Ho ho hum: Cards win in the worst way

Man I love X-mas, these headlines just write themselves. The Cards beat Western Kentucky last night to maintain their perfect record, but beyond that, there wasn't much to cheers to. I was hosting a Christmas party last night, so was hoping for a comfortable win that didn't require my utmost focus, and this one was anything but; not sure my relentless stream of expletives thrown at the screen did much to put guests in the Yuletide spirit. It's just that every time you defend this group of Cardinals from the naysayers, pointing to some quality wins and a SOS tougher than many other highly-ranked squads that aren't subject to this level of scrutiny for whatever reason, and then they hit the court as if determined to prove their doubters right.

There's a lot to chew and stew on after this one. What is happening to the Cardinals vaunted defense? Why wouldn't Rick Pitino call a time out in the first half? Is Peyton Siva hurting this team? We'll tackle all these subjects post-holiday. We're off today and tomorrow but will be back Monday to begin a monumental week of Cardinal sports.

Merry Christmas to all from Cardinal Laws.

Oldie but a goodie

Two late Belk bits

Reports are that senior Greg Scruggs did not travel with the team to Raleigh. Just a sad bad situation. See my previous thoughts here.

And theCardinalConnect is reporting that junior defensive tackle Randy Salmon is no longer a part of the football program. If confirmed, it's a bizarre end for what was once thought to be an extremely promising Cardinal.

Rick Pitino recap

It was a fairly routine press conference, previewing the 4-8 Hilltoppers isn't as scintillating as Georgetown and UK back to back. This felt like the deep breath before the plunge of what will be a wild post-Christmas week.

* The most interesting portion, in my opinion, was when Rick doubled down on his "Louisville First" slogan, offering extended emphasis on that mantra and how serious he was about rebranding UofL basketball after T-Will and Earl Clark departed, essentially ending that "mini era". I do think "Louisville First" came about partly after Tim Fuller, the consumate "insider" spurned the Cards, and no doubt the glitz and glamour of UK's NBA-prep teams down the road played a role. But that doesn't mean he doesn't mean it when he talks about the type of character and players he seeks. It's hard to argue with the results, either; this appears to be an egoless team.

Interviewed last week, Gorgui Dieng quickly changed the course of questioning because it was focusing solely on him: Can you ask me something about the team? was Gorgui's churlish reply. During halftime of the Memphis game, Pitino admonished Dieng by saying "You're letting your team down" knowing that those words would cut the sharpest. "Louisville First" is real, folks.

* Coach called the Kayefseum the "best sixth man in college basketball" and remarked how that's the first thing opposing coaches say to him in those brief post-game handshake moments where you always wonder what they're saying. Rick said, "I can't believe this place" is the typical first sentiment expressed.

Pitino also said there's no way the Cards win against Charleston without the crowd. I concur. There were defensive stands at crunchtime when the team visibly responded to the energy from the stands. It's paying dividends in other ways as well, Top 50 Anton Gill, the Cards newest commit, named "facilities" in the first sentence when asked about choosing Louisville.

* Rick talked about Western Kentucky and the importance of playing the intra-state schools. He even got in a painful crack about losing to Morehead State last year, so the Cards shouldn't be too high up on their horse. I love the scheduling of Western, Bellarmine, Murray or Morehead; if the Bluegrass is indeed the heart of college basketball, supporting all these programs is important. And yes, in that vein, Calipari should be ashamed for even broaching the subject of canceling the UofL-UK series. This isn't college football, the season is loooong, there's absolutely no reason to deny one of the most passionate rivalries in sports. Unless, of course, you're just a prick.

* "I haven't had this much fun coaching a basketball team as in the last two years". Rick Pitino talked about how much fun it is to go to work every day with this group of players, how often the team laughs and cracks up during practice, and even remarked that "He may be going soft".

It wasn't a shattering press conference, but it offered a little bit of insight into a complex person. Rick Pitino seems to be in a very good place, and as a result, so are the Cards.

Pitino presser

HERE. Noon.

Sam Hatcher presents UofL-Charleston highlights

Lincoln needed Douglas. Ali needed Frazier. Now VillenHD faces Sam Hatcher for Louisville Youtube highlight supremacy. Take us to new heights, fellas.

NC State coach, on Cards

Time to get serious about this bowl of Belk. Let's start with NC State coach Tom O'Brien answering questions about his team and bowl preparations.

Anton Gill to Cards

Who? How many stars? Who else was recruiting him? Let's face it, recruiting hoopla reflects human folly almost as clearly as it does athletic talent. No-name Russ Smith is teaching us a thing or two about that.

In that vein of thought, the Cards got a commitment late this afternoon from Anton Gill, a four-star shooting guard from North Carolina for the class of '13.

But forgive me for not getting too excited about the future. The present is worrisome enough for me; I'm a full believer in the Mayan Calendar as well as Wayne Blackshear, and a coaching change, hypothetically, could change everything in 730 days or so.

But based on this highlight vid, Gill appears to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Lordy, why am I in such a shit mood? Welcome aboard, Anton. The bosom of Cardinal Nation is typically much warmer. When you hit the court, you'll get the chance to shine, I promise you that. Louisville's in the market for the next great lefty...

 

A note on Greg Scruggs

I didn't want to gloss over Greg Scrugg's arrest for suspicion of DUI over the weekend. At the end of his Louisville career, Scruggs had endeared himself to Louisville fans with his humor and charisma in post-game pressers as much as his play on the field. If the allegations are true, it was a foolish mistake by Greg that couldn't have come at a worse time.

Scruggs' prospects of playing at the next level are slim, and an 11th hour arrest certainly won't help. Likewise, his name in this city will never be larger than it is right now; Scruggs could probably return to the Cards as an assistant coach or head into the private sector with his new degree and engaging personality; again, not the best timing (not that there ever is for a DUI).

But I applaud Eric Crawford for going out of his way to provide context to the story. EC doesn't make any excuses for Greg, but does point a light on Scruggs' work off the field that testifies to the kind of person he is. The downside of being a role model, I suppose, is that you have to be a role model.

He made a mistake. He'll bounce back, hopefully the better for it.

And as a side note, Charlie Strong needs to clarify that one of his core values of "No Drugs" includes no alcohol (or at least no abuse of). That's the second DUI for a high-profile player in a year.

Quote of the Day

"We got a little fatigued out there, but we know if we’re tired, the other team is exhausted."

-Russ Smith, summing up the state of the teams last night in the final minutes of a grueling game

Charleston up and down

Thumbs UP: The Cards adding another style to their "Ways we can Win" resume. They've grinded out halfcourt victories and they came out on top in a foul-fest against Memphis. Now you can add frenetic frenzy to the list, which Mr. Black aptly described as a ping-pong match of turnovers at times. The most dangerous teams in March are the ones you can't pigeon-hole with a simple "We do X to them, we win." And the Cards are showing there are indeed many roads to Chicago, or in this case, New Orleans.

Thumbs DOWN: But let's not pat ourselves on the back too much for our versatility. Being able to adapt is one thing, but being devoid of an identity is called being a sociopath. I think the main culprit is our halfcourt offense which can still be agonizingly ineffective at times. The box score reads that the Cards had 12 assists last night, which isn't a terrible number, but I suspect the majority of those came on the fastbreak. I'm not Xs and Os savvy enough to diagnose correctly, but there seems to be too much one on one at the end of Cardinal possessions. There's passing going on before as the clock ticks down, but it's passing without a purpose.

Thumbs UP: Russ Smith. We need to start treating Russ with the respect he is earning; this kid isn't just some novelty act. He's doing for this team what we expected Wayne Blackshear to be doing at this point in the season; serving as an attacking catalyst from the shooting guard position. Last night he had 12 points, 5 steals and 4 rebounds and the Cards don't win the game without him. He's one of the quickest players I've ever seen and his emergence is undoubtedly the biggest storyline of the young season. But unfortunately that brings me to...

Thumbs DOWN: Peyton Siva. Something's just not right with Siva. Last night he was 0-5 from the field with 4 turnovers (and to his credit, 6 assists). But some of his turnovers were baaadd and just senseless. Siva is being left open on the offensive end and it seems to be affecting him; he lacks the confidence is his jump shot to make them pay. I don't know if the meteoric rise of Russ Smith has rattled Siva at all (and he's too good of a teammate and person to ever admit it) but there's no doubt that Russ is doing most of the slicing and dicing on the offensive end and is having the type of season we were expecting from Peyton, at this point.

Thumbs UP: Gorgui. The Gorgui Monster triple-double is coming, oh it's coming.

Thumbs DOWN: The "Is Dieng ready for the NBA?" talk is coming, oh it's coming.

Thumbs UP: A great game from Kuric. His defensive back moments where he zeros in on the long inbounds pass are about as exciting as life gets for me. And I'm fine with that.

Thumbs DOWN: Free throws. After downing the Memphis Tigers largely from the charity stripe, the Cards follow it by shooting 43% from the line. The biggest culprit was Chane Behanan, who followed up his 8-8 performance with a 1-5. I take full blame; I jinxed him by raving on his improved form after he drained the first one last night.

Thumbs UP: Richard Pitino, who pops gave credit for inserting Kyle Kuric at power forward to exploit the high post the Cougars were leaving exposed.

Thumbs DOWN: Being asked from several different fans whether I think Richard P is being groomed to take over when Rick hangs 'em up. Facepalm.

Thumbs UP: Being 11-0 with a ton of room for improvement. I won't apologize for continuing to be hard on this team. I won't go all UK, "Tell me how ultimate the Wildcat tradition is every 3 minutes lest I slip into a diabetic coma" on you, but there's nothing that's happened this season that we shouldn't expect from Louisville basketball. I'm enjoying the ride, don't get me wrong, but I believe this rollercoaster is still on the slow initial incline before things really get fun. Back to practice. Get better. Go Cards.

Louisville survives Charleston 69-62, but doesn't inspire much confidence

Cards hustled for a victory over College of Charleston tonight, but they could have lost as easily as they won. In fact they probably should have lost.

I'm glad this team has the poise to win in the face of adversity, when things clearly aren't going well and even the things we do right end badly -- there was a stretch where every time the Cards stole the ball, Charleston stole it immediately right back. It was like watching ping pong. So on the bright side, winning on a night like this does, in my opinion, separate this squad from previous.

Also, Charleston is a terrific basketball team, so no disrespect. They proved it when they beat Tennessee, and they proved it tonight. Their ability to make a big play after we made a big play, to quiet the crowd, was uncanny. Wouldn't want to face them in the tournament.

All that being said, the only consistent offense we have right now is whatever we can create out of our defense. Or, what we throw in the general direction of the rim and hope Gorgui can get the offensive rebound. If I had to pick between tenacious offense and ferocious defense, I'd take defense every time. But this lack of a half-court game is going to catch up with us. At inopportune times.

We're not ready for UK. We have to improve offensively.

Stats here. Go Cards. Get better.

UofL Goes Cougar Hunting

I've been slacking the past couple weeks. After a delightful five days/four nights in Las Vegas, I've spent much of my time catching up on work emails and drinking a lot of Gatorade. Although the impetus for the trip was to see Jay-Z and Kanye West at the MGM Grand, I spent Saturday in The Mirage's Sports Book betting on college basketball. I managed to do alright, with the exception of the "sure thing" (UK was only favored by five freakin' points! Who knew Terrance Jones would disappear?) As much fun as I had that day, if you ever have the opportunity, I suggest heading out to Las Vegas for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. I went a couple years ago and I have to say there's nothing quite like it. Stay at Treasure Island or the Mirage. They're both great locations for watching the games, the drinks are reasonably priced, and you're still close enough to walk to the nicer casinos (Venetian, Palazzo, Caesar's). I recommend booking your room early (as in the next three or four weeks). If I get some feedback that people are heading out there, I'll put together a blog post with some Vegas tips and recommendations.

Tonight Louisville will tip off at 9 PM vs The College of Charleston Cougars, who are currently 9-1 overall, and already have two conference victories. They've already notched wins over Clemson and Tennessee, with the former being their lone true road game. Although they're not to the level of our previous opponent, they're still a good team with a shot at winning the Southern Conference.

CoC is lead by Antwaine Wiggins, a 6-7 senior forward averaging 18.1 points and 7 rebounds per game. If Pitino sticks to his normal game plan of shutting down the opposing teams' best player, I think we may see Mr. Wiggins' numbers come in a bit under normal. Our frontcourt has been excellent thus far, and I'm hoping to see the Cards absolutely shut down another team's star before we head to Lexington (not that I'm looking ahead). I'm calling this one 76-59 Cards.

I'm also looking forward to seeing Kevin Ware become more involved in the offense. Out of all our freshmen, he's the one I've been the highest on since signing day. If he can become a servicable back-up for Siva over the next three games, I think he can be an impact player when Siva gets into early foul trouble against UK (not that I'm looking ahead).

Beat UK (not that I'm looking ahead).

Back to the Yum

I was actually able to come in from out of town and attend last Saturday's game against Memphis, my first at the Yum since last season's "Red Out" finale versus Providence. I went with my Dad, having essentially declared in internal family correspondence that his extra ticket belonged to me. And because I'm not scheduled to be in Louisville much the rest of this season, it is likely the only time I will see the Cards play at home this year. (though I do have tickets to see Louisville play on the road against Providence in January). Stroll into town, claim my extra ticket, head to the Yum to watch a rivalry game -- yes, that's how I roll.

My Dad and I started the game at Harley's, across from the arena on Main Street. The pub had a rusted brick interior that reminded me of Granville. Harley's sells pregame buckets of beer for ten dollars, and that alone would lure me back. But along with the beer bargains, the bar thrived off a pub crowd that was a diverse mix between U of L season-ticket holding booster types, and younger cooler trendy guys with leather coats and multiple piercings. One dude was a dead ringer for Lenny Kravitz. My dad chatted amicably with him for a moment, and I found that amusing.

About twenty minutes before the game, we left Harley's and headed to the Yum. We used the side entrance under the bridge so that Dad could show me the Troll Pub hyped by Mr. Red a few weeks ago --I had mentioned it during our drinks at Harley's, and since Dad works with one of the co-owners, he knew a lot about how the bar was established and the history of the building (frequently this is how our pregame conversations go). We later realized that this was a mistake since free water bottles were going around at the Main Street entrance; and when we arrived in our section, everyone was parading these sleek-looking red aluminum water bottles, except us. One guy already had two dangling from his belt -- I think the whole getup provided him his extra dose of masculinity, as if he was wearing his tool kit what with shiny metal objects attached to his belt.

This was the first game I've actually attended at the Yum with my Pops. His seats were in the top level but a lower row (for those familiar with the upper tier, as you enter you walk down instead of up), immediately facing the opponent's bench. There was a plaque presentation, commemorating the rivalry I think, to start the game that involved Rick Pitino, Jim Host and Denny Crum. As always, Denny was the most under-dressed, as always he received a thunderous ovation, and as always he seemed mildly baffled by the attention. As soon as the ceremony ended, he sprinted to his courtside seats, though he initiated several handshakes along the way.

Midway through the first half, the guys with the t-shirt shooting devices made an appearance in the adjacent section and started firing away. I was upset about the way the Cards were playing at the time and in no mood to be distracted, so I didn't bother standing up. Sure enough, the one time I don't, a t-shirt comes sailing across my head. Instinctively I reached out to grab it, but it soared inches beyond my hands and into the clutches of the lady standing next to me. The lady turned toward me and sort of paraded it in front of me (yes, like the water bottles), while the guy sitting in front of her was stirred enough by the episode that he turned fully around and shouted excitedly, "bet you wished you'd bothered to stand up now, huh?!" I told this to my fiancee later on, and for some reason she thinks this story is hilarious.

It was a great atmosphere to watch a trying game, one of those when the crowd is cheering, sighing and swearing completely in unison. There was the usual incredulity and jeering at the refs, leading to more and more vocal criticisms as the game went on, including some exasperated shouts that were also redundant. ("where da hell did these Conference USA refs come from?")  At certain moments in the second half, it seemed like everyone would nervously look at the scoreboard at the same time to take stock of how much the Cards' lead had shrunk, compared to how much time was left. Charlie Strong was shown with minutes to go, and with the game on the line the crowd suddenly regathered its confidence and cheered wildly. (quite a weapon in our arsenal to deploy). When Kyle Kuric slammed home that final alley-oop with 4 minutes to go, signalling that the game was in control and Cards were on their way to victory, the crowd around me let out a collective whoop. That same fan in front of me jumped to his feet and did a little dance; strangers exchanged high fives all around.

(The alley oop play was terrific to watch develop from beginning to end -- it was one of those plays where all eyes follow the pass, which for a moment seems to hang in midair before beginning its downward trajectory, at which point everyone in the crowd notices Kuric streaking toward the basket and senses a momentum-shifting slam, but nevertheless all still have to wait for the ball to find its way to Kuric and to see what will happen. I've since watched the replay, and it's not the same. It reminded me of Kuric's final alley oop in the last game at Freedom Hall -- the guy knows how to put the exclamation point on a victory).

After the game, my Dad and I hung around for the crowd to thin and to watch Rick Pitino's postgame comments on the big screen, my father's traditional practice going back to the Crum era. (The first time I attended a game at Freedom Hall with my fiancee, who is a diehard Cards fan in her own right, I suggested to her we had to stay behind to watch the postgame, and she looked at me as if I had just asked that we spend the night in the stadium). When Pitino came on, he started by singing the praises of Gorgui, Russ and Rock, complimenting the opponent's grit as he always does, and highlighting some obscure way that the coaching staff interprets the stats unlike everyone else -- he does that all the time too. The crowd remaining grew restive, however, as Pitino side-tracked into discussing whether Memphis deserved an immediate bid to join the Big East (and Temple as well, and maybe UCLA), called out conference commish John Marinatto to end his "vacation in Hawaii" and "get his ass back here" because he has important work to do, and once again referenced "Tebow Time" and how Ricky stays up late at night watching Tim Tebow highlights on Sportscenter.

In fairness, Pitino eventually circled his comments back to the game, but the fact that Pitino was so willing to go off-subject, for some reason, stuck out like a sore thumb for those remaining. One fan in particular became increasingly irritable as Pitino spoke, letting all manner of comments about Pitino slip. Finally he'd had enough (I think it was probably "Tebow Time" that did it), grew combustible and stood up. I braced myself for what was certain to be a profanity of some sort, but instead the guy shouted, as loud as he could,

"BEAT UK!"

It was no gloat, not a chant. This fan, aided though he appeared by extra liquid courage on this fine afternoon, was urging, pleading that Pitino and his Cards get focused, that there was little time to celebrate this victory, that greater heavyweights lie ahead. Walking out, my Dad and I chatted (very briefly) about the UK game. We had just seen a great win and it had been a terrific day, but we also both knew that these undefeated Cardinals will have to play much better, because in two weeks time they will head straight into the dragon's lair, the middle of the monster. With that familiar combination of eagerness, anticipation and dread lingering, we exited the Yum, crossed underneath the second street bridge, past the Troll Bar, and into the early night's chill -- a fine night to be a Cardinal.

Go (mid)West young man!

(It's blogging challenge #3 dear readers. This week it's the best three destinations for a Big East road trip. You can read my first challenge posts here and here)

Much to the chagrin of some of the bluebloods, the Big East conference footprint has been expanding westward since 2005. And with the addition of San Diego State to the membership scroll in 2013, the conference will have achieved its own, somewhat comical, version of Manifest Destiny.

But in the days of planes, trains, and automobiles (especially those as nice as a new VolvoS60), why the hell not? The prospect of participating in the wondrous and diverse cultures of college basketball is attainable like never before.

My current dream Big East road trip traverses the Midwest, the present geographical frontier of the conference. There’s a lot of great basketball to be seen, and even where there’s not (cough DePaul cough) there’s a lot of fun to be had. With miles to go before I sleep, setting out from Louisville we’re heading northward.

1) Cincinnati. 106 miles.

The Cincinnati Bearcats are the Cardinals most ancient foe; they’ve played 95 times against one another. When rivalries get this fierce they typically come with the flinging of mud that goes beyond the court and insults the very cities the schools represent. The feud between Louisville and Lexington, for example, runs so deep that Kentucky politicians were forced to split the difference and place the state capital in Frankfort, the geographical median between the two.

But for the life of me I can’t muster any antipathy for Cincinnati; every time I go I have a blast. And first stop, technically still in Kentucky, but right across the Ohio River in the Greater Cincinnati area, is the Hofbrauhaus. It's the first such beer garden in America, modeled after the famous Munich location that is over 400 years old; the beer is brewed on site and under the strict guidelines from the orginal. It's simply impossible to be there and not be happy. I dare you to try.

From there I'm heading straight across the bridge and to the first Skyline Chili that I can find. It's a true Cincinnati original, and when in Rome, apparently, you eat a mountain of cheese on your chili. Afterwards I waddle over to 5th 3rd Arena to watch another chapter in the UofL-UC rivalry and try to avoid running into Yancy Gates.

2) Chicago. 298 miles.

I almost went to DePaul for my undergrad. But strangely enough I ended up a Racer in Murray, Kentucky, which has as much in common with Chicago as it is does to the moon. And stranger still, chose the school with the better basketball program.

Urban Chicago has everything to offer under the sun. It’d be impossible to name all of the modern and sleek bars, the quality blues joints, and world class gastro-pubs. But if you think I’m heading to those first you’re crazy; first stop is to “Medieval Times” where I’m going to quote “Cable Guy” until it gets old and annoys everyone and keep quoting until it gets funny again.



Now, I'm not big on overlooking any opponent, I've been burned too many times (see Mr. Black's and my ill-fated trip to Providence last sesason). But even so, the Demon Deacons haven't been scaring too many opponents of late. And the weirdest thing about the DePaul program is that they don't even play their home games in Chicago! They play at AllState Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, and frankly, it's nondescript. No thanks. I'll stick and watch this one at any of the spectacular bars in the Windy City's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Pequod's Pizza sounds like my kind of place. And if the Cards are up big at haltime, I may just duck out a little early to head over to Wrigleyville.

Located in the heart of Cubbie madness, Murphy's Bleachers will always hold a special place in my heart. A vanload of my buddies headed northward for my bachelor party last year and stopped to check out historic Wrigley Field. There wasn't baseball that day, but we sweet talked a waitress into opening up the rooftop bleachers that are famously rented out for a bird's eye view of the Cubs. It turned out, however, that the Blue Angels fighter planes were in town and were doing practice maneuvers over Wrigley Field that day. It was an image I'll never forget.

Sorry, Demon Deacons fans. This segment of the road trip doesn't have a whole lot to do with your basketball tradition, such as it is. On the bright side though, you get to live in Chicago.

3) Milwaukee. 400 miles.

I can't say it any better than Alice Cooper...



The cheeseheads take some grief from outsiders with a bit of reputation for being rubes that are a tad on the plump side, but it’s easier to shrug off the snark I suppose when you’re enjoying life’s pleasures more than just about anyone.

I'm doing two things in Milwaukee before heading to the Bradley Center for what will hopefully be another in the long history of thrilling contests between the Cardinals and the Golden Eagles. First, I'm heading to Barnacle Buds on Lake Michigan for a dozen oysters and a Bloody Mary. I kid you not, in Wisconsin they serve their Bloody Mary's with a complimentary beer chaser. The first time I went to Barnacle Buds my wife ordered one and was delivered a glass of ice, a beer, and two shots of vodka in the plastic, airline-type bottles. We stared at it for a good twenty minutes, wondering if Bloody Mary meant something completely different up north, until we were finally told that the "mix" was self-serve inside so you can build it to your desired strength and the beer was a standard post drink, um, drink. And again, I kid you not, what do they use to stir the concoction? A slice of crispy bacon.

The final stop before tipoff will be at the Lakefront Brewery where you can try out the original slide that Bernie Brewer plunged down into his giant mug at the Old County Stadium. That just sounds like Bucket List type of material to me.

The tradition of tailgating claims its origin to the Rutgers-Princeton football game in 1869. That may very well be true, but I don't think the art form has been perfected quite like it has in Wisconsin. They’ll tailgate for anything; the Packers of course, 88 Brewers home games, the Wisconsin Badgers, “Bucky” as known colloquially. Everyone’s got a grill in the trunk, some brats on ice, and a few charcoals in their pockets for emergency situations. I don’t know if they’ve taken to tailgating for Marquette basketball games yet, but I wouldn’t doubt it, and I can’t wait to find out.

More thoughts on Russ and Memphis

You really can't say enough about Russ Smith, whose improbable performance on Saturday was likely the most dominant of any Cardinal so far this year, and came on a day when his teammates started out flat against five-star talent: 24 points, 7 steals, only 2 turnovers, and 10 of 12 from the line.

Russ's energy and fearlessness offensively were much needed during the first half, but it was his defensive relentlessness that confirmed how much the diminutive Brooklyn Bomber is capable of contributing to this team.  The kid flat gets it when it comes to disrupting passing lanes, while his hands are fast enough to pickpocket an opponent's dribble even while maintaining his position between his man and the basket. In terms of value to this team, he's more defensive weapon than offensive.

For those who followed our steals post from last week -- which noted that when you look at the numbers Russ is our most efficient steals performer averaging .09 per minute -- you will be interested to know that his steals per minute average increased after Saturday's game, but only slightly so -- to .11 per minute. In other words, the numbers didn't budge that much because this is what Russ has been doing all season long. Put him in the game, the kid gets steals. True, he might overdo it on occasion and gamble once too often, but the advantage of having a guy like Gorgui down low (six blocks on Saturday) is that you can take chances in the backcourt.

It was a game where Louisville led much of the way but had to fight from behind more than once, against a Memphis squad led by at least two players who almost certainly will play in the NBA. On the whole, this game, for us, was a muscular performance on defense in every sense of the word; but even at 95 points the offense remains a work in progress, particularly in the half-court.

The MO of this Cardinal team appears destined to be defense -- and I am actually quite comfortable with that -- but they have to improve at the science of putting roundball into basket if they are eventually to make any tournament noise, or take a shot at defeating UK less than two weeks from now. Make no mistake, there are teams capable of slowing us down into a halfcourt game. We have to be ready for that.

On Saturday, Louisville muscled and hustled its way to victory over an arch-rival. It remains to be seen whether the Cards will be able to say the same thing on December 31st. At minimum, it will require sensational individual and team performances and filled out stat sheets, like that which we saw Saturday from hero Russ Smith.

VillenHD presents: Louisville-Memphis highlights

Offensive performance

I've been a little surprised that most fan and commentator reactions to Louisville's win over Memphis have glossed over the Card's poor offensive execution in the first half. Before halftime, Louisville was 1 of 8 from 3-point land (their single make was a banked three-pointer from Russ Smith) and was shooting under thirty percent overall. Gorgui was missing makeable interior shots, Peyton had gotten himself in foul trouble, Swop was getting pushed around, Kyle had disappeared. It was all our offensive nightmares combined.

That we were still leading testifies to Russ Smith and our defense. But this isn't going to suffice against higher-ranked opponents. To me, these are blinking red lights, especially since this was no aberration but a trend, and we have to get our act together if we are to have a chance at beating Kentucky and/or winning the conference title.

By the end of the first half, at least Gorgui had re-engaged, and by halftime he had already notched a double-double. That's a hell of an accomplishment (you gotta LOVE Gorgui), and on the day his numbers were terrific. Those who watched, however, know that he could have doubled his point output had he not missed so many shots he normally makes.

Likewise, the rest of the team eventually resuscitated, and by game's end seven Cards had finished in double figures in scoring. Kyle played a terrific if contained second half, and Peyton managed to rack up 9 assists on the day.

7 players with double digits in the scoring column is a deeply impressive and desirable statistic. So am I overreacting? Maybe, but I'm convinced that we will reach a point this year -- particularly when we play a few teams whose numbers next to their names are as low as ours -- when we can't just surrender an entire half to our opponent and figure we can make it up later. Thirty percent shooting, 1 of 8 from three point land is not going to cut it.

Mr. Red's Big East Power Rankings

1) Syracuse (11-0). Last time the Orange had it rolling like this Laurie Fine's Greatest Hits were being recorded.

2) Louisville (10-0). The Cards could cut down the nets in New Orleans and Jeff Goodman will say that college basketball is overrated.

3) Marquette (10-0). Their coach may look like a cartoon, but MU is for real.

4) UConn (8-1). Jeremy Lamb's fuzzstache is as silky and soft as his jumper.

5) Pitt (10-1). The Panthers need to hand keys to the football program over to Jamie Dixon. I'm only half-joking.

6) Georgetown (9-1). When your center is leading the team in assists, it's either a really good sign or an unmitigated disaster. For the Hoyas, it's a good thing.

7) Seton Hall (8-1). If the Pirates keep this up, I'm going to bother to find out where the hell Seton Hall is.

8) West Virginia (7-2). Good. Not great. Something doesn't smell right here.

9) Providence (9-2). Ed Cooley hire was a step forward. Marshon Brooks going pro was three leaps back.

10) Cincinnati (7-3). Tu Holloway may be Cinci's MVP.

11) DePaul (8-3). Can really make some noise in the NIT this season.

12) Notre Dame (7-5). First Abromaitis goes down and now Rudy is a crook. Not the Irish's year.

13) Villanova (6-5). Small ball is an uphill battle when your guards stink.

14) USF (6-5). How come you can't throw a rock in the state of Florida without hitting a four-star football recruit, but basketball teams are always so uneven?

15) St. John's (5-5). The nicest thing I can say about the Johnnies is that they're not Rutgers.

16) Rutgers (6-5). AD overheard on call with league offices: "So everyone gets invited to the Big East tournament now, right? Everyone?"

Last week's.

Russ Saves The Day: Cards Beat Memphis 95-87

Looking back and reflecting on the Cards' victory against Memphis on Saturday afternoon, there are a few words that come storming to mind. Tough. Hard-nosed. Sloppy. Foul-fest. And, of course, Russ... that would be Russ Smith, who led the way in scoring with 24 sensational points as well as seven steals, the latter of which was the third highest ever for a Cardinal in a single game. Without Russ's offensive spark early on, Louisville probably would not have been in the game when its other weapons finally started firing on, well, some cylinders. But it was the gritty and intelligent defense that Russ provided throughout that I thought changed the game. 

Much more from us in the next few days on this sizable win. The game was hardly perfect and so there will be much to analyze, but it feels awesome to defeat one rival in blue, and I hope it helps us get ready to defeat one more. Stats here, video below. GO CARDS.