing four interceptions over his first three starts, all losses. But Bridgewater’s in-season progression bodes very well for his future: from Rutgers through the end of the regular season, Bridgewater completed 99 of 145 attempts – that’s 68.3 percent – with eight touchdowns against three interceptions. He capped the regular season with a beauty, ripping apart South Florida’s secondary, but was asked to do a bit too much in the bowl loss against N.C. State, when he set a new career-low with three interceptions.

The numbers don’t really do Bridgewater justice; he was a true freshman, and where he really improved were in those areas outside the box score – in terms of his comfort level in the pocket, his subtle progress is making all his reads, the quiet and steady leadership, one well beyond his years, to a similarly young and unproven stable of skill players. Bridgewater enters 2012 as the Big East’s best quarterback not merely for what he has already accomplished but for what he has the potential to achieve with some experience under his belt. For Louisville’s sophomore, the sky is the limit.

The Cardinals are still auditioning four options for the top spot at running back, though it’s likely that the entire quartet shuffle carries throughout much of the season. There is a leader, however: Dominique Brown (533 yards), a junior, returns for a second season at the position after being moved over from quarterback. One thing to like about Brown is that he runs hard; you wondered about his ability to earn tough yardage as a converted quarterback, but Brown showed no compunction about lowering his pads as churning out yards between the tackles. Behind Brown – who I do think will earn the most carries – are juniors Jeremy Wright (334 yards) and Senorise Perry and redshirt freshman Corvin Lamb, with the latter perhaps the most explosive skill player on the roster.

Look for stronger play along an offensive line that started three freshmen a season ago. While the Cardinals lost one starter, right tackle Ryan Kessling, Strong and line coach Dave Borbely have to be every excited about this group’s potential; a year older, wiser and more experienced, the front will continue to progress throughout this coming season. The anchor can be found in the middle: Mario Benavides, a senior, is the best center in the Big East. He’ll be flanked by sophomores John Miller and Jake Smith at left and right guard, respectively, with both coming off strong rookie seasons – Smith in particular. Senior Alex Kupper has found a home at left tackle after spending some time inside earlier in his career, including three starts in the middle to open last season while Benavides was dealing with an injury.

He’ll bookend the line with the most promising lineman on the roster: Jamon Brown, another sophomore, was moved over to the offensive line early last season after starting his career at defensive tackle; after only a week of practice, Brown was moved into the starting lineup against North Carolina. While he eventually stepped back into a reserve role after a pair of starts, Brown is a hulking, bruising, intimidating blocker who should team with Smith to give U.L. a great strong side in the run game. Depth is an issue, especially at tackle, but the Cardinals like junior Kamran Joyer in a reserve role – he’s too small to be a full-time starter – and have already identified redshirt freshman Mike Romano as the heir apparent at center.

While Louisville returns a load of young talent at receiver, highlighted by a pair of sophomore poised for big things, there is one area of concern: the short-passing game. It’s here that U.L. must replace tight end Josh Chichester, a big-bodied former receiver, and get more from its backfield to replace Victor Anderson, the team’s third-leading receiver. But you like what the Cardinals have outside, especially if sophomore Michaelee Harris (35 catches for 438 yards) makes a full recovery from last season’s A.C.L. tear. He’s one of three sophomores who made an impact a year ago, joining Eli Rogers (41 for 454) and DeVante Parker (18 for 291) – the latter a big-play threat.

That’s your starting trio, unless seniors Scott Radcliffe and Andrell Smith make things interesting during fall camp; Radcliffe worked his way into the mix with a strong spring. But what will U.L. do at tight end? Senior Nate Nord is the most complete option at the position, should he remain healthy, but keep an eye on sophomore Ryan Hubbell, a JUCO transfer who enrolled early, and junior Chris White, a former walk-on who grew into a larger role in the offense over the last season’s final month.

Louisville hit the defense hard on the recruiting trail during this past cycle, signing at least 11 prospects who translate to the defensive side of the ball. You’ll see several true freshmen continue to make a run at playing time in 2012, even if U.L. is more experienced than it was at this point a season ago. But by and large, and despite the overwhelming youth – particularly up front and in the secondary – the Cardinals did a nice job on defense last fall; while West Virginia had its way and the pass defense struggled down the stretch, it was obvious that Strong and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford found the right mix of players and schemes over the second half of the season.

The strength of this defense is its secondary, which returns the wide majority of last season’s contributors. Hopefully, another year of experience will help this group reverse last season’s poor finish: U.L. allowed 274.0 yards per game over the year’s last five games after seemingly turning a corner in October. Much will be riding on the Cardinals’ ability to land steady play at the cornerback position opposite of senior Adrian Bushell (5o tackles, 1 interceptions), who should challenge for first-team all-Big East honors. Louisville has two options, both sophomores, in Andrew Johnson (25 tackles) and Terrell Floyd – with Johnson the likely starter.

One thing to like about Johnson is that he responded with some confidence after being thrown to the wolves as a true freshman starter. And like the rest of Louisville’s younger defenders, Johnson will step into September with a greater knowledge of what it takes to compete against F.B.S. receivers – and like the rest of this secondary, can breathe a little easier knowing that the Mountaineers aren’t on the schedule. Louisville has a second all-conference lock in junior strong safety Hakeem Smith (84 tackles), a first-team pick last fall. He’s joined at free safety by sophomore Calvin Pryor (43 tackles, 2 interceptions), who took over at the position in time to help Louisville turn its season around during conference play.

There are several younger players who could move into the rotation with a strong fall camp. One is true freshman Gerod Holliman, who would push for Pryor for snaps if he can make a complete recovery following springtime shoulder surgery. Another pair of freshmen, cornerback Charles Gaines and strong safety Jermaine Reve, are coming off redshirt seasons. From top to bottom, U.L. has strong depth, solid leadership and the potential for substantial improvement against the pass.

For now, senior Daniel Brown (39 tackles, 4.0 for loss) is the starter at weak side linebacker. But he’s going to need to rebound from a dreadfully disappointing junior season to hold onto his starting job, especially with true freshmen Keith Brown and James Burgess breathing down his neck – the two four-star prospects were on campus for spring ball, and the program will add another four-star recruit, Nick Dawson, during fall camp. At some point, you could see Brown adding some weight and moving over to the strong side; he’s only 225 pounds heading into August, however, so he’s probably best suited for the weak side as a rookie. U.L. likes bigger linebackers, and they don’t get much bigger than 257-pound junior Preston Brown (84 tackles), who moves to middle linebacker to replace Dexter Heyman, the team’s most productive defender.

Brown’s position change puts him under a spotlight. While Heyman was smaller, his explosive burst helped him be one of the league’s most disruptive linebackers – Heyman had 16.0 tackles for loss, the most on the team and the second-most in the Big East. Hopefully, sophomore Deiontrez Mount can help the Cardinals regain some of Heyman’s lost production. After shuffling between end and linebacker last fall, Mount moves permanently to the strong side. His length might be a detriment at times – you wonder how well he’ll be able to shed blockers – but Mount can give Louisville some fire coming off the edge on passing downs. While there are a few question marks about the starting trio, it will be interesting to see if the three new true freshmen work themselves into key roles.

Louisville must find a new punter and a new kicker, not to mention do a better job covering kickoffs. The new face at kicker – stepping into a fairly distinguished line of starters at the position – is redshirt freshman John Wallace, who replaces Chris Philpott. At punter, Louisville can either turn to sophomore Ryan Johnson, who handled the duties during the spring, or to incoming freshman Josh Appelby. While the Cardinals can be explosive on their own kickoff returns, they need to prevent the opposition from being the same.

Position battle(s) to watch

Defensive line Here’s my concern: Louisville’s secondary puts the clamps down. No, that’s not the concern. My concern is that the secondary improves to the point where teams focus more so on running against the Cardinals, and the team’s lack of experience and production along the front seven proves to be its downfall. As noted above, U.L. isn’t loaded with proven linebackers; while there’s talent there, the Cardinals must get more production from Daniel Brown and Preston Brown while landing some quality snaps from at least one or two of the true freshmen. The situation is even more dire up front, where Louisville simply doesn’t have the sort of depth Strong is looking for from his defensive line.

Well, there is depth – it’s just coming in true freshmen, particularly inside. As of today, the Cardinals’ top reserves along the interior include Pedro Sibiea, Sheldon Rankins and DeAngelo Brown, three linemen signed in February – the only three linemen signed in February. This issue could be exacerbated by any lingering issues stemming from junior Roy Philon’s springtime back injury. Philon (36 tackles, 6.5 for loss) is the only returning interior linemen with the proven ability to wreak havoc at the point of attack; while U.L. also returns nose tackles Brandon Dunn and Jamaine Brooks, both are block-occupying linemen, not the sort that are going to make plays behind the line of scrimmage.

That’s a concern, as is Louisville’s ability to mount a consistent pass rush with its front four. Last fall, the Cardinals relied heavily on then-senior William Savoy’s ability to bring pressure on passing downs. A year later, U.L. will look toward sophomore D.J. Dubose (22 tackles, 2.0 sacks) and junior Marcus Smith (12 tackles, 5.5 sacks) to help pick up the slack. Smith is a very dangerous situational rusher, as his 2011 totals indicate. But he’ll be asked to do more this fall, giving more support against the run, even if U.L. can team him with a bigger end like junior B.J. Butler. Sometimes, giving a situational end a larger role leads to even greater production; at other times, as with Brandon Mills at Cincinnati, you quickly discover that the increased workload leads to diminished returns.

Game(s) to watch

It’s a similar schedule to a year ago with one significant twist: Louisville will play four Big East home games, not three. That helps, as does the fact that South Florida and Cincinnati – two of the league’s best teams – are included among that home quartet. But it’s still a pretty tough schedule by Big East standards, one that includes nine games against B.C.S. conference competition and another pair of games, both on the road, against two of the best non-B.C.S. conference teams in the country in Florida International and Southern Mississippi. The Big East’s B.C.S. bid will come down to Louisville at Rutgers on Nov. 29, a game the Cardinals play only four full days after hosting Connecticut. Early prediction for the Governor’s Cup: Louisville 28, Kentucky 13.

Season breakdown & prediction

In a nutshell Louisville’s close, close, close to breaking through under Charlie Strong – close to not only winning the Big East but close to taking pretty firm control of a league suffering a power vacuum following West Virginia’s departure to the Big 12. The clear improvement you saw from nearly the entire roster over the second half of last season will continue come September: U.L. is going to get a full and improved season out of Bridgewater, who is ready to take the next step; the running game, thanks to an improved offensive line, should find greater success between the tackles; the receiver corps’ three sophomores will play with greater consistency; and the secondary, should Johnson step up at cornerback, will compete with Rutgers for the title of the Big East’s best.

But there are issues, and the program won’t simply skyrocket from seven wins into the next stratosphere – double-digit wins, a national ranking and a B.C.S. bid. I look at the front seven and see a group that could struggle getting stops against power-running teams like South Florida and Rutgers or a finesse-based team like Cincinnati. As good as the secondary could be, Louisville’s pass defense could fall apart if the line and linebackers can’t contain the run. Special teams is another issue: U.L. breaks in new starters at kicker and punter and must address its coverage teams. No Big East team is perfect. But U.L. doesn’t look as complete when compared to Rutgers, even if the Scarlet Knights must answer questions about their ability to deliver in the passing game.

Then, the most intangible issue: Is Louisville ready? I understand that this team closed strong with the same cast, but this group remains as young – though not necessarily as inexperienced – as any realistic contender on the B.C.S. conference level. Even a year wiser, are the sophomores that litter the depth chart ready to take the next step? One thing in Louisville’s corner is Strong, of course, who is poised to take a big leap onto the national radar. But all in all, this team’s personnel issues on defense and its continued youth has me picking them to finish second in the Big East, behind the Scarlet Knights. The Cardinals will win another game during the regular season, however, and continue to make noise inside and out of conference play.

Dream season Louisville opens with a 42-0 win over Kentucky, which feels great, before winning another four games to cap non-conference play. The Cardinals’ only loss during Big East play comes at home to Cincinnati; this team heads to a B.C.S. bowl following an 11-win regular season.

Nightmare season After closing last season with a bang, U.L. opens September with a whimper. The Cardinals lose to Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida International in September, and beat only Temple, Syracuse and Connecticut during Big East play. After back-to-back bowl seasons, Louisville slides down to 5-7.

In case you were wondering

Where do Louisville fans congregate? For message board chatter, check out Cardinal Sports and Inside The Ville. Additional coverage can be found at the Web site of The Courier-Journal and the blogs Card Chronicle and Big East Coast Bias.

Louisville’s all-name nominee FB Bo Eggers.

Word Count

Through 90 teams 358,350.

Up Next

Who is No. 34? Tomorrow’s program scored more points against its first four F.B.S. opponents last fall than it would score against its final eight F.B.S. opponents.

Cultures clash in commonwealth over UK-UofL game

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — This Bluegrass State rivalry runs deep, and the divide is wide.

Just 70 miles apart, Lexington and Louisville are worlds apart when it comes to college basketball. Come Saturday when the Cardinals and Wildcats meet at the Final Four in New Orleans, a berth in the national title game is just the beginning.

Here, the game is likened to a civil war.

Pick a side: Wildcats or Cardinals. Rupp’s Runts or the Doctors of Dunk. Dan Issel or Wes Unseld. John Calipari or Rick Pitino.

“If the excitement and frenzy and turbulence that’s been stirred up in Kentucky this week could be harnessed, we could solve our energy crisis,” Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor. “Basketball fans from Kentucky have been waiting their whole lives for this game.”

This is the grudge match to end them all.

It’s the fifth time the schools will meet in the NCAA tournament – the two sides have split the four previous meetings – and it pits Louisville coach Pitino against one-time friend and now frosty foe Calipari. Not to mention Kentucky freshmen phenoms Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who have been steady in taking the Wildcats to the top, vs. a ragtag flock of Cardinals who’ve won eight straight with a rotating cast of mostly unknowns such as Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng.

“It’s not about (Pitino) or I; it’s about these players,” said Calipari, who’s in his second consecutive Final Four still searching for the national title that’s eluded him. “Hopefully we both have our teams ready to play, and I think we will, and we’ll go at it.”

The Cardinals (30-9) lost this year’s matchup vs. the Wildcats (36-2) 69-62 on Dec. 31. Even though there is much more on the line Saturday, it will be difficult for the game to be much more intense.

“There’s going to be so much pressure on the players,” former Louisville forward Earl Clark said. “It’s going to go down in history. Kentucky is the No. 1 team, and Louisville is like the Cinderella of the tournament.”

Kentucky blue dominates most of the state of more than 4.3 million basketball-crazed fans, surrounding the outnumbered Cardinals fans who have fortified a stronghold in the state’s largest city.

The fan bases are about as different as they can be, and Pitino is one of the few who knows what it’s like on both sides of the aisle.

He coached Kentucky for eight years, bringing the ‘Cats back to the pinnacle of greatness with an NCAA title in ’96. He’s been at Louisville for the last 11 years and is heading to his second Final Four with the Cardinals.

“It’s two different entities, really, it’s two rabid fan bases,” Pitino said.

That was oh so clear this week when two senior citizens duked it out at a Georgetown dialysis clinic.

A 68-year-old Kentucky fan and 71-year-old Louisville fan were arguing Monday about who will win Saturday’s game when the discussion quickly got out of hand. Georgetown police Lt. Robert Swanigan says the Kentucky fan flipped off the Louisville fan, prompting the Cardinals fan to punch him in the face. Though police were called, Swanigan said the Kentucky fan declined to file charges.

The fight likely wouldn’t surprise Kentucky coach Calipari, who lovingly compares Wildcats fans to piranhas – yes, the flesh-eating fish.

“If you’re going to attack Kentucky, just be right,” Calipari said of a fan base that feeds off every little bit of information about his school and dissects every game tape three times. “I’m just telling you: piranha – wahp-wahp-wahp-wahp-wahp-wahp. They’ll come and eat your yard, your house. These people are nuts.”

And Cardinals’ fans enjoy poking fun at them.

On Twitter and message boards, they joke how Kentucky fans turn Cats into two words – Ca-yuts. One of Big Blue Nation’s favorite retorts? Loserville.

Pitino jokes many marriages in the state fail because they have a Louisville woman marrying a Kentucky man.

Nick Fenton and his wife, Christi, are working through their differences in Louisville. Fenton said they fly a “House Divided” flag in their front yard with the two schools’ logos displayed.

“Her family is all Cards fans, so they brainwashed her,” said Fenton, who usually reserves the rhetoric for one week a year. “This Final Four game, though, it’s going to be pretty wild.”

It took the governor to first get the two schools together on an annual basis.

Kentucky never scheduled in-state schools under coach Adolph Rupp, and former assistant Joe B. Hall dutifully followed suit when he took over as coach. Gov. John Y. Brown stepped in following their matchup in the 1983 NCAA Mideast Regional finals – know around the state as The Dream Game. Louisville beat Kentucky in overtime in Knoxville, Tenn., in the teams’ first meeting since 1959.

“It created a lot of animosity and strong feelings toward each other, but at the same time I felt like the taxpayers were entitled to see the competition between two of the nation’s premier programs,” the former governor said. “If you ask either school what the No. 1 game on the schedule both in basketball and football, they’ll say it’s the rival school.

“They have to live in shame, whichever one loses.”

Kentucky vs. Louisville is a matchup of cultural divide that’s steeped in history with nine combined titles between the two schools, the same number as the more publicized North Carolina-Duke rivalry.

Former Kentucky guard and No. 1 NBA pick John Wall remembers the wild scene before the only rivalry game he played in 2010 more than the contest itself.

“I didn’t think it was that big until we played them. There was about to be a big brawl at the beginning of the game. Technicals both ways,” said Wall, star guard for the Washington Wizards. “All you hear from the fans is, `Don’t lose to the Cardinals. Whatever happens, Big Blue Nation better not lose to Louisville.’”

For the most part, Kentucky fans have gotten their wish – the Wildcats are 18-11 since the annual game started in 1983-84 to go along with seven national titles and 15 Final Four appearances. Louisville has two titles and is making its ninth appearance in the national semifinals.

The histories of the programs highlight their differences in style and their efforts to keep up with each other.

Louisville’s decision to build the $238 million KFC Yum! Center downtown hastened Lexington’s plans for a $150 million renovation of 36-year-old Rupp Arena. And both schools built multimillion dollar practice facilities in the past few years

Louisville signed its first black players in 1962 with a class that included Wade Houston, Eddie Whitehead and Sam Smith with little fanfare and later inked greats like Unseld and Darrell Griffith.

Kentucky was famously slower to integrate.

Rupp’s all-white team lost to Texas Western, which started five black players, in the 1966 NCAA finals popularized by the movie “Glory Road” and didn’t break the color barrier until 1969 when Rupp signed Tom Payne of Louisville who spent a year in Lexington before entering the NBA draft.

When the dunk was reinstated in the college game for the 1976-77 season, Louisville and coach Denny Crum embraced attacking the rim, beginning with Griffith, who earned the moniker “Dr. Dunkenstein.”

Crum won titles in 1980 and ’86. His high-flying players at Freedom Hall were known as the Doctors of Dunk who helped popularize the high five and helped usher in a new age of college basketball, including a win in The Dream Game in 1983.

Kentucky’s style bordered on a business-like approach under Rupp assistant Joe B. Hall. Hall’s ’78 squad was so thoroughly expected to win the national title that when they did, it’s remembered as “The Season Without Celebration.” Hall coached through 1985 before Eddie Sutton’s unsuccessful run ended in NCAA violations.

It was Pitino who helped usher Kentucky back to the title path with three Final Four appearances and a championship in 1996.

That group, known as The Untouchables, featured nine NBA players and six first-round picks. Kentucky heads to New Orleans with a team loaded with talent whereas Louisville was a big surprise to get to the Final Four once again. It makes Saturday’s game another historic showdown.

Former Kentucky forward Josh Harrellson summed it up: “I think everybody in the world is going to be watching.”

© 2012 The Associated Press

Louisville moving to the Big 12?

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Eventually, the Big 12 will move beyond 10 teams and add Louisville. A BCS source close to the situation told Sporting News the Big 12 is waiting for West Virginia’s lawsuit with the Big East to be resolved before moving forward. Despite the Big 12’s public comments, it doesn’t want to be the only major conference without a championship game—and doesn’t want to go much longer without the benefit of revenue the game brings.

“That money,” a BCS source said, “is too tempting to ignore.”

Yet even if the Big 12 stands firm, the damage has been done to the rest of college football. The latest moves have opened the door for all to play—yet drawn a clear line across the landscape.

Full story on Sporting News

No. 3 Kentucky beats No. 4 Louisville 69-62

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)—Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hesitantly accepted a leadership role at first as the youngest member on No. 3 Kentucky’s prospect-laden roster. Comfortable with his status, there’s no telling just how far he can carry the Wildcats.

“I’m very shy, but I’m getting better,” the 18-year-old forward said. “I just relax on the basketball court.”

Kidd-Gilchrist had season-highs with 24 points and 19 rebounds to lead Kentucky in a rough-and-tumble 69-62 victory over No. 4 Louisville on Saturday to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak.

“This is what I live for right here. Why? Because I’ve always been that way,” Kidd-Gilchrist said of the physical play that at times turned it into more like a free throw shooting contest with 52 fouls called. “I’m built for this.”

And Kentucky (13-1) seems built for a long NCAA tournament run after fellow freshman Anthony Davis added 18 points, all in the second half, as well as 10 rebounds and six blocks in the annual in-state rivalry game.

The Cardinals (12-2) only led at 2-0, but gave Kentucky all it could handle after rallying from an early 15-point deficit before tying it in the second half thanks to Russ Smith, who had a career-high 30 points.

“I’ve never coached a team that is willing to give the effort that this team gives,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Unfortunately there are no moral victories. We struggled shooting the basketball tonight.”

Kidd-Gilchrist’s hustle and Davis’ emergence following first-half foul problems proved to be the difference with rapper Jay-Z, actress Ashley Judd and nearly a dozen NBA scouts watching.

With all the luminaries on hand, no one at Rupp Arena was more important to Kidd-Gilchrist than his mother, Cindy Richardson, who attended after being released from the hospital for an unspecified illness last week.

Kidd-Gilchrist said it meant a lot to see her at Rupp Arena after her hospital stay.

“It’s very hard to see my mother there,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “I was crying my eyes out that night, but she fought through it.”

Kentucky has won 44 straight at home, including 43 in a row at Rupp Arena, for the nation’s longest streak ahead of Duke’s 43. This one will be remembered after the teams came in with the highest combined ranking in history.

With the game tied at 40 early in the second half, Louisville had a chance to take its second lead but Peyton Siva never hit the rim on an 18-foot jumper.

Kentucky went on a 7-0 run from there, with Kidd-Gilchrist hitting one of two free throws and making a layup on another trip before Davis got to the line and made four free throws over two possessions to make it 47-40.

Davis blocked Chris Smith on one end, then cleaned up Kentucky’s fast break on the other to give the Wildcats a 49-42 lead. His alley-oop slam from Doron Lamb made it 56-48 with 6:40 left.

The battles kept going after the whistle with Davis and Rakeem Buckles tangled up on an out-of-bounds play and Davis pleading for a foul.

On another one, Davis went flying into the crowd trying to make a save and landed on an older woman in the front row. Kidd-Gilchrist came over, screaming, “A.D.! A.D.!” with a smile on his face as he pulled his teammate back toward the court.

“The crowd was crazy because of the rivalry,” Davis said. “It was fun.”

Kidd-Gilchrist’s three-point play with 3:41 left gave the Wildcats a 61-50 lead, its first beyond double digits since the first half, and Kentucky won its third straight in the series.

“He wasn’t bothered as much as some of the others by the physical play,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He almost relished it.”

Gorgui Dieng, who entered the second half with one foul, picked up three in a span of 2:20 to head to the bench with 16:08 left, but seconds later, Calipari picked up a technical foul for his displeasure with the officiating.

Trailing 40-36, Russ Smith hit a 3-pointer and was fouled by Kidd-Gilchrist. He converted it to tie the game with 15:21 left, but Louisville never got over the hump after also rallying from an 11-point deficit before losing against No. 12 Georgetown for its first loss on Wednesday.

“We never feel like we are out of it,” Russ Smith said. “Any basketball player would know the game is not over until the 40 minutes is up, so we play hard. If we were down a few points less, it could have gotten interesting.”

Louisville freshman Chane Behanan was the first player to lose his cool in this emotionally-charged matchup of schools separated by 78 miles. Behanan, recruited by both schools, had already picked up an early foul when he was called for a charge and assessed a technical for his reaction with 16:16 left in the first half.

Louisville opened with a 2-0 lead, but Darius Miller answered with a 3-pointer and Kidd-Gilchrist was the only Wildcat to make a field goal over the next 13:45 as Kentucky feasted at the foul line to build a 31-16 lead.

Trailing by 15 points, Louisville’s two Smiths mounted a 13-0 run to get the Cardinals back in the game as Kentucky ended up taking a 36-33 lead at the half.

Louisville would tie it before 5 minutes passed in the second half, but never could mount a push to take control in one of the most hyped games since the 1983-84 season opener when No. 2 Kentucky topped No. 6 Louisville following the Cardinals’ 1983 Final Four appearance.

If either of these clubs return to the Final Four this year, this game will be remembered, too.

“It was crazy out there,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “And I’m (just) a freshman.”

Georgetown hands Louisville its first loss

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LOUISVILLE, KY. (AP)
Markel Starks scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half and No. 12 Georgetown snapped No. 4 Louisville’s 20-game home winning streak with a 71-68 victory Wednesday night in the Big East opener for both teams.

Louisville (12-1, 0-1) had been one of six Division I teams that came into play Wednesday without a loss. The Cardinals held a tenuous lead through most of the first half and early into the second.

But Starks, a sophomore, hit all four of his 3-point attempts in the second half and went 7 for 8 from the field as Georgetown (11-1, 1-0) built an 11-point lead before having to survive a rally to win for the ninth consecutive time.

Georgetown freshman Otto Porter had 14 points and 14 rebounds, including two key ones late that helped fend off the Cardinals.

Kyle Kuric finished with 17 points and Peyton Siva had 15 for Louisville.

Georgetown, picked to finish 10th in the Big East, hasn’t lost since falling to Kansas on Nov. 21. This was their grittiest effort yet, coming from behind to build a big lead and then held on when Louisville rallied late in front of a raucous crowd.

Trailing 63-52, the Cardinals went on an 11-0 run sparked when Russ Smith hit a 3 in the corner and Siva made two key plays, including hitting a floater off the glass before Gorgui Dieng scored down low to tie the score with 2:01 left.

Porter followed up a miss by Henry Sims with a layup, then grabbed a defensive rebound on the other end that led to two free throws by Sims that made it 67-63 with 1:12 left. Porter added two free throws to push the margin to six before Smith hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 69-66 with 21 seconds left.

But Porter hit two more free throws to seal it.

Louisville had been off to its best start since 1974-75 and its longest home winning streak since 1984 even though the Cardinals needed to rally to win their last three nonconference games and must play No. 3 Kentucky at Rupp Arena next.

Hollis Thompson, who finished with 10 points, hit a jumper and then made a 3 to put the Hoyas up 51-47 with just under 9 minutes left. As play came toward the Louisville end, referee Karl Hess assessed a technical on the Cardinals’ bench and Jason Clark hit both free throws to make it a six-point game.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino was adamant about the call, coming out to halfcourt to state his case and later talking to referee Jim Burr at the next media timeout.

After Kuric hit two free throws, Starks made consecutive 3s to give Georgetown a 59-49 lead with 6:06 left. Kuric made his fifth 3, but Sims answered with a jump hook over Dieng and then found Starks cutting down the lane for a layup that made it 63-52 with 4 1/2 minutes to play.

The Cardinals, who have rallied from deficits of seven or more nine times dating to last season, made one final push. That’s when Porter thwarted them late.

Pitino plans to quit when contract ends in 2017

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Rick Pitino said Tuesday that he won’t coach past the 2016-2017 season when his current contract ends at Louisville.

“When you’re 59, you’re realistic that you don’t have a whole lot of years left,” Pitino said at a news conference before the No. 4 Cardinals play No. 12 Georgetown on Wednesday. “My contract’s going to run out in 2017. I’m not coaching anymore after that.”

The former Providence and Kentucky coach has guided the Cardinals to a 12-0 record so far this season.

Louisville’s Athletic Association granted Pitino, the only men’s coach to lead three different programs to the Final Four, a four-year contract extension in August. He’ll make $3 million in base salary until the end of the 2013 season, followed by $3.9 million a year.

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The best traditions in college hoops

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College football is filled with long-standing traditions, from rubbing Howard’s Rock for luck at Clemson to dotting the `i’ at Ohio.

College basketball has a few of its own and some of them are, shall we say, a bit unique, including one that involves pajamas and another rolls of toilet paper.

Here are a few of the best ones we know of:

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Silent Night, Taylor University: The tiny NAIA school in central Indiana has held its ”Silent Night” every Friday before finals for the past two decades. In one of the most unique traditions anywhere, the students remain silent until Taylor scores its 10th point, then erupt into a cheer as if the team had just won the national championship. Many of the students come dressed in costumes or pajamas and cram into every nook of little Odle Arena. When the game is over, they join arm-in-arm to sing the Christmas song ”Silent Night,” and many head off to Habecker’s Holipalooza, a university-sponsored Christmas party that includes a reading of ”A Christmas Story” by the university president. All that’s missing is a Red Rider BB gun to make this perfect.

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The TP Game, John Brown University: It sounds like a line from Beavis & Butthead: I need TP for my basketball game. No one’s exactly sure how it started, but about 30 years ago, students began bringing toilet paper rolls to the home opener and chucking them onto the floor following the home team’s first basket. Thousands of rolls come down in a blizzard of two-ply, covering every inch of the floor at rustic Murray Sells Athletic Center at the NAIA school in Siloam Springs, Ark. The school’s Golden Eagle mascot has even been known to do fluffy snow angels in what has been called the best technical foul in all of sports.

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Rock Chalk Chant, Kansas: Allen Fieldhouse is already one of the toughest places in basketball to play, with all that history oozing from the banners, retired numbers and atmosphere. It gets downright spooky at the end of games when, with the Jayhawks firmly in command, the fans sing a ghostly chorus of ”Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk, KU.” The chant evolved from a cheer that a chemistry professor created for the science club in 1886, with the original ”Rah, Rah” later replaced by a transposition of chalk rock, the name for the limestone outcropping found on Mount Oread, site of the Lawrence campus. The fans do a spirited version of the chant before the games to get the home team juiced, then let the visiting team know they’ve been conquered with the eerie rendition.

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St. Joseph’s Hawk, St Joseph’s. A mascot flapping its wings isn’t particularly exciting or original. What makes the St. Joe’s Hawk interesting is that he never stops. The Hawk, or at least the various students who have inhabited his bird suit, has been flapping his wings for 56 years. Representing the St. Joseph’s motto of ”The Hawk Will Never Die,” the Hawk was once estimated to flap his wings 3,500 times during a regulation game. The Hawk is one of the few mascots that travels with the team on the road and the student inside the costume – two have been women – receives a full scholarship to the school. So kids, if you’re looking for a way to get a full ride, you might think about switching from shooting hoops to flapping your arms.

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Cameron Crazies, Duke. Cameron Indoor Stadium is not exactly modern and holds just 9,300 fans but is one of the most intimidating places in the country to play. The Cameron Crazies, one of the most boisterous and creative student sections anywhere, make sure of that. The Crazies brave the elements to get their seats in a tent city known as Krzyzewskiville and face painting is almost part of the required attire. The Blues Devils student section has been credited with coming up with the chant of ”Air Ball!” when an opponent misses everything on a shot. They also once taunted one super-sized opposing player by tying a McDonald’s Happy Meal to the end of a fishing pole and dragging it across the front of the bench before a security guard put an end to it.

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Philadelphia Big 5, La Salle, Penn, St. Joe’s, Temple and Villanova. There are plenty of great rivalries in college hoops, from North Carolina-Duke to Kentucky-Louisville. This one is a fivesome that’s become as Philly as the cheese steak. The Big 5 have played each other since 1954 in the musty, high-ceilinged Palestra on Penn’s campus. And, this being a rivalry and the City of Brotherly Taunting, there isn’t much love lost between the teams and their fans. Among the most entertaining parts of the rivalries are the ”rollouts,” banners brought in by fans that often include unprintable insults. They’re almost always witty, including this one by Temple’s student section in a game against La Salle last year: ”La Salle has 3 Ls. Your team has nine.” Good times.

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Honorable mention: Moses Parts the Red Sea, Central Catholic High School, Lawrence, Mass. This is a high school but worthy of noting because of the sheer imagination of it. With the fans in the student section waving their arms – they’re the sea – a student shows up dressed as Moses with a broom in hand. With a thunderous slam of the broom to the hardwood, the students part and Moses marches up the bleachers, setting off a wild cheer that turns into a chant of ”Let’s go Central!” You have to see it to believe it.

Freshman Ware finally eligible to join Louisville

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kevin Ware joined No. 4 Louisville for the first time this week. The short-handed Cardinals are expecting him to contribute immediately.

The 6-foot-3 freshman guard was ineligible in the fall after failing to meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements. Now, he’s joining the Cardinals (9-0) just in time after injuries have dominated their first six weeks of the season.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino says Ware could play against Memphis on Saturday at backup point guard if he continues to look strong in practice. They’re also working with him at small forward in an effort to use his speed and athleticism for a team that wants to run but hasn’t had enough healthy bodies in practice.

Louisville has had seven players miss at least one game because of injuries.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Week 6 Rankings – USA Today Coaches Poll

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2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Week 6 Rankings – USA Today Coaches Poll

1 Syracuse (28) 10-0 746
2 Ohio State (2) 8-1 671
3 Kentucky 8-1 665
4 Louisville 9-0 658
5 Duke 9-1 618
6 North Carolina 8-2 608
7 Baylor 7-0 539
8 Missouri 9-0 512
9 Xavier 8-0 503
10 Connecticut 8-1 485
11 Marquette 9-0 466
12 Kansas 7-2 441
13 Florida 7-2 418
14 Pittsburgh 9-1 356
15 Wisconsin 8-2 317
16 Mississippi State 9-1 251
17 Georgetown 8-1 246
18 Michigan 7-2 185
19 Illinois 10-0 182
20 Indiana 9-0 171
21 Alabama 8-2 143
22 Texas A&M 8-1 108
23 Michigan State 8-2 107
24 Creighton 7-1 54
25 Vanderbilt 6-3 51

Others receiving votes: Harvard 43, Murray State 42, California 29, Memphis 27, San Diego State 26, Purdue 14, Gonzaga 13, Virginia 12, UNLV 9, Saint Louis 9, Saint Mary’s 5, Stanford 5, Saint Joseph’s 5, Oklahoma 4, Northern Iowa 3, Northwestern 3

Dropped from rankings: Memphis 20, Gonzaga 22, Harvard 24

2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Week 5 Rankings – Coaches Poll

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2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Week 5 Rankings – Coaches Poll

1 Kentucky (19) 8-0 763
2 Ohio State (11) 8-0 754
3 Syracuse (1) 8-0 713
4 Louisville 7-0 654
5 Duke 7-1 611
6 North Carolina 6-2 594
7 Baylor 7-0 582
8 Xavier 6-0 538
9 Connecticut 7-1 533
10 Missouri 7-0 511
11 Marquette 7-0 468
12 Florida 5-2 419
13 Kansas 5-2 385
14 Pittsburgh 7-1 359
15 Alabama 7-1 326
16 Wisconsin 6-2 306
17 Creighton 7-0 222
18 Mississippi State 8-1 208
19 Michigan 6-2 164
20 Memphis 4-2 154
21 Georgetown 7-1 136
22 Gonzaga 5-1 96
22 Illinois 8-0 96
24 Harvard 8-0 95
25 Texas A&M 6-1 79

Others receiving votes: UNLV 62, Vanderbilt 61, California 32, San Diego State 30, Michigan State 29, Indiana 23, Saint Louis 18, Northwestern 8, Murray State 8, Stanford 7, Kansas State 4, Purdue 4, Saint Mary’s 4, Virginia 4, Washington 3, Cincinnati 3, Cleveland State 3, Tulane 2, Arizona 2, George Mason 1, Northern Iowa 1

Dropped from rankings: Vanderbilt 19, UNLV 20, California 23, Saint Louis 25

No. 6 Louisville gets past Vanderbilt in OT

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Peyton Siva’s teammates wondered why he didn’t end the game in regulation when he had a chance and deferred to a freshman. Given a second chance, Siva finished with a flourish.

Siva drove through the middle of Vanderbilt’s defense for a layup with 1.4 seconds left and No. 6 Louisville rallied to beat the 20th-ranked Commodores 62-60 in overtime on Friday night.

“In the overtime, I was just like, ‘I’ve got to make this layup and get these guys out of here because they’re making it too close,’” said Siva, who had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. “I just got the layup.”

The Cardinals (7-0) came back from two big deficits — nine in the second half and five in overtime to continue their theme from last year when they rallied from seven or more down nine different times. Kyle Kuric’s 16-footer gave Louisville a 60-58 lead with 34 seconds left.

“It’s a treat to coach these guys because you see great comebacks,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “There are times you think you’re dead and then you just look up and you win the game.”

John Jenkins, who finished with 27 points, hit two free throws for the Commodores (5-3) to tie it with 12.2 seconds to play, but Siva broke the defense on a high pick-and-roll and got to the hoop for the game-winning basket.

“He’s a really fast guard,” Jenkins said. “He got in the lane at will. He’s a good player.”

Siva, who has been hobbled recently by a sprained left ankle, smiled watching his big layup on replay following Louisville’s 15th straight win in the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville freshman Chane Behanan finished with 14 points, but Behanan blew a chance to win it in regulation when he missed a short shot at the buzzer. He’d make amends in overtime.

“I was just speechless. I couldn’t believe I blew a wide-open layup. A wide-open layup,” Behanan said. “I literally cried. Tears came out and coach Pitino saw that and got on me.”

Jenkins gave Vanderbilt a 55-50 lead when he opened overtime with a 3-pointer, then added two free throws with 2:29 left. Behanan answered with a three-point play. After the two teams traded a pair of free throws, Kuric, who finished with 15 points, hit a 3-pointer that gave Louisville a 58-57 lead.

Brad Tinsley tied it with a free throw before Kuric’s jumper set up the final sequence when Jenkins hit two free throws and Siva easily passed Lance Goulbourne down the lane, hitting a finger-roll layup with 1.4 seconds left.

“It was two teams really, really getting after each other,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “They just made one more play than we did.”

Behanan deflected Tinsley’s full-court desperation pass as time expired. Goulbourne and Jeffery Taylor finished with 11 points apiece.

It was the first true road game for a Vanderbilt team that had been ranked seventh in the preseason poll — ahead of Louisville at the time — and while the Cardinals have weathered injuries, the Commodores have struggled.

Vanderbilt is still without Festus Ezeli (right knee) for two more weeks and also lost Josh Henderson (left foot). Henderson is scheduled to have surgery Monday to put a screw in his foot and will miss eight to 12 weeks.

Louisville is missing Rakeem Buckles (right knee), Stephan Van Treese (left knee), Mike Marra (left knee), Wayne Blackshear (right shoulder) and Elisha Justice (broken nose).

Just like in an overtime loss to then-No. 11 Xavier when the Commodores gave away a 10-point lead at home, Vanderbilt squandered a big second-half advantage.

Jenkins’ jumper gave the Commodores a 43-34 lead, but Taylor made a steal and missed a layup that would’ve pushed it to double digits.

Louisville answered with a 13-4 run that ended with Behanan’s steal and slam that tied it with 2:28 left. With the game tied again in the closing seconds, Siva wound the clock down near halfcourt, then drove into the lane around Taylor and found Behanan down low.

Behanan took the ball to the floor once to slice across the lane, but missed the shot off the backboard and rim and slumped down in frustration at failing to hit the winner.

Siva made sure the next time he’d take it all the way.

“I love him,” Behanan said. “I always count on him to make big plays. Big-time players make big-time plays and that’s what he was tonight.”

Banged up, No. 6 Louisville remains unbeaten

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Rick Pitino has resorted to lying to his team about sixth-ranked Louisville’s injury situation.

“Last year was bad, but this year is ridiculous,” the coach said. “I just tell them I’ve seen this for 35 years. I’m lying. I’ve never seen this before.”

He’s also briefly contemplated putting them in pads after one player wore a helmet to practice to avoid further injury.

But thanks to their gritty defensive play, the Cardinals are 6-0. They head into their stiffest challenge of the season against No. 20 Vanderbilt on Friday night as part of the SEC-Big East challenge.

“In order for us to win with this basketball team, defense has to be our staple,” Pitino said.

So far it has been.

“We’ve got to get stops on defense, come out with intensity, aggressiveness and force them back on their heels,” forward Kyle Kuric said. “Moving forward, yeah, big names are coming in — top rankings, whatever — we’ve still got to have the same mindset of getting stops and coming together as a team.”

The problem with coming together is the rotating cast of players. Louisville was expected to be very deep this season with 11 returning lettermen, but injuries have kept the Cardinals from getting into a rhythm.

Forward Rakeem Buckles (right knee) has returned to practice after tearing a knee ligament last season, but is not expected to play against the Commodores. Guard Mike Marra (left knee) tore a ligament in his knee against Lamar on Nov. 13 and forward Stephan Van Treese (left knee) played limited minutes in two games back before being ruled out indefinitely.

Freshman swingman Wayne Blackshear (right shoulder) has yet to play after being hurt in a noncontact situation in practice going up for a layup.

Those injuries are just the start.

Pitino expects Peyton Siva to finally be at full strength on Friday after the junior point guard missed about 20 practices and two games after sustaining a concussion in an exhibition game before spraining his left ankle in practice on Nov. 14.

Then, there’s Elisha Justice, who broke his nose after being hit by a ball this week. He wore a helmet to practice in an effort to return.

Justice isn’t expected to miss significant time, but he won’t play against the Commodores and it adds to a list of frustrating and somewhat baffling injuries for the Cardinals.

Pitino has had to back off at practice and in the victory over Long Beach State, Louisville never could pull away after they appeared to get worn down. The coach said there is nothing good that comes with injuries.

“You don’t want broken noses when a ball hits you in the nose. You don’t want ACLs when you’re driving down the lane with no contact,” he said. “You don’t want these things. It doesn’t help you. You’d like to think that, but it’s just not reality. It hurts you because you can’t practice what you need to do.”

Vanderbilt (5-2) has had its share of disappointment this season already, too. After being ranked higher than Louisville in the preseason poll at seventh, the Commodores have lost games to Cleveland State on Nov. 13 and No. 11 Xavier on Monday.

“That was extremely disappointing. We just didn’t rebound like we know we can,” Vanderbilt forward Jeffrey Taylor said. “There was a bunch of times in the game where we thought we had the game won and they just made plays. It is definitely a game we wished we could have back.”

The Commodores boast sharpshooter John Jenkins, who is averaging 20.2 points per game, but have been without big man Festus Ezeli. The center’s six-game suspension for accepting impermissible benefits in the offseason ended against the Musketeers, but he sprained his right knee in practice and is expected to miss at least two more weeks.

“The injury thing has kept (Louisville) from being able to practice like they want to practice as it has us,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “That becomes very frustrating as a coach, at least it does for me. I’m sure it is for him, too. It’s frustrating because it is hard to get better when you can’t practice.”

Forward Lance Goulbourne said the Commodores’ defense is improving, too, after holding the Musketeers to a 37 percent clip.

“For us, numbers or rankings don’t really matter. We were seventh in the country at one point and that doesn’t really matter,” he said after the loss. “We had intensity on our defense and everyone tried to lock up and do what they could.”

While Louisville has had one of the best defenses in the country over the first four weeks of the season, the Cardinals realize they must pick up their own efforts on Friday night after a sloppy performance against Long Beach State.

“If we make the defensive lapses that we made in the second half against Vanderbilt, they’ll pick us apart,” Pitino said. “We know we’re going to have a very, very tough game.”

Copyright Associated Press

Rick Pitino gets 250th win with Louisville

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Kyle Kuric scored 16 points and Gorgui Dieng grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to lead to No. 7 Louisville to a 59-54 victory over Ohio on Friday night in the Global Sports Invitational.

“We’re in a survival mode right now is all we’re trying to do,” said Pitino, who won his 250th game as Louisville’s coach after reaching 600 wins overall earlier this season.

Story from ESPN.com

Louisville shocks No. 24 West Virginia 38-35

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — The early part of Louisville’s basketball season might have to share some headlines with the Cardinals’ surging football team.

Teddy Bridgewater threw for one touchdown, Andrew Johnson returned a blocked field goal for another score and Louisville shocked No. 24 West Virginia 38-35 Saturday.

Not expected to be a factor in the Big East, the surprising Cardinals (5-4, 3-1) used their highest scoring output of the season behind their freshman quarterback to win their third straight and deal a severe blow to West Virginia’s title chances.

“I was not surprised at all to come into this venue and for us to go and play well,” said Louisville coach Charlie Strong. “We knew we had to play well. We didn’t come here to lose or to play it tight. We came in here to win. We have overcome adversity all year long.”

In the visitors’ locker room, the entire Louisville team was heard singing John Denver’s “Country Roads” – West Virginia’s unofficial theme song.

Louisville also got a payback of sorts after being overlooked in the recent Big 12 expansion sweepstakes, a bid that went to the Mountaineers.

“Our team wasn’t thinking about that,” Strong said. “We were just thinking about going on the road and winning a game.”

And keeping up in a tight conference race.

Louisville had entered the weekend in a three-way tie for second place behind Cincinnati, which played at Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The Cardinals, who fell at Cincinnati during a three-game losing streak in October, still have some work left with a home game against Pitt and at Connecticut and South Florida.

Geno Smith threw for 410 yards and three scores but couldn’t bring the Mountaineers (6-3, 2-2) back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter.

“We’re definitely not doing what it takes to win,” Smith said.

West Virginia will likely need to win its final three games against Cincinnati, Pitt and South Florida and get some help to have a shot at the league’s BCS berth.

Despite being outgained 533-351, Louisville’s offense found the end zone four times after failing on half its red-zone trips all season.

Three different backs scored rushing touchdowns for Louisville, which broke a four-game losing streak in the series.

At times it looked as though the Cardinals had the conference’s best offense – not West Virginia, which had trouble at times against the league’s No. 1 defense. And the Mountaineers’ special teams had another awful day.

Tyler Bitancurt missed one field goal try and had another short one blocked by Adrian Bushell on the first play of the fourth quarter. Johnson picked up the loose ball and went 82 yards to put the Cardinals ahead 31-21.

“Not a very hard one to figure out,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. “You lose the turnover battle, you go 0-2 on field goals, that gets you beat.”

Smith, who completed 31 of 44 passes but was sacked three times, fumbled the ball away on the next series near midfield. He made up for it on the ensuing 96-yard drive with a 46-yard pass to Ivan McCartney that set up Shawne Alston’s 8-yard scoring run with 9 minutes left.

But Louisville ran seven minutes off the clock on a 76-yard drive that included Dominique Brown’s 2-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the West Virginia 43.

“Coach looked at me and said ‘Dominique, can you do this for us?’ and I said, ‘I got this coach,’” Brown said.

Brown capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run for a 38-28 lead.

Stedman Bailey, who caught eight passes for 118 yards but had two critical drops, scored on a 1-yard pass from Smith with a minute left. But Louisville recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

Bridgewater, making his sixth start, completed 21 of 27 passes for a season-high 246 yards.

“Teddy is doing a good job of managing the game and making the throws,” Strong said. “If you look at it, he is getting better and the whole offense is getting better because we are able to run the football. When you are able to run the football, it opens up the passing game.”

Bridgewater provided a spark just before halftime after an 11-yard punt by West Virginia freshman Michael Molinari. Bridgewater went 5 of 6 on the drive, completing a left-handed shovel pass under pressure before hitting Eli Rogers from 4 yards out to tie the game at 21.

West Virginia went scoreless in the third quarter for the first time all season. Bitancurt missed a 33-yard field goal try after Najee Goode intercepted Bridgewater’s first pass of the second half.

A fumble by freshman Andrew Buie at the West Virginia 15 set up Chris Philpott’s 39-yard field goal to put Louisville ahead entering the fourth.

© 2011 The Associated Press.

No. 9 Louisville looks to overcome early injuries

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Coach Rick Pitino said coming into the season this Louisville team is as talented and as deep as he’s had in a decade.

Many agree, the Cardinals are ranked ninth in the preseason poll. They are expected not only to contend in the Big East, but also make a run at a ninth Final Four appearance.

Three starters and 11 lettermen return for the Cardinals, including point guard Peyton Siva (9.9 ppg, 5.2 apg) and senior wings Kyle Kuric (14.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Chris Smith (9.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg). They’ll likely be joined by center Gorgui Dieng and freshman power forward Chane Behanan to round out the starters

But injuries have derailed the Cardinals’ depth and the frontcourt is especially thin.

Louisville suffered a major blow Friday when the school announced freshman Wayne Blackshear will miss the season with a torn right labrum. The 6-foot-5 win was expected to figure prominently in the rotation and replace some of the scoring lost from last year’s leader, Preston Knowles.

The frontcourt has been hardest.

Rakeem Buckles will miss another 6-8 weeks after tearing his right ACL on Feb. 27. Stephan Van Treese has not practiced this fall after straining his left patellar tendon. Jared Swopshire, a starter in 2009-10, missed all of last year with a groin injury and has to return to the player he once was.

Guards Elisha Justice, Tim Henderson and Russ Smith have also missed time.

“That starting five, they’re ready to go, especially at the offensive standpoint,” Pitino said. “The next five, it’s been very difficult getting them ready.”

Siva was named to the preseason All-Big East second team but Pitino said Dieng, a 6-foot-11 sophomore from Senegal who averaged 5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds last year, is the one player his team can’t afford to lose. Dieng played at 212 pounds last season but has comes into this season at nearly 240.

Behanan joins Dieng upfront. Pitino has high praise for his 6-foot-6 freshman from Cincinnati.

“He’s as good a freshman as I’ve coached since (Jamal) Mashburn in terms of talent,” Pitino said after Behanan led the Cardinals with 16 points in their first exhibition. “That’s about as good a statement as I can possibly say. So I’m very pleased with his attitude, very pleased with his game.

“But he is a freshman and he has to learn.”

Behanan and his teammates will be tested early and often this year.

The Cardinals play 16 games against teams that made last year’s NCAA tournament, including out-of-conference tests against No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 11 Memphis. The Big East schedule brings No. 4 Connecticut to Louisville and home-and-home matchups against No. 5 Syracuse and No. 10 Pittsburgh. Louisville must also travel to No. 21 Cincinnati and No. 22 Marquette.

“We are talking a lot about our schedule and how we have to be ready very early on for probably one or two of the most difficult schedules in the nation,” Pitino said. “They know that. We don’t talk about expectations though.”

A summer trip to the Bahamas allowed the team to pick up 10 extra practices that Pitino said was crucial in preparing for the grueling schedule. The only solace comes from 14 of Louisville’s first 15 games at home. A trip to Butler on Nov. 19 is the Cardinals only 2011 road test before a New Year’s Eve game at Kentucky.

Pitino said he’s enjoying coaching more now as he nears his 600th collegiate victory for three reasons. His team’s throwback attitude that turned last year’s “bridge year” into an unexpected 25-10 season where they nearly beat eventual national champion Connecticut in the Big East tournament final has continued.

The coach is trying to savor what could be the last year with the current Big East lineup, one he calls the best in basketball. And he knows there may not be many more chances to contend for a national championship.

“You have to more passion now because you know your window is going to close some day,” the 59-year-old Pitino said. “So you have to enjoy it more and more, whether it’s six, seven, eight years, whatever it may be.”

Many people lobbied for Louisville to get Big 12 invite

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich says many people lobbied the Big 12 to invite Louisville to join the conference before officials extended an invitation to fellow Big East member West Virginia.

The AD says discussions on a possible move went on for months before Friday’s invitation to the Mountaineers.

Jurich says he doesn’t know the reasons why West Virginia was chosen and not Louisville. He says he is “not certain how everything went down but they fought a good battle and won.”

Jurich spoke at an impromptu press conference Friday prior to the women’s basketball tip-off luncheon. He says the Cardinals were obviously “very attractive” to the Big 12 based on how long the conference looked at the school.

Louisville’s Conner breaks neck during collision

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville coach Charlie Strong says cornerback Anthony Conner broke his neck when his head hit the knee of Rutgers receiver Mohamed Sanu but he isn’t paralyzed.

Conner was carted off the field Friday night after going down on the first play of the second quarter, and team officials said a few minutes later that the senior was conscious with feeling in his extremities.

Strong said Conner was able to squeeze hands and raised his hand, which made his teammates feel he’d be OK. But the coach found out about the severity of the injury during a timeout late in Louisville’s 16-14 win.

“Anthony Conner, it’s so sad,” Strong said. “Our prayers go out to him and his family, but he ended up breaking his neck.”

Conner came in low to tackle Sanu, and the cornerback flipped the Rutgers receiver. But Conner’s helmet banged off Sanu’s right knee, and he went down on the field. Trainers worked on him for several minutes, strapping him to a backboard. He did move his feet and a hand as he was carted off to an ambulance where he was taken to Jewish Hospital.

“He was talking, and he could squeeze your hand and that was it,” Strong said.

Strong said he told his players about the severity of Conner’s injury a few minutes after the game ended in the locker room.

“When he raised his hand up, they just, they just figured it was OK,” said Strong, who worked at Mississippi the season after Chucky Mullins was paralyzed by a hit Oct. 28, 1989, against Vanderbilt.

“It’s just so tough anytime you lose a player,” said Strong, who kept tapping the side of the podium as he spoke. “It’s what happens in this game, but you just never think it’ll happen to one of your own. For that to happen, it is, it’s sad. I think our players, I told them right after the game. I ended up telling them about it, and some of them didn’t take it very well. The whole team didn’t take it very well.”

Senior linebacker Dexter Heyman called Conner, a starter, one of their great warriors.

“But we’re not going to sit there and feel sorry for ourselves now that he’s out. He’s a great personal friend of mine and he’s a great personal friend of a lot of guys, but at the end of the day we do have football games to play and we do have to go out here and execute and we have to perform.”

The Scarlet Knights all came out onto the field and knelt, watching as trainers worked on Conner. Just over a year ago, many of these players watched teammate Eric LeGrand carted off the field when the defensive lineman fractured two vertebrae tackling an Army kick returner.

With Strong not sharing the news of Conner’s injury with his own team until after the game, the Scarlet Knights likely didn’t hear about the severity before packing up for their trip home.

“They were in the same position last year,” Strong said.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

2011 NCAA Basketball Rankings Preseason – USA Today

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2011 NCAA Basketball Rankings Preseason – USA Today

1. North Carolina (30) 29-8 774 8
2. Kentucky (1) 29-9 721 3
3. Ohio State 34-3 702 5
4. Connecticut 32-9 655 1
5. Syracuse 27-8 649 18
6. Duke 32-5 635 7
7. Vanderbilt 23-11 567 NR
8. Louisville 25-10 514 22
9. Memphis 25-10 482 NR
10. Florida 29-8 474 10
11. Pittsburgh 28-6 471 12
12. Baylor 18-13 358 NR
13. Kansas 35-3 331 4
14. Wisconsin 25-9 313 15
15. Xavier 24-8 277 NR
16. Arizona 30-8 269 9
17. Alabama 24-11 194 NR
18. Michigan 21-14 187 NR
19. Texas A&M 24-9 161 NR
20. UCLA 23-11 147 NR
21. Marquette 22-15 145 20
22. Cincinnati 26-9 141 NR
23. Gonzaga 25-10 125 NR
24. California 18-15 111 NR
25. Missouri 23-11 110 NR

Others receiving votes Florida State 108; Texas 107; Michigan State 73; Temple 59; Washington 29; Butler 25; New Mexico 22; Creighton 19; Villanova 18; Purdue 17; UNLV 16; West Virginia 13; George Mason 12; Mississippi State 11; St. John’s 11; Saint Mary’s 5; Virginia 5; Virginia Commonwealth 4; Drexel 2; Kansas State 2; Long Beach State 2; Brigham Young 1; Notre Dame 1.

Big East considering expansion to 12 football teams

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Syracuse and Pittsburgh have already announced plans last month to leave the Big East for the ACC, and TCU is expected to confirm a move to the Big 12 on Monday.

That would mean just six football-playing schools would remain when those moves are complete. That could possibly be reduced if the Big 12 expands further. Louisville and West Virginia have been mentioned as possible candidates.

The Big East expansion plan could include service academies Army, Navy and Air Force in addition to East Carolina, Central Florida, Memphis, Temple and current Big East member Villanova, which plays in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Full story at USA Today