The Basketball team will return to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon at 1PM in the Yum Center. They will face the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns. The game can be seen locally on WHAS TV or on ESPN3. The Cards have won 19 straight over unranked opponents and 24 straight non-conference home games. The Ragin Cajuns have dropped 12 straight against ranked opponents. Louisville is 8-0 in this series against Louisiana-Lafayette and the last time these teams played was on Dec. 23, 2009, in Freedom Hall.
“We’re excited about those guys (Payton and Long) and our new guys, too,” Bob Marlin said. “We’ve got some depth and some guys who can step in and play. We’re deeper at guard than we’ve been and deeper on the frontline than we’ve been.”
Picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Head Coach Bob Marlin is optimistic as the Cajuns seek their first winning season since 2005. That’s also the last year the program made the NCAA tournament another thing on the Cajuns list this season. This team doesn’t do anything exceptional but they do a lot of things well. They are averaging 84.4 points and shooting 47.5 percent, 36% from the three. They take pretty good care of the ball averaging 15 turnovers to 14 assist. This will be one of the better rebounding teams that the Cards have faced this season averaging 41 a game.
This team returns all their major contributors from last season including their two best players and two of the Sun Belt’s top players in preseason all-conference first-team selections Elfrid Payton (19.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5 assist) and Shawn Long (20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds). Payton is the team’s star and his performance last year helped earn him a spot on the U-19 USA team this summer at the World Championships. He’s also excellent at reaching the free throw line and his offensive output could be even higher if he makes more than 64 percent of his free throws. Long is less efficient than Payton but is a phenomenal rebounder and is ranked 6th in the nation in that category. Still, Marlin will need other players to step up if UL-Lafayette is going to contend with the Cards. Starters Elridge Moore (7.1 points, 4.9 rebounds) and Steven Wronkowski (6 points, 3 rebounds) both recorded sub-90 offensive ratings last season. They have been better shooters and had fewer turnovers this season making them more effective. Starter Kevin Brown (6.8 points, 1.6 rebounds) has also stepped up for this team. Their key reserves are Kasey Shepherd (6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds) and Xavian Rimmer (8.6 points, 2 rebounds).
The Ragin Cajuns
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
84.4
28th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
41.4
29th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.6
125th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.475
77th
OVERALL
Our Cards are playing some of their best basketball of the season right now and this will be a good test to see just how good that is. With two sound play-makers in Payton and Long, the Ragin Cajuns might be able to compete seriously for an NCAA tournament berth. These guys will challenge the defense in the Cardinal back-court Russ and Chris will get a good work-out. With the way Long goes to the glass he will be a good test for the Cards wing players. They’ll have to find this guy and get a body on him. We’ve witnessed what an exception rebounder can do for a team that is slightly undersized a few years ago in the NCAA tourney. Long has a Kenneth Faried type of edge about him. It will be a good battle on the boards on Saturday. The competition goes up a notch with the Cajuns but I expect them to be another notch in the Cardinals belt after this one is over. The only question in this one will be Louisville’s starting line-up.
Last night the Cards sprinted toward the end zone at Nippert Stadium like kids at Christmas. Sitting idly on the turf was the coveted Keg of Nails, awarded annually to the winner of the Cincinnati/Louisville football game. For the second time in five years, the Cards laid their claws on the prize.
Not since October 14, 2006 and October 13, 2007 had UofL beaten the Bearcats in back-to-back years. The series between these schools now stands at 23-30-1 with the Bearcats having the all-time lead; but last night the Cardinals tasted victory, winning in overtime 31-24 on a cold, rainy, windswept evening in Cincinnati. The “Keg of Nails” will now be in the Cardinal trophy case for the foreseeable future until hopefully this great rivalry is renewed someday.
Over the last few weeks of the Louisville football season, we had not seen any of those magical moments that we had been accustomed to. The passing game had been on idle and the offense as a whole lacked consistency.
And while last night wasn’t a blitzkrieg of scoring it provided many of those big plays that we had all been waiting to see. These teams traded blow for blow like great rivals should but it was the Cards who dealt the knock-out punch in overtime when Dominique Brown ran 2 yards for a touchdown.
The running game with Perry (81 yards) and Brown (79 yards, 1 touchdown) did its part last night and kept enough pressure on the Bearcats to keep the passing game open and that is where Louisville had those big-play moments.
Teddy Bridgewater in what is probably his last game of the regular season as a Louisville Cardinals was part QB and part escape artist last night scrambling and breaking tackles. It was Mr. Clutch, who would throw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give Louisville a chance to win in overtime.
The play of the night by Teddy was when he escaped three tackles for a 14-yard scramble on fourth-and-12 to keep one touchdown drive going, and finished it by scrambling away from defenders and throwing an off-balance pass for a 22-yard score to Damian Copeland.
Copeland (35 yards, 1 touchdown) and Parker (104 yards, 2 touchdowns) both came up big in the receiving game like they have so many times in big games for the Cardinals. You couldn’t have scripted this last regular season performance as a Louisville Cardinal for Teddy Bridgewater any better. His 255 passing yards put him over 3,500 passing yards (3,523) for the second year in a row. He now has 9,370 career yards. I’m going to miss number 5.
I had a great time at the game last night and have had many great memories made in these “Keg of Nails” games. If last night was the last one we ever get to be a part of then it was a fitting end to one of the better rivals in the country.
After this big win last night the Cards accepted an invitation to play in Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the Cardinals’ fourth bowl game in as many years. Kickoff is slated for Saturday, Dec. 28, at 6:45 p.m. from the Florida Citrus Bowl.
Not much suspense tonight in the Yum Center as Louisville beats UMKC 90-62. The Cardinals have now won 19 straight against unranked opponents and move to 7-1 on the early season. Coach Pitino is now 34-9 all-time against his former assistants.
There were a lot of different combinations line-up wise tonight for the Cardinals but it was the same cast of characters who would play major roles in the outcome of this one. Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures. Chane Behanan had his best effort of the season scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double-double. Coach Pitino said in his post game that “Chane was the only player on the team that played well tonight. He was doing the right things offensively & defensively.” Chris Jones, Russ Smith and Luke Hancock each added 10 points and combined for five of Louisville’s 10 3-pointers. UofL’s point guard trio of Smith, Jones, and Rozier combined for 14 assists to only 1 turnover tonight. They also grabbed 11 rebounds as a group. Russ Smith sacrificed his starting spot tonight coming to Coach Pitino telling him “Don’t start me tonight, we have to find a way to get team first going.” That philosophy carried over into the game when Russ had a carrer assist night with 11. I’d say that epitomizes team first. Great to see this type of leadership out of this kid.
The biggest difference in this game was the advantage the Cardinals had underneath the basket. They dominated UMKC 44-24 in the paint, and outrebounded the Kangaroos 49-29.
Coach Pitino said in post game “we did some things well and some things not so well. We are getting beat off the dribble too much, maybe new rules?” The Cardinals defense did force 20 turnovers that led to 29 points but did allow the Roos guards easy penetration in the lane at times.
I don’t really know how much you can take from a game like this because the Roos are not a very good basketball team. Other than the reps and getting guys acclimated this one was just to go through the motions. I really hope the defense starts to come around. It’s going to be a huge problem if it doesn’t especially when we start to play a more quality opponent and teams that have good back-courts. The competition will get a lot tougher and hopefully a little more exciting as we roll through December and head into conference play.
Luke Hancock and Russ Smith continue to be very optimistic and positive about the direction of this team. They are stepping up as leaders on and off the court .
Last year it was a cold and rainy night at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium for the Keg of Nails battle, but the action on the field was on fire. Louisville and Cincinnati traded punches all night long and it was the Cardinals who finally dealt the knockout blow with a game winning field goal by John Wallace in Overtime. There were many great moments and plays in that game last year. Here are some photos from last years 34 to 31 OT battle for the Keg of Nails:
Back in March Louisville assistant basketball coach Kareem Richardson was hired to become the next head basketball coach at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and on Wednesday night he returns to the Yum Center with the Roos to face his old team. The Cardinals lead this young series 1-0 winning the only game ever played between these teams back on Dec. 8th 2012 99 to 47. The Roos are 1-5 and are picked to finish last in their first season as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Game time is at 7PM and can be seen locally on WHAS TV or ESPN3.
“Being at the University of Louisville and working under future Hall of Famer Coach Pitino, it had to take a special situation for me to leave, but I know the vision that Leo Morton and Tim Hall have for the program makes UMKC a special situation,” Richardson said. “It is extremely exciting to have the opportunity to lead the UMKC men’s basketball program and to be back in the wonderful city of Kansas City.”
First-year head coach Kareem Richardson lost the team’s two most effective offensive players in the off-season, and he inherits a mixed collection of pieces and a solid recruiting class of his own. The Roos are struggling early on this season because of a turnover-prone offense averaging 16.5 a game with a turnover margin of -0.3 and middling defense allowing their opponents to score 89.8 points a game with a scoring margin at -18.8. They are also a team getting beat up on the boards averaging 34 a game with a rebounding margin of -6.5.
UMKC returns 47% of their scoring from last year and the Roos have six seniors playing this season. The starters for their last game included four seniors, and a freshman. Interesting fact from their roster is that NBA Atlanta Hawk player Kyle Korver’s brother Kirk Korver is on the team, but I don’t believe he has played a single minute this season. Their top players appear to be Brewster Academy product freshman Martez Harrison (17.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3 assist) who runs the point, flanked by returning wing Nelson Kirksey (11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds), along with returning role player Aaron Washington (2.7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assist), and both starting front-court players wing Trinity Hall (11.7 points, 7 rebounds) and center Fred Chatmon (9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds). Chatmon enters this game as one of the teams and WAC’s best rebounders, a strong shot-blocker, and a 56 percent field-goal shooter. He pulled down 212 rebounds last season ranking seventh in a single season in the schools history.
UMKC Kangaroos
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
71.0
231st
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
34.0
245th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
12.0
228th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.423
263rd
OVERALL
UMKC’s lack of proven Division I contributors doesn’t bode well for its success against our Cards on Wednesday night. But their coach does know the Cardinals very well so the Roos will be up for this challenge. Chatmon is a guy that will bang with our front court players and will make them work for their shots and rebounds. It’s a good thing when Mango, Behanan, and Harrell go up against a decent player. They need all the practice they can get especially Mango. This is another one of those games that will be a good opportunity for Hancock and Behanan to work on their condition to get back up to game shape. Both of them appear to be only at about 60% to where they finished last year. It’s also a great opportunity for guys like Rozier and Jones to continue to build their confidence. Should be another productive blow out win on Wednesday.
– Ah, Keg of Nails week. I love the smell of nails and kegs in the air.
-Louisville at Cincinnati, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) – Forget being the biggest game on our schedule this season, this could end up being one of the biggest college football games period. Conference, and Bowl implications, and one last battle for The “Keg of Nails” will highlight this great Thursday night battle. U of L and UC have a football rivalry that has stretched over the span of 4 conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to Conference USA, the Big East and now the American. It is believed to be the oldest rivalry for the Louisville football team and the second oldest for UC. This game will be a fitting tribute to this great rivalry. There will be a lot of memories left on that field in Nippert Stadium and if its the last time we face our old foes from the north I hope it’s a win that I’ll have to remember.
On Thursday night we shall witness a battle for the coolest trophy in all of college sports: the KEG OF NAILS. The origins of this super masculine emblem of greatness are shrouded in legend, but some date the tradition all the way back to 1929. However, some say it originated in 1922. Due to a scheduling conflict, UC was supposed to play both Louisville and West Virginia on the same day. They decided the West Virginia game was more important and sent a JV squad to play the Cardinals. Louisville won, thus claiming the “first” victory however, UC does not recognize this game because its varsity team did not play.
The origin of the Keg of Nails moniker is somewhat murky but rumor has it fraternity members from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Louisville decades ago originated this funky name. As legend has it the keg, or barrel, of nails was used as an item of pride between the fraternities from opposing campuses to signify that the holder of the coveted award was as “tough as nails.” Essentially, the so-called keg of nails was a physical representation of the toughness embodied in the simile, “Our football team is as tough as nails.”
My favorite moment in this rivalry was on November 27, 2004. UC came in at 6-4, 5-2 in C-USA, Louisville at 8-1, 6-0. Before the game, the Bearcats decided it would be a great idea to jump on the Cardinal bird logo at midfield. What a mistake that turned out to be for the Bearcats. Louisville commenced the blowout immediately and would score on the first play of the game as Eric Shelton run up the middle for 80 yards. The Cards piled up 357 rushing yards and 491 total yards in the complete romp winning the game 70-7.
This year’s chapter in the battle for the keg would have been a special one if both teams could have been undefeated and it was a popular belief that they were going to be. Regardless of those early losses this still could turn out to be the ultimate keg party as these teams are both hungry to finish the regular season strong and both teams are now ranked with UC making their appearance in the coaches poll this week at #23. Louisville has won four straight and UC comes into this game on a six game winning streak. UC does hold the lead in this series 30 to 22, but the Cards currently have the Keg in the trophy case after a thriller overtime 34-31 victory last year at Papa Johns.
These teams have very similar offensive production with a slight edge going to the Bearcats in total offense ranked 18th overall. While our Cardinals have struggle down the stretch to form an identity on the offensive side of the ball the Bearcats have been rolling and all of their pieces seem to be coming together at the right time. Once they established a one quarterback system with Brendon Kay they haven’t lost a game. He has thrown for 2,817 yards this season with 22 touchdowns. He is known for his excellent arm but also has good mobility to move around in the pocket and find the open receiver. Kay ranks 3rd in the country in completion percentage 70% right behind Teddy who ranks second at 71%.
They have several big time receivers and each of them has settled into their roles very nicely in this UC offense. The guys leading the way for this group are Anthony McClung who has 811 yards with 5 touchdowns, and Shaq Washington who has 736 with 1 touchdown. But emerging as a deep threat for this Bearcat’s passing attack is Mekale McKay. He is a long athletic player that loves to run past defensive backs for the long touchdowns. He has 405 yards with 7 touchdowns, his longest TD reception a 66 yard grab. Mckay takes the pressure off of the inside receivers and teams have to put safety’s over the top of him making them go one on one with guys like Chris Moore who has the most receiving touchdowns on the team with 9 and Max Morrison who has 3 touchdowns. It really is a very… very effective passing game.
The Bearcats have been running back by committee this season and that part of their offense hasn’t been as productive but they do use their parts well. Their leading rushers are Hosey Williams who has 575 yards with 4 touchdowns, and Ralph Abernathy who has 433 yards with 3 touchdowns. Abernathy is the fastest player on this team and he has the ability to go the distance every time he touches the ball. Their ace in the hole in the running attack is fullback Jordan Luallen. They will put this guy in to get those tough yards.
Protecting these skill players and making room for them to produce is one of the most talented offensive lines in the conference. Left Tackle Eric Lefeld and guard Austen Bujnoch are the anchors for this group that has only allowed 11 sacks this season and ranks 12th in the country in that category.
This will be by far the toughest test of the season for Louisville who ranks second in the country in total defense. The Cards also rank 1st in the country in pass sacks this season behind the play of the nations sack leader Marcus Smith and 14th ranked Lorenzo Mauldin. It will be critical that they get to Kay on Thursday night. Our DB’s will also have their work cut out for them with this UC teams ability to hit the deep pass. Folks this is going to be some match up.
When these teams take the field Thursday the game will feature the Cards #2 in total defense, and the Bearcats who are #8 in total defense. Yup they have a pretty solid group on the other side of the ball as well. Leading this group that has only allowed 25 points or less in the last 9 games is Senior linebacker Greg Blair. Blair who is the vocal leader on defense is a tackling machine and one of the best players on the team. He has 77 tackles on the season. The other guy holding it down on this Bearcats defense has one of the coolest names in college sports defensive lineman Silverberry Mouhon. He is 23rd in the country in sacks. He has 8 on the season. This group for UC is very solid. They are a quick, versatile and athletic bunch who like to fly around all over the field.
This will be one of the toughest defenses that our Cards have faced this season. And the Louisville offense is coming into this game with a few question marks. They have got the job done but have struggled to find any type of consistency. Hopefully Watson and Strong open up the passing game in this one and let Teddy and company do their thing. I think this group has some tricks left up their sleeve and are due for a big game. This could turn out to be a shoot out in the Queen City.
Don’t be surprised to see a few trick plays in this game by Cincinnati especially if it turns out to be a yardage battle. UC head coach Tommy Tuberville was a special teams coach under Jimmy Johnson at Miami and they ran trick plays a lot. Used to change or gain momentum and Tuberville has and will use them. This could be something that determines how this battle plays out on Thursday.
I can’t wait for this game folks. Probably as excited as I’ve been all season. I love the rivalry with Cincinnati and it is a game that features two of my favorite things a Keg and Football. I really hope this isn’t the last time we get to enjoy it and fully expect this one to be an instant classic. Expect both teams to play their best game of the season. Emotions will be at a all-time high and both schools want the Keg in the trophy case when this one is done. It is going to be a close one and I don’t even want to make a prediction. I’ll be there to capture all of the moments. If you can you should get to one of the ticket websites and make the trip up north for this one. Our Cards will need all the support they can get. Happy Keg of Nails week folks. Enjoy it because it might be the last. GO CARDS!!!
