Never a doubt

In what was easily the most wild, frustrating, and entertaining game of the season, the Louisville Cardinals needed OT to overcome a spirited DePaul team, 90-82 at All-State Arena. The Cards dug out of a 17-point first-half deficit and then traded punches with the Blue Demons down to the final minute. There wasn't much balance or semblance of real offensive execution; Louisville shot an absurd amount of threes, scrapped and clawed for every rebound, and made just enough plays to notch the W.

Different players stepped up at different times, but Chris Smith, Russ Smith, and Kyle Kuric deserve to be singled out for their efforts. A loss would have been devastating for UofL's seeding, so in that respect it feels like the Cards just dodged a bullet. If nothing else, the throngs that traveled north can go party in Chi-town, and those of us still home can proceed with an un-ruined Saturday.

Whew. Catch your breath. Go Cards.

Pitino presser, Tamiflu edition

Chane Behanan has the flu. He's running a fever and will travel with the team under quasi-quarantine. May or may not play. Getting the double-bye in the Big East tournament "not that important". May even prefer the #5 seed to give Wayne Blackshear more reps. Kyle Kuric may play at the 4 spot, Blackshear at 3 if Chane Behanan cannot play. Will probably go to small-ball and expect more Angel Nunez. Hoping that Wayne Blackshear will be 100% by tournament time. Was happy that Syracuse game turned to a halfcourt slugfest, that's what they wanted, strategized for. Really disappointed in performance at free throw line. Anticipating a big UofL fan contingent on the road in Chicago; said without Chane, "we'll need the lift". Gorgui lost his confidence against Syracuse. Extended story about how the team is young, something about wishes, and "pretending you're a veteran team". Wayne has a lot of Luke Hancock in him, knows how to play the game of basketball. As a Knicks fan, really enjoying Jeremy Lin hype. Surprised that JR Smith just signed with NY, but excited. Chane was out of position on defense often against Syracuse; byproduct of his youth, "he's made terrific strides" but is still learning.

***UNFOUNDED COMPLETELY OFF THE WALL OBSERVATION***

My desire to not start unfounded rumors is being overridden by my desire to get credit for my Sherlock Holmsian deductions. The jovial presser started with news of Chane's illness. Pitino said it was the flu. When a follow-up was asked whether this was the same ailment that Kevin Ware is suffering from (causing him not to be in attendance vs. Syracuse) he said no, it's not. But he had to pause for a few moments as if recalling exactly what Kevin Ware is suffering from, before saying that Ware's sickness is "stomach issues". The tiny step from flu and stomach issues notwithstanding, I couldn't help but notice the "keep-the-story-straight" pause before speaking. Again, it's probably nothing and is 100% COMPLETE SPECULATION, but Ware's had a bumpy year, there's another touted point guard joining next year, and it's something worth noting.

Numbers game

UofL is sitting at #23 in the latest Real Time RPI with a SOS of 29. Both are strong numbers that, just for the record, put Louisville securely in the field (barring a complete collapse) and in good position to move up in the next two weeks.

ESPN is even more rosy, placing Louisville at #14 in their power rankings, largely on the strength of reliable defense.

A nice article in the CJ today on Wayne Blackshear and his difficult upbringing. The piece focuses on the role of his mother who was a hard and humbling presence in Wayne's life after his father was shot and killed when he was 4-years old. It's common for fans, I know I can fall into this trap, to be too glib when discussing these kids. We watch and discuss them ad nauseum and invest so much time and energy in support, that it's easy to fool yourself into thinking that you know them. When you read stories like this, or the one about Peyton Siva and his father a few weeks ago, you remember that our window into their lives is small, and the struggles that define them go far beyond the basketball court.

In lighter news, a good buddy of mine got premium seats to UofL-Cuse right behind the bench. While it's fairly well-known that Pitino can peel the paint off the walls, my buddy reported it was more intense than he had ever imagined. None of it is fit for republication, but no surprise, the biggest target for his ire was Peyton Siva, who he reamed on the sidelines after picking up his 3rd foul. He reported it was almost impossible to watch the game he was so transfixed watching Pitino do his thing.

Getting seats within earshot of Rick Pitino is Bucket List material for Cards fans while he's our coach. But by all accounts, don't bring the children.

I fully admit it wasn't his best game, but here's a Bleacher Report blogger going a little overboard on Gorgui Dieng. Where would you rank Gorgs performance on the list of reasons we lost to Syracuse? After free throws, after Siva missing Kuric in the corner, after Siva's foul trouble, after Kuric's off-night, after 26% three-point shooting, and after #L1C4? Watch it, Dan Irwin.

Play ball!

The Louisville Cardinal baseball team will kick off the 2012 season momentarily in Clearwater, Florida. They face Minnesota in the Big 10/Big East Challenge. Ace Justin Amlung is the opening day starter. Go Cards.

Follow on Gametracker here.

And we will NEVER fall from the Top 20 again

ESPN announced today that of its 56-tested markets, Louisville tops the nation in college basketball viewership. I'm not shocked, but I don't have a speech prepared, either.

We should all take pride in the fact that the flagship city of the Commonwealth reflects what we've known all along, that Kentucky is the true hearthstone of college basketball. Yes, UK fans within Jefferson County can claim a rightful role, just as Big Blue's obsession with its biggest rival in UofL also plays a role.

We're all watching, that's the point. I can put down my sword long enough to tip my cap to the Wildcats' passion for its team. Cardinal passion runs fierce as well. I love living in a state that cares so much about the greatest sport in the world.

Pause.

Game on. UKlikelybrokeNCAArulesbyusingESPNasaplatformforapracticeasarecruitingtool. Whew, that was a close one.

Breaking down "the other drive"

Eric Crawford beat me to the punch breaking down the film of the game's final play. But that's OK. I'm more interested in the odd sequence that occurred about 10 minutes before. What happened? Let's investigate...

Right here things look good. Peyton Siva has the ball in his hands at midcourt and Kyle Kuric's shoulder and heel are hustling ahead on the break. The future looks bright, limitless. His guys aren't flanked perfectly, but that's OK, he's Siva. Good things happen when Siva penetrates...

We're still good here but perhaps the first warning bells should be going off. There's no outlet pass on the side he's driving towards. Gorgs and Chane are still huffin' and puffin' up the court. He ignores Pitino's glare. Now might be the time to pull out. But pulling out is not what UofL basketball is about. Wait, what?

Now we've reached the moment of truth. To jump or not to jump.

He jumps.

Now to be fair his options are quite limited at this point. Siva's synapses fire off a garbled message to the effect of, "Get rid of this ball. BY. ANY. MEANS. NECESSARY." His teammates get whiplash as the ball sails back over their heads. Now, the one thing Siva gets absolutely right is you MUST hit the deck in these situations. The Chinese call it "saving face". There's nothing more embarrassing than screwing up and not tumbling to the floor.

Gorgs contemplating whether to chase or not.

Gorgs deciding not to chase.

"In the spirit of personal accountability I must report that my decisions may have slightly contributed to that unfortunate turn of events, fellas."

Annnnd scene.

DePaul trounced by trouncee

For a team trying to claw its way into the Top 4 in the Big East standings, normally a win is the only important objective. Not so for the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday, who could really use the style-points against the lowly Blue Demons. DePaul got beat down last night by the UConn Huskies, 80-54. They've dropped 5 in a row and 10 of their last 11 games.

They haven't been completely uncompetitive. Earlier this week DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said he's proud of the way his team has battled, "We’re obviously real close.When you’re making a transition and you’re trying to build and you’re trying to get better and learn to win, you’ve got to understand where you are and just keep hitting that rock."

I'm not entirely sure what that means, I just know the Cards certainly cannot slip here, and could really use a double-digit cruiser. The big men can and should flourish. The Huskies crushed the Blue Demons on the glass last night, 50-27 for the game and 20-7 on the offensive end. Hopefully, this can just be a tune-up for Gorgui and Chane in the post. 

A little bit of everything

The final play of the game against 'Cuse has officially been dissected to death and I loved every second of it (well, except the outcome). Final conclusions? Eric Crawford convinced me that not calling a timeout was probably the right decision, especially after Rick Pitino made clear the final play was drawn up in the last game stoppage. A wraparound pass in that crowd is a low-percentage play and continued a problem from Siva and Russ of throwing high-degree of difficulty passes to our big men that they cannot handle. Kuric was wide-open, and even if he was closed out on (I still think he gets the shot off) then Chris Smith was a simple pass away from another wide-open look from 3. In the end, Rick said it best, "He took the wrong option". Case closed.

If there's anything positive to take from this game, it's that white-knucklers against premium competition are valuable experiences before the tournament. Tourney-games are often rhythmless and tense, and we can only hope the Cards learned something from the loss.

Good article in the CJ today giving a preview of the baseball team, one that's looking to bounce back from a disappointing season last year. The article is worth a click if only for the images of bruising 6'6'' hurler Jeff Thompson, sort of a C.C. Sabathia/Dave Stewart-type. Teammate Jeff Gardner said about him, "He's kind of a scary dude on the mound."

The women's basketball team narrowly knocked off Pitt last night in overtime. And in case you didn't know, Pitt stinks. Shoni Schimmel led the way, filling out the stat sheet with 16 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals. The Lady Cards are just as difficult to decipher, maybe more so, than their male counterparts. We'll get a clearer picture when they host #4 Notre Dame Monday night at the Kayefseum.

While the poor officiating was a hot topic after the game, one thing scarcely mentioned was the resounding chant "JIM-BURR-SUCKS!" booming from the crowd. Think about that. How bad does a ref have to be to even have his name known by a sizeable number of fans, and then be involved to such a negative extent that the crowd bypasses the traditional boos straight to an attack that names him personally, and that enough would get the chant going to where it was clearly audible to the television audience.

Something's gotta be done.

West Virginia is officially gone from the Big East after this season. Not exactly breaking news, but the terms of their departure are certainly of interest to us if the Louisville Cardinals find ourselves with a Big 12 invitation in the future.

If you've got time I strongly recommend the B.S. Report podcast yesterday with Bill Simmons and Bob Ryan. Ryan is the kind of guy I would listen to as he talked sports for as long as he cared to. His sharp wit and candidness, combined with Simmons' quality interviewing make it a fascinating listen. It's also interesting when Bob essentially announces his retirement after the 2012 Olympics, citing his displeasure with the current climate of the sports media and its obsession with blogs and twitter and pop culture as the reason. Especially fascinating since Simmons damn near spearheaded that movement himself. Check it out.

Short but bitter; Pitino post-game

I gotta say, while I questioned some of his coaching decisions, I do like the demeanor and fire on display here. No moral victories/we're crushed right now, etc. He complimented Syracuse but didn't kiss their ass, set up the importance of the rematch in the Carrier Dome.

And his surliness towards a reporter in this case was merited, in my opinion. You can critique Siva's drive play, but to question the wisdom of bringing Angel Nunez "cold" off the bench for a final heave? C'mon.

Rorscach test game

You can make of it what you will. If you're inclined to take losses hard, crawling out of bed this morning was difficult. And you would be right. If your beer mug is always half-full, then you're chirping to co-workers this morning how the Cards barely lost to #2 team in the nation, just a couple more free throws and we're marching into March. And you would be right.

The improvement from where UofL was a month ago is undeniable. There's no game remaining when the Cards won't have a puncher's chance; we have all the tools. But Louisville is sorely lacking in consistency, and each contest is the proverbial box-of-chocolates for what's going to click and what's going to fall-apart.

Soon and very soon, however, searching for silver-linings after a loss will entail factoring in the impact of Terry Rozier next season. Gotta get better. Other thoughts...

We got a reminder last night of what our offense looks like when we are unable to get in transition.  The Cards were only able to force 8 turnovers and therefore got nothing on the fast break. With a quality team like Syracuse, that's going to be the norm. The antidote isn't to double-down with the pressure, but to execute better in the halfcourt. The shooting stats aren't for the faint of heart; 26% from 3, 34% from the field, 57% from the FT line. And they could have won. As the Joker says, it's a funny world we live in.

They could have won because Syracuse was eager to race us to the bottom of offensive putridity. 1-15 from behind the arc, their only bucket outside the paint all game. No doubt Louisville's zone caused them many problems just like theirs did for us, but both teams also put on a horrid shooting display. It was one of the most captivating and brutal displays of basketball I've witnessed in awhile.

 Jim Burr has officially become a parody of himself for his referee incompetence. He's practically gone viral for it; everyone knows his name nationwide and has universal disrespect for him. The Gorgui and-1 foul where the contact and the shot were separated by a good second, what more can you say? He's an equal opportunity trainwreck though, so I guess he's got that going for him.

 Say what you want about him, but I thought Lachlan "Now I know why everyone hates you" McClean was pretty spot on with his critique of Coach Pitino's decisions after the game. I agree with him that it was a mistake to sit Peyton Siva for so long to start the second half. Not only do I think it's a misread of the foul-situation, but Siva's not the kind of player that you let cool his heels on the bench for long stretches and just throw in there to say, "OK, now win us the game". He's a rhythm player that needs to pick his spots, make some plays and make some mistakes. Three fouls is just that, as in you get two more. With specific instructions at halftime about his importance and playing without fouling, I think playing him was well worth the gamble.

The counterargument is that the score largely did not change when Peyton Siva was out. But that's the whole point. Syracuse was ice-cold, that was when UofL should have been building a lead rather than hoping to just remain static. The other questionable decision is only playing Wayne Blackshear five minutes after he came through in a much more hostile environment in Morgantown. He appears to be a player with "zone-busting" ability that could have helped break through the trench warfare going on on the court. For whatever reason, he sat.

 It's tough to gauge Gorgui's performance. His final numbers were not bad, 9 points, 10 boards, and 4 blocks. But he's lost confidence in his offense and was left painfully open at the free throw line where he waited for what seemed like an eternity before throwing a crucial turnover. I also don't think he's being physical enough on the glass; watching the replay it stands out how often he jumps straight up for a rebound instead of bodying up someone. Too many are falling through the cracks that way.

Dieng is still doing a lot of good things, and it's important to remember that the last two games have put him up against two of his toughest matchups of the season. Still though, something's not clicking with him the way it was just a couple weeks ago from a confidence standpoint.

 Chane, on the other hand, stepped up big time. On a night when so many of his teammates played uptight basketball, Behanan played hard and loose. If he continues to work on his finishing touch, the sky's the limit for him. Chane's play is the single biggest reason for optimism heading into March.

It's the final countdown! due do do do, due-do-do-do

Great analysis by Eric Crawford breaking down the game's final play. Crawford writes that while he too believed that Rick Pitino should have called a timeout while watching in real time, that when breaking down the film, the play actually developed quite nicely. For whatever reason, Siva did not kick the ball to a wide-open Kyle Kuric in the corner who appeared primed and ready to play hero once again.

It's a heartbreaking image. No guarantees that he knocks it down, but I think Card Nation sleeps easier last night had we lost after Kuric missed an open look from his favorite spot on the floor.

The second issue, also tackled by Crawford is the Timeout Question. I'm still a proponent of getting everyone on the same page, but as Crawford notes, that technically the play worked, and had they gone to the bench Boeheim certainly would have reminded his team that someone must close out on Kyle Kuric. I recognize the benefits of both approaches. Diagramming a play was Denny's M.O., but it's not and never has been Pitino's. Rick thrives on individual drilling and pre-game preparation to give the Cards the edge in the final manic moments.

My problem with that in this instance is it puts too much on a struggling Peyton Siva. Just minutes before Siva attempted a similar slashing move and got completely befuddled and then just weirdly flew the ball backwards where there wasn't a Cardinal for miles. If Siva was playing at a level like he has in the past, then I would understand. But everything about his game right now suggests that he isn't ready, nor does he want, to bear the mantle of playing savior at the end. To continue to force him to is a recipe for exactly what happened.

Cards grind to a halt, fall to Syracuse 52-51

The white suit, a white out, and a six-game winning streak weren't enough to overcome the Cards' worst enemy, themselves. No disrespect to the Syracuse Orange, they made more plays, but Louisville let a statement win fall by the wayside tonight with inexplicable offensive lapses and poor free throw shooting.

Kyle Kuric was largely absent, Gorgui Dieng reminded us how much he has to learn, Russ Smith did not make a field goal, and our secret weapon, Wayne Blackshear, did not score. Despite all that, the Louisville Cardinals had the ball with a chance to win as the clock ticked down.

Coach Pitino opted not to call a timeout, so the Cards turned to their default play, Peyton Siva penetrating the lane and doing...something. This time the something was firing an ill-advised pass into traffic that sent the albino-clad crowd for the exits.

While the Louisville Cardinals didn't have to have this win, we wanted it badly. It would have validated the momentum and positive play of the past two weeks and propelled us to hope, once again, for the highest of March glories. Instead we're speaking of what might have been and are still wondering just what this team is made of.

They could have won, but the Louisville Cardinals did not deserve to win. The game was a reality check; despite its virtues, this team is prone to long stretches of uneven play, and we're running out of time to figure out the hows and whys. Back to life in limbo.

Favorite game ever?

It's not VillenHD quality, but it captures the magic of that day. I haven't been sentient to watch the Cards win a national title; but because of everything that was at stake emotionally, historically, and practically, I think that game came the closest to providing the endorphin rush, the pure joy that basketball can give you.

These highlights are terrific for all the things you may have forgotten. How solidly Swopshire played (10 pts), Jerry Smith outdoing even Jerry Smith on the sidelines, Peyton Siva calmly swishing a 24-footer (which may overshadow Kuric's performance if it happened today), Samardo's 360 after-dunk (which sums him up nicely), the assistants having to hold back the Louisville bench after yet another highlight, and Pervis Ellison stoically clapping while Freedom Hall goes berserk all around him.

Three hours to go...

VillenHD presents UofL-WVU highlights

Been waiting all day for this...

Getting over West Virginia

With a quick turnaround and a true test of manhood tonight against Syracuse, let's take one last look at Saturday's win at Morgantown.

I'm a Huggins fan, and loyal readers know I've been out of the closet for awhile. If you claim otherwise, my guess is that you're still deep in there somewhere, picking mothballs out of an old Cinci/KSU/WVU sweatshirt. College basketball is better for the man.

Butttt, while I'm inclined to be sympathetic to the Mountaineers for excessive ref bashing, after all they were robbed of a ticket-punching win, I still believe Huggs went overboard after this one. Huggins was complaining in the press conference and tweeting out sarcasm afterwards.

The play that got his knickers in a twist, apparently, was the Wayne Blackshear "shove" on their inbounds that resulted in Russ Smith's layup to take the lead. In my opinion, that was a good Big East no-call. When you start to slip, you forfeit the right to claim contact. (Unrelated, but that shot/layup was a lot more difficult than it looked. Smith was on the left side of the goal, shot with his right hand, almost flat-footed. In other words, a Russ Shot).

WVU was physical in the paint, the Cardinals on the perimeter. It's a physical league and a physical rivalry; I never thought I'd live to see the day when Bob Huggins would be complaining that the game has gotten too rough and tumble for his taste.

I don't remember Pitino bitching this much after Knowles was called for a game-deciding "bump" foul 65 feet from the basket last season. Zip it, Huggins.

Wayne Blackshear has a different bearing to him than the other guys. You can see it in his post-game interview. I just loved his nonchalance to Rick Bozich's line of questioning, almost like What's all the fuss about? I'm a scorer. So I scored. I think he's on the plateau of player that you cannot hold to common knowledge regarding freshman inexperience or coming-off-an-injury rust. Like I said last week, Blackshear is the new character that can deviate the script for this season.

More than any game the Cards have played, that felt like a tournament game. There were flukish plays like 4 on 1 fast breaks that didn't result in points, Chane Behanan missing an open dunk (that qualifies as a fluke. Right?) and the momentum swung multiple times in mere minutes. It was a madcap, win-at-any-cost effort, and it is a great indicator that the Cards found some way to come out on top.

Louisville has to reprioritize the post. The offense in the paint was almost non-existent while WVU was breading its butter down there. Of course we came out on top, but when one team is largely scoring from within 7 feet, the other 19 feet and beyond, the former is coming out on top far more often.

But speaking of deficiency in the paint, what was going on with Gorgui monster? He looked completely checked out and had his second straight game without a block. And dare I say it, his body language looked bad. He had a tall order for sure, with Kevin Jones and the Mad Turk, the Mountaineers have one of the craftiest and least conventional post-tandems in the Big East. But one of Gorgui's best attributes has been his lightning-quick learning curve. Even when he gets beat, I'm always confident he learned something and that he's going to get it right on the next possession. In this game, it almost looked like Gorgui threw his hands up in frustration.

It's really important for the big fella to respond with a strong game tonight.

Pitino spews a lot of BS, everyone knows it, and he admitted as much afterwards talking about gaming Bobby Huggins regarding Blackshear. But one area where he's shooting straight is with Zach Price. He ain't ready.

I'm really struggling to put into words my respect for how Kyle Kuric plays the game. Cherish the next month, Cards fans.

I got way more enjoyment over Doris Burke misidentifying Russ Smith as J.R. Smith's brother than it merited. Somehow, however, I want a Cardinal/Spartacus-type scene with Doris Burke interrogating the team and Tim Henderson standing in the locker room to announce, "I am J.R. Smith's brother".

We have been given a tremendous gift sweeping the Mountaineers in our last meetings until the Fates intervene. Other than UK, no one stirs the Louisville blood like West Virginia.

And this just in, their fans are dumb. If Huggins wants better treatment from the refs, he need look no further than his own student section. Their hopping hoardes do the team a disservice with all the overreacting "OHHHHHHss" to routine basketball plays that, in their addled brains, deserved a whistle. I think there is a backlash from the refs, a subconscious one, against a hyperactive crowd that doesn't know the game. In the brief nanosecond it takes to decide whether to blow a whistle or not, that surely has an influence. So I suppose I'll miss their low basketball IQ most of all.

Blogging Challenge: Garden30

(It's the next post in the Biggest Fan of the Big East series. This one? The Top 10 teams in Big East history, the Top 10 individual players, and the Top 10 moments in conference history. Add em up to get #Garden30, a hashtag you can expect to see a lot of Big East tourney time. You can support UofL, and me, by voting "Tim" at the site HERE)

TOP 10 PLAYERS                    

10) John Linehan            

9) Derrick Coleman                        

8) Mark Jackson

7) Kemba Walker

6) Alonzo Mourning 

5) Carmelo Anthony

4) Chris Mullin

3) Allen Iverson

2) Ray Allen

1) Patrick Ewing

TOP TEN TEAMS      

10) Pitt Panthers, '09
9) Louisville Cardinals, '09
8) Syracuse Orange, '87
7) Syracuse Orange, '96
6) St. John's Red Storm, '85
5) UConn Huskies, '11
4) Syracuse Orange, '03
3) UConn Huskies, '04
2) Villanova Wildcats, '85
1) Georgetown, '84

TOP 10 "MOMENTS"

10) Bootsy Thorton scores 40, seven 3-pointers, to lead St. John's over Duke in 1999
9) Allen Iverson's exhibition debut for Georgetown after incarceration; 36 points, 5 assts, 3 steals in 23 mins
8) MarShon Brooks 52 points in losing effort
7) Ben Gordon's incredible tournament scoring stretch in '04, 81 total points Big East Tourney, 127 in NCAA
6) Chris Mullin wins the Wooden Award, leads St. John's to Final Four in '85
5) Khalid El-Amin saying "We shocked the world!" after beating Duke for National Title
4) Gerry McNamara leads Orange to Big East title, 4 games in 4 days, to punch NCAA ticket
3) Patrick Ewing's 27-16 performance in classic Big East Final over Syracuse
2) Dikembe Mutombo's 13 points, 27 rebs in Big East tourney win
1) Syracuse and UConn 6 Overtime Classic