What a win, what a game, and what a performance for a team and a crowd that seems to be settling into their own.
By the latter, I mean that the crowd was terrific. I was granted a manna-from-heaven ticket from a buddy at the 11th hour, and we and everyone around us cheered ourselves hoarse from the rafters. Is the white-out thing gimmicky? Of course it is. Is it still awesome? Of course it is.
And the team is settling into its own as well. Vegas dubbed the Cards a one-point favorite, the fans were similarly confident, and the players followed suit. Right from tip-off, Louisville wasn't playing like a squad that needed to play magical, perfect basketball in order to achieve an upset against an elite opponent. They played with confidence and were poised despite the breaks of the ball. They played like a team that expected to win the game.
For a bunch of scrappers, it's no small feat to attain such swagger. But as long as those 15 guys in the locker room keep believing, I'm running out of reasons to doubt them.
Other thoughts...
* The male-cheerleader gaffe. Yep, it was boneheaded and inexplicable for someone that, I hope, is trained about protocol for affecting the live-game action.
But still, considering that everyone in the arena, including the CBS commentators, thought the 5-point victory was sealed and that the buzzer had sounded, I don't think a technical should have issued. Technically a violation of the technical rules? Yes. But as Louisville fans have become painfully aware in the last month, there's an incredible amount of discretion involved in every T called. The actions of that cheerleader didn't affect anyone or anything that was happening on the court. Thankfully, a ref more keen on the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law didn't affect the outcome.
Still, re-emphasis is apropriate of what Peyton Siva said to the cheerleading squad post-game: "Please, please, don't ever do anything like that again."
* I was kinda-right when I wrote that The Greatest would make an appearance in the Kayefseum on Sunday; only, sadly for his fans, it was a feeble appearance via recorded image on the Jumbotron. It seems that Ali's health has at long last precluded him from such public appearances. But if he should rise for one more round and shows up at the Red Out on Wednesday, I think you'd be foolish to count him out.
* Credit Marra. I question him as much as anyone, but I'm also adamant that if one hurls criticism, he or she better be able to pump praise with equal enthusiasm. Marra didn't blow the lid off the place (and there were a couple of shots where he would have had they fallen) but he hit some big buckets in the first half that built the Cards all-important lead, he passed the ball nicely (including a "wow" assist for a Gorgui dunk) and more than held his own on defense.
* Bizarre stat lines abounded, and they reflect the all-hands-on-deck effort that sealed the W; Knowles with only 8 points but 7 assists, Gorgui and SVT with 4 points and 6 boards apiece, Kuric with 12 and 7, Siva icing 6 huge free throws. Louisville fans can confidently expect 100% effort from this squad, but how a victory will ultimately be earned is still anyone's guess.
* I was very impressed with the
Jamie Dixon post-game presser, his common sense basketball talk, the total absence of hyberbole or panic, and the way he steadfastly refused to speak ill of any of his players or throw a single one under the bus, even Gilbert Brown, who blew the key layup their final possession.
* On the other hand, Pitt basketball? Tough as nails. Pitt fans? Not so much.
It's no secret that I spend time walking miles in the opposition's moccassins, checking in on their sites, reading their newspaper articles and comments; it adds another layer for bloggers like me or anyone obsessed with college basketball.
So when I got home from the game, I checked in on
PittBlather's live-chat to see what their impressions were of the game. And WOW.
I know it's never fun to lose, but if you ever want to read two hours of whiny thought from a fanbase smugly complaining about the referees (in a game where their team
out free-throwed the Cards 20 attempts to 13) there's the link above. You'll also be treated to nonstop complaints about UofL's aggressive defense. C'mon Pitt, you're supposed to be the toughest team in the Big East! It's was like tuning into dozens of Billy Packers bred with swarmy-Pollyannas. Yeesh, not a glad bunch to spend two hours with.
* Since college basketball isn't the NBA by any stretch, every fan knows that rebounding missed shots is the second most important statistic in the game (the first being FG %, per Denny Crum's orders, per his orders from John Wooden, which the former religiously reminds his listeners on the Joe B. & Denny radio show). And as far as rebounding goes, the Cardinals pulled off a small miracle in only being outboarded by one (37-36) to a Pittsburgh squad that prides itself on its rebounding.
Kyle Kuric in particular was incredible. On a fair handful of his seven boards he seemed to swoop in like a superhero. Louisville's competitiveness on the glass was a very, very,
very positive sign for our March prospects.
* And speaking of Kuric, Pitt don't got one. I'm a big fan of Jamie Dixon and most-all of the teams he's assembled there, so I mean that blurb in an objective fashion. Pitt's a quality team, a legit # 1 seed, and a threat to cut the nets down when it's all said and done.
But from what I witnessed, they're
one shooter away from turning that possibility into a likelihood. The downfall of the Pitt Panthers, should it come, will be their lack of a knockdown shooter.
