Ralph Willard fills in for Pitino postgame

He speaks.



Also, watch those dejected faces pass by in the background.

Mark my words West Virginia -- should we meet on Thursday, we'll have our revenge.

March phraseology; Ins and Outs

March is the greatest month of the year; the time-tested "Da na na, da na nah" plucks the shit out of my heartstrings. But that doesn't mean the rest of the vernacular couldn't use some refurbishing, so here's a few of Mr. Red's thoughts on what should be IN and OUT when it comes to professional or amateur punditry...

OUT: "When they're playing well, they can beat anybody in the country".

Yes, when X team is hitting shots, playing great defense, creating turnovers, and taking care of the basketball, yes, I agree, X team can beat any team in the country.

The problem is there's about 40 teams in the country that fit that bill, so please, save your breath.

IN: Being "doody". I did my undergrad at Murray State, so I was in close contact with others that had colloquialisms that I had never heard of, or had once heard of but long since forgotten. Being "doody" is a nice cutdown that was popular once upon a time, and I think it's time for it to be resurrected.

As in: "UK got a nice win at Tennessee yesterday, but I still think UT is doody".

OUT: Charlie Sheen-isms. Please, please please, I know he's topical and I've had my share of laughs over his sideshow, but please, each March Madness deserves a timeless quality to it. I'd hate to see Morehead State knock off a #2 seed only to have it ruined for posterity when some jokester says: "Faried's got "TIGER BLOOD! (da na nah, da na nah)"

IN: "If you put a gun to my head". Some may not like the firearm reference, but I despise the vague predictions of the college pundits. They get paid salaries to do what the rest of us do for free (save for the Google Ads that have made us stinkin' rich). The least they can do is make their thoughts plain. If you think Villanova stinks, sac up and state it, no hedging. In fact, "sac pick" may lead next year's list of terms for a guaranteed Elite Eight pick for a squad seeded #4 or higher.

OUT: Dark horse. Parity in college basketball has rendered this phrase moot. I'm pre-cringing for the inevitable naming of UNC as everyone's "dark horse" in whatever bracket they wind up in.

Channeling my inner-Obama, "Let me be clear", I'm not against the term as much as the vagueness. If and when one uses said term he or she needs to follow it with: "I like X team as my dark horse to go to X round..."

Until this rule is adopted, yea, I got the Tarheels as my "dark horse" too.

IN: Red horse. Every cliche deserves a counterpart. So I think Red Horse, referencing "red-headed stepchild" should be for the team that is obviously overseeded and will be a cakewalk for the first quality opponent they meet. This year's inaugural Red Horse? You win BYU! On my honor.

OUT: "Deep run in the tournament". Deep run my shorts, Clark Kellogg.

IN: "Rick Pitino! And are you a bit surprised, Clark? And the Louisville Cardinals march on to the Final Four!"

Sunday brunch, who's got egg on their face?

Let's get one thing out of the way. He fouled him. I've heard some Cards fans try and break down the tape to prove that Knowles merely made some incidental contact with Truck Bryant with .6 seconds left, but such is not the case. It was a frustration foul, where Knowles came in too hard trying to make up for his missed, semi-questionable 30-footer to seal the win. He fouled him, period.

Once you can acknowledge that fact, the real question turns to whether the ref should have blown his whistle in that moment to decide the game, a game mind you, that had more closely resembled a rugby match at times. That's the issue, the one we're all still wrestling with.

But there were many mistakes that helped the Cards steal defeat from the jaws of victory yesterday. Here'a few I've been stewing on...

* Pitino's substitutions. It's hard to see why SVT never saw the floor until the second half. And I thought Pitino looked pretty foolish when Van Treese came in and immediately helped stop the child-abuse going on in the post. He did give George Goode a chance in the first half, I'll give him that, but as bad as the bloodbath was down low, he could have certainly afforded to send SVT in there as well. He's at least as good a player as WVU's fatter, slower doppelganger, Thoroughman, who was killing us on the offensive glass.

Two, Elisha Justice was forced into action yesterday, and looked like a deer in headlights. He looked nothing like the player that, at times, was outplaying Peyton Siva at the position early in the season. But as Mr. Black noted afterwards, what do you expect? Having been sitting on ice for the past 10 games, it's a little much to throw him into a defensive slugfest, in Morgantown of all places, and expect many positive results.

But the point is, having to sit his slaphappy point guard for long stretches of a game was an entirely forseeable possibility. If he wanted Elisha Justice to be the backup point guard, he should have been playing him like the backup point guard all along; rather than going with Preston Knowles at times and experimenting with Russ Smith.

* The refs. Yep, I'll be that guy, I don't care. For the second year in a row the Cards have left Huggy's Lair after hard-fought contests where they earned a win, only to have the refs push their big fat thumbprint towards the Mountaineers in the crucial moments.

Three bad calls stick out in my mind; the out-of-bounds off Knowles call that gave WVU the ball back when the Cards had them reeling. It was a close call, but the ref was staring at it from point blank range like a line judge in football, he should have gotten it right.

Two, the foul on Kyle Kuric that would be an insult to Tic Tacs to mention them in the same sentence, when he was called on a fastbreak that led to a 3-point play. Are you not allowed to even try and play defense anymore on a fastbreak, are you supposed to throw your hands high in the air so the refs can see lest you give them an and-one opportunity?

Three, the end of the game whistle on Knowles, which I said above, was a foul. But it should have never been whistled, not in this contest, not when WVU had gotten the benefit of their bruising reputation all-game and were allowed to play rugby-basketball.

Since Louisville is one of the "prettier" teams in the Big East in terms of style, I've come to expect at least one of these games a season, when a Cinci/Pitt/WVU is allowed, and in fact lauded for their physicality, while the Cards are left scratching their heads and sitting the pine with foul trouble. Siva missed most of the game the victim of quick whistles, and of course, Knowles was held to the letter of the law at the end of the game.

I don't mind physical scrums, it's part of the pleasure of the Big East even if the Cards come out on the losing end of many of these contests; but just call it both ways, that's all I ask.

The Cards choked away the end, but they at least earned the benefit of overtime to decide which team was truly better that day. Given that WVU had two key players already foul out, I would have liked Louisville's chances in OT.

* Leadership failure. Knowles was off for most of the day, but he wanted the ball at the end, I'll give him that. His decision to pop from long range has been critized by some, but it's okay in my book. It's his prerogative to take the open look, if that's what he wanted, rather than what would have been a contested shot. But the bump 75-feet from the basket after is inexcusable no matter what. He wasn't "trying to make a play", there was no time left to do so, he was just frustrated by his miss and let his emotions get the better of his basketball IQ.

Siva, likewise, didn't play most of the game like a leader. I disagree with many of the touch fouls that sent him to the bench for so long, but still, once it was clear that the refs were going to whistle his aggressive defense, he needed to dial it down a notch for the benefit of his team. He didn't/couldn't/wouldn't adjust his game, and his team suffered the consequences.

* Okay. Breathe...breathe...and time to move on.

As we knew going into the game, winning was not an absolute essential, the Cards already having locked their 3rd place Big East finish. But it would have been nice, nonetheless, if only as a cherry-on-top of their remarkable conference run, the improved NCAA seeding, and the overall pleasure of sweeping the utterly loathsome WVU Mountaineers for the season.

They didn't get it done. They choked.

But watching tears of frustration, anger, and passion well in Preston Knowles' eyes when he realized the consequences of his actions in the final moments, having Rick Pitino rip off his sportcoat and then skip the post-game media appearances, I'm hopeful that this disappointment may be the kick in the ass the team needed to re-light their fierce desire.

On to Madison Square Gardens.

Quote of the Day

"We told them at halftime that they were pushing us in the back, but you... have to expect that... We have to just be tougher than that. Let's be honest, the only games we haven't played well enough to win were when we got really hurt on the backboards. That was the difference. They got 25 offensive rebounds. That's incredible."

-- Louisville Associate Head Coach Ralph Willard, subbing in postgame for Rick Pitino (Ricky said if he said anything he'd get suspended for complaining about the officiating)

Knowles fouls inexplicably, Cards hand this one to West Virginia 72-70

Un-freaking-believable.

Everything was going so well. Against all the general foulness we've come to expect whenever we play at Morgantown -- hillbillie bumpkins chanting "Karen Sypher" incessantly, Bob Huggins unleashing a pack of animals to play the game of basketball (and I think I mean that as a gesture of grudging respect, though I'm still not sure) -- the Cards had responded, had played themselves back into the game and taken a lead in the second half, had played heroically despite their mistakes and being sensationally overmatched on the glass. They were on course to victory. They had outplayed Huggie Bear's Mountaineers at his own house. A thrilling and fitting end to a gritty, sensational season in the Big East. Then we coughed it up. Big time.

In particular, it pains me to say it, but Preston Knowles erred sensationally. After West Virginia tied things up with a three pointer, our senior leader charged downcourt and missed a 3. It was a good shot, no qualms there. But then, going for the long rebound, he inexplicably fouled a Mountaineer with .6 seconds remaining. I'm still in disbelief that it happened. Yet it was the final, capstone error-in-judgment on a day when Knowles was guilty of too many mental lapses.

Preston made a big-time mistake, that's absolutely true. Still, that called foul... second year in a row at Morgantown where the refs decided the fate of the game, the umpteenth time this season where the refs have bordered on the bizarre by inserting themselves into the outcome during Big East play. The ball was loose and there was contact... well, the stripes had done a fanatical job allowing precisely that to take place throughout the game. Suddenly with less than a second left, you start reigning in the contact?!? As questionable as that call was, the one before it was worst. A ball was loose on West Virginia's end, and Preston Knowles pinned it to the ground but stepped out of bounds so didn't touch it, allowing Chris Smith to pick it up off the ground... and somehow the refs call it out on Preston?!? And what about that phantom foul on Kyle Kuric trying to strip the ball on the fast break? Picking up on a theme here in Morgantown? What. A. Crock. of. Cooked. Squirrel.

Stats here. Rebounding statistics not for the faint of heart.

Maybe the loss turns into a positive in the long run, a final kick in the rear before the games become win-or-go-home. But I hate losing at Morgantown so to hell with all that. Screw Bob Huggins, screw the refs, screw the hillbillie bumkins, screw Jim Calhoun for good measure since they're playing next, and screw all of you. My day is ruined and I hope yours is too.

Beat WVU

Come on Cards... send the bumpkins scampering back into the mountains.

CJ report: Cal roots for Cards for purposes of strength of schedule

Story here.

I don't know if this, plus the comments on Pitino, is reporter-driven, or if Cal's settled on a "remember we beat Louisville" strategy to settle a restive fan base. But whatever the reason, it does seems strange that we're the focus of so much attention out of Lexington right now, right when UK is supposed to be preparing for the SEC tournament.

Live-blog reminder

With the upset of St. John's last night, the Cards' Big East tournament date has been set in stone.

Louisville is the #3 seed, and will play on March 10, next Thursday, at 9:00PM.

Mark it down, cause Cardinal Laws will be live-blogging the action. We'll get going around 8:30 to compensate for any technical glitches that may arise.

See you then.

Louisville-Prov highlights

Hobbs is back! Kind of.

"How about the exclamation point? Preston Knowles distributing. He's going to share it! That's something good to teach his daughter."

Alas, footage of the Siva dive-slide-pass remains elusive.

Cal talks about Ricky

Quick Nits

I believe that the best days for this team are still ahead of them, so in that vein, I'll continue to critique even if it goes against the grain of the otherwise warm-feelings permeating Louisville basketball right now.

Here's the few negatives that I noticed from last night's contest...

* Marra is still out of place. 2 points in 26 minutes of play, 1-7 from the field and 0-5 from three. At this point, I won't even discuss the sharpshooter angle, that just seems like piling on.

The re-injury to Buckles will necessitate Marra still getting solid minutes, and if he can keep holding his own on the defensive end (2 boards, 1 block, 1 steal), that's all we can ask for at this point. He's shooting the ball right now because he knows that's what he's expected to do if he's open; but he's doing so with zero confidence.

* TJ's blown dunks. With a 15-point margain, Sharphead's failed-attempts to tear down the goal take on an endearing quality. But in a close contest, I'd have been flinging projectiles. If his track record were a little better I probably wouldn't even bring it up, but we've seen him lose focus and/or his basketball IQ at key times in the past.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about it is that I plead for him to dunk the ball during games. Half the time I feel he could slam it but instead he chooses to bunny-up a shot that rims out, and now he's trying to King Kong the rim only to see the same result.

I hope he can find a middle ground. Please TJ, a nice normal, authoritative dunk, that's all we're asking for.

* Chris Smith played a hell of a game. 12 points, 6 rebounds (5 offensive), 4 assists, and a steal. That's a terrific stat line for our glue guy.

But his 3-point shot looks broken too. He made 1 of 4, but the misses were very weird; on one he shot off one foot, on another he introduced a little leg-kick out, I'm not sure what that was.

Like I said, I'm nitpicking an otherwise complete performance here, but I'm still a little worried about Chris Smith's shooting going forward.

* The Kia commercial. One of the sublime pleasures of living in Louisville and loving college basketball here is reading the CJ the day after a big win and listening to local sports radio. But while listening to 790 this morning, or any morning recently, you can't escape when they cut to a commercial break and you hear that commercial...

Idiot guy #1: (singing) I don't wanna cloooooooooooose my eyes.
Idiot girl: Will you please stop saying that. You've been singing that ALL day!
Idiot guy #2: C'mon, you can't complain about my dawg, he's just excited about his new Kia!

Terrible commercials are one thing. But terrible commercials that don't even make sense drive me to another level of hatred. In Mr. Red's order of people that are asking for a kick to the nuts, the UK fan that vandalized the UofL parking lot after this season's game is still Public Enemy No. 1, but whoever produced that commercial is now No. 2.

And if it's a female producer, sans nuts, I dunno, a kick to the fallopian tubes, whatever causes pain. I don't pretend to understand the female reproductive system.

Quote of the Day

I get a lot of chuckles from spinmeister Rick Pitino and his occassionally ludicrous or hyperbolic statements to the media, but I found this quote to be very moving.

Speaking on his relationship with Preston Knowles...

Up and down? It has never been up and down at all. It's been a love affair since the first day he's come. Has he been in trouble academically, and have I had to discipline him in certain areas? Yes. That's like saying you're a parent and you've had an up and down childhood with your child because you've had to discipline him. If you love someone, you discipline them. Certainly, it's been anything but up and down. It's always been up, but like a parent, you have to discipline kids. The ones that don't discipline kids are the ones that don't love the children. Discipline is a big, big part of love.

Every which way

E

Having won their previous three games with grinding defense and sporadic offense, it was a nice reminder last night that the Cards can still send the ball through the net.

Louisville scored in every way possible; Kuric raining threes, Siva dishing assists from his knees, Knowles throwing in shots from over his head.

UofL ran the floor like madmen, forcing the wheels off the Providence train. Or bus rather, I guess trains don't have wheels. The Cards were running the break perfectly, banking each other at full speed like fighter jets. On one particular play Knowles pushed the ball up quickly with an outlet pass, and the other four players all touched the ball in rapid succession leading to a Kuric layup. It was a thing of beauty.

The best part of the offensive explosion was that it never led to a let-up on defense or kept them from crashing the glass. My favorite play, perhaps symbolic of the season, was when Gorgui threw a terrible pass into the lane that led to a turnover. But without hanging his head for a second he sprinted downcourt and swatted the $h*% out of Bryce Cotton as he went up for the layup. The block is currently being featured on Sportcenters Top 10 plays (Preston's toss-in being #1).

With about 9 minutes left in regulation, Providence essentially gave-up. Not Louisville, not these Cards, and they proceeded to outhustle and embarass the Friars, turning the game into an And1 highlight tape.

12-5 in the Big East. Double-bye earned. And the Cards march on.

CJ highlights of Louisville-Providence

Of course there were many highlights to choose from last night. But this is probably the best footage pulled together by the CJ since they started making these videos (even though the Siva dive-slide-pass is conspicuously absent). Well done Scott Utterback.

Memo to Chris Smith: let's make the spandex shirt a one-night wonder. Cool? Yikes.

Pitino postgame

Take a bow, Cards win in style 87-60

Full recap tomorrow. For now just enjoy it. Go Cards.

It's not often...

...in the Big East that a team has the opportunity to avenge an earlier conference battle, but lest we forget it, this is the second time we are playing Providence this season. During that awful first encounter, which Mr. and Mrs. Red and I painfully witnessed in the flesh during our Boston expedition, Prov somewhat embarrassed us at their place. But that was before the Cards raised up their play to another level, on their way to knocking off UConn (twice) and Syracuse and Pitt. We're playing so well and riding so high right now, but does that not also mean that we're about due for another familiar late-season letdown? How long ago was the Cincinnati game? The opportunity for vengeance is rare, but sweet. Whether the Cards take advantage is still more crucial than anything having to do with senior night rituals.

I'm walking out the door right now, heading to the game with my brother after falling into some last minute tickets (Thanks D-Simes). Let's do this. Go Cards.

Cliff's Notes

Local die-hard and one of the cleverest Cardinals you'll ever meet, Mr. Cliff, has done made up some t-shirts to commemorate Preston Knowles' farewell!. And since we know that Preston wears t-shirts...sometimes, that makes them twice as awesome.

I can't promise anything, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that Cliff would be willing to mail you one should one strike your fancy and if you pony up five-bucks and a six-pack of decent beer.

**UPDATE**

Apologies to reader Jacback, apparently the creative genius behind the tees below. Cliff, it turns out, is one of the dumbest and least clever Cards fans you'll ever meet.

One last t-shirt design...

Goode bye

Perhaps it's fitting that George Goode's senior night will be somewhat overshadowed by that of instant-legend Preston Knowles. Such has been the story of his Cardinal career.

Buried on the depth chart due to injuries or more highly-touted players, George Goode has been the constant for a program that has witnessed its fair share of up and downs over the last five years.

But, like clockwork, every time his number was called he responded with enthusiasm and productivity.

So much so that UofL fans were clamoring for more PT for the veteran big-man following this year's disaster against UK. But for whatever reason, his playing time has remained limited, his contributions sporadic.

But while his contributions to the team will likely be overlooked in the historical stat lines, I suspect that behind-the-scenes, they're no less valuable to the successes his teams have experienced.

In each interview I've seen him give, he displays the intelligent, goofy, self-deprecating personality that every locker room needs. The kind that helps defuse the increasingly enormous pressure these kids are under.

By going all-out in practice each day, by providing humor and displaying heart to his teammates, he will have earned every decibel of applause that is no doubt coming his way tonight.

He's tall, well, he's kinda tall. And he wears t-shirts. Sometimes.

The hidden sadness in watching Preston play his last home game is that the days of me using these quotes from the underrated teen-comedy "Can't Hardly Wait" are coming to an end. I've used the lines from the scene below upwards of 10,000 times over the past four years.

Below that, you can watch Knowles give some candid thoughts reflecting on his career.

Goodbye Preston. And thank you.

Preston Knowles plays his last home game as a Cardinal tonight against Providence. And Cardinal nation could not be more grateful to this young man.

More and more, I'm hearing people agree that this is indeed the favorite team in recent memory. The passing, the late-game thrills, the lack of ego... as said last time, they're impossible not to love. And it's the play of Preston Knowles, night in and night out, that has led the way. His is the fierce desire of an ultimate competitor, and this team personifies his rigorous, vigorous style.

Pitino told a story in his news conference yesterday where earlier this season an opposing coach mouthed off to one of our guys after the game, and the first thought entering Pitino's head was, "thank God he didn't say that to Preston." That's been Preston this entire season--every season, in fact, but we've seen it crystallize most clearly this year--his is the fiercest desire to win. He's hard on himself, he's hard on his teammates, and all his teammates speak almost reverently of their team leader. He's been the catalyst of this team, the entire way through. This team, as great as they've been... it's Preston's team.

His hot-hot-cold-hot shooting. His markedly improving passing abilities. His locker room tantrums. Leading the band after a bulls@#$ call. Getting a technical for it. Big-time defensive stops. Hitting more impossible baskets with three hands in his face than any player I've ever seen. Hitting big shots but making critical passes down the stretch against UConn. The long two-pointer (he was the master of the long two-pointer) to put us ahead against Pitt. Absolutely willing us to victory against Marquette.

I'm going to miss it all.

Cheer hard tonight Cards fans. We're saying goodbye to a great kid, a memorable sharpshooter. Our leader.

Cardinal Laws goes live!

Like most Louisville fans, we won't be in attendance at Madison Square Gardens for the Big East tournament, much to the chagrin of head coach Rick Pitino who recently said that going to said tournament hasn't "caught on" yet with the Cardinal fanbase.

What do you want from us, Rick?!? People already spend a small fortune for their season tickets and we're top #3 in attendance every year. Expecting fans that have responded passionately (despite every price-increase and mandatory "donation" to the Athletic Department just for the privilege of buying tickets) to equal the support of the other northeast teams that live a short shot from the Big Apple is pushing it.

But, red-obsessed we are, so please tune in for Louisville's Big East tournament game (s!) when Cardinal Laws introduces a live-blog for the first time.

Our readership is small but loyal, so we're counting on you fans to tune in and add flavor when we go-live. You'll be treated to the NSFW interactions of Mr. Black and I as we react to the Cards playing in the Mecca of basketball as it all goes down.

Pencil it into your schedule. Go Cards.

Short Fry has a big supporter

Will Stein, UofL's lone remaining veteran QB, has a big fan in head coach Charlie Strong despite his diminutive size. You can see part of the interview he provided local reporters today here, which includes a nice anecdote about Stein being inserted into the Rutgers game and then throwing a touchdown...

Standout quote (speaking about Stein in response to a question about starting a freshman QB)...

I will say this guys, it'll be hard to beat him out, it will be hard to beat him out.