Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Beak Basketball Breakdown: The Tar Heels

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The Cardinals will take their 2-0 ACC record to tobacco road on Saturday afternoon to face the North Carolina Tar Heels. This will be the first time these teams play as conference foes. The teams are meeting for the second year in a row, as the Tar Heels beat the Cardinals 93-84 last season on Nov. 24 in the Hall of Fame Tipoff. Carolina leads the all-time series 9-3, and have won the last five out of six including two in a row. Saturday’s contest will also include a pair of Hall of Fame coaches on the sidelines, Roy Williams 735 wins (Hall of Fame class of 2007) and Rick Pitino 709 wins (class of 2013).

COACH PITINO TALKS ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA GAME

The Tar Heels are 1-1 and have won 5 of their last six games. The Tar Heels are facing their second consecutive ranked opponent, hoping to bounce back from Monday night’s loss to No. 13 Notre Dame. That defeat snapped a five-game Carolina winning streak. The one thing that this Carolina team has struggled with over the past couple of years is consistency. They look like world beaters in one game and come out uninspired in the next one. They have the talent and the depth but just haven’t been able to put it together night after night.

MONTREZL TALKS NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina is averaging 80.1 points a game while shooting 45.3% from the floor, 30.5% from the three and 70% from the free throw line. They are led in scoring by Marcus Paige (13.5PPG), Kennedy Meeks (12.7PPG), Brice Johnson (11.3PPG), Justin Jackson (9.6PPG), and J.P. Tokoto (9.1PPG). Carolina’s defense is holding its opponents to 35.4% shooting this season, ranking second in the ACC. The Tar Heels lead the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense at 26.1%. Carolina has held 13 of its first 15 opponents under 40% shooting from the floor. Carolina leads the ACC in offensive rebounding percentage at .449 (ranking second nationally) but is 14th of 15 ACC teams in defensive rebounding percentage at .677 (222nd nationally). The Tar Heels are very good when it comes to sharing the basketball averaging 17.8 a game ranked 8th nationally.

CHRIS JONES TALKS NORTH CAROLINA

Kennedy Meeks will be a big challenge for the Cardinals. He leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game and 22 blocked shots. Meeks is tied with Montrezl for the lead in the ACC in double-doubles with six each. J.P. Tokoto has led UNC or tied for the team lead in assists nine times this season. Justin Jackson has scored in double figures three times in the last five games. Isaiah Hicks has been Carolina’s defensive player of the game a team-high six times this season.

North Carolina 2014-15 Overall Rankings Offense | Defense

OFFENSE
-POINTS PER GAME
80.1
16th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
45.1
2nd
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
17.8
8th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.453
92nd
OVERALL

DEFENSE
-POINTS ALLOWED
64.4
147th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
28.1
15th
OVERALL
-BLOCKS PER GAME
4.7
65th
OVERALL
-STEALS PER GAME
7.3
101st
OVERALL

2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #11
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-89.4 ranks 10th
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-111.5 ranks 19th
-Per Kenpom’s game prediction he has Louisville losing the game 71-67 based on his indexes.

This North Carolina team is about like the match-up with UK when it comes to their length and athletic ability. The Cardinals are going to have to play great in transition defense and limit the Tar Heels in their fast break points, and they must have a good day on the glass just to be able to stay in this game. Louisville’s big four have come up big all season and they will need to have a good game on Saturday. I’m concerned about the production in the paint and would like to see the Cardinals get more out of that 5 spot on Saturday.

I don’t think the Cardinals have to play a perfect game to beat North Carolina on Saturday but they will have to play one of their best games of the season. They will be very motivated trying not to lose back-to-back games at home. This one has me nervous but I just can’t pick against our guys and think they will answer the bell on the defensive end of the floor. Plus I really like the way Chris Jones has been playing and think he comes up big on Saturday.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 67 North Carolina 63

Jones Helps Cards Keep Up With ACC

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On a very cold evening in Louisville the Cardinals overcame some cold shooting to claim their second victory of the early conference slate. The Cardinals are now 2-0 in ACC play after beating Clemson tonight 58-52. This is the third straight season that the Cardinals have started 2-0 in conference play. They previously started 2-0 in the Big East, and the American Conference last season. The Cardinals now lead the series against Clemson 4-0 and after the win tonight they are 76-10 all-time at the Yum Center. They move to 150-66 all-time vs current ACC teams.

At times it wasn’t very pretty to watch especially in the first half. Clemson had the Cardinals well scouted, shut down the inside game with their zone, and controlled the pace throughout. Clemson came into this game holding seven out of the last ten teams they’ve played to 65 points or less. They held the Cardinals to 22% on 6 of 27 shooting from the field in the first half and held them to 32.7 % shooting for the game on 18 of 55 from the field. The Cardinals were 6 of 24 from the three point line for 25% for the game. The Cardinals used a 17-0 run at the start of the second half to propel them in the win. They have used the “BOOM” producing over 30 runs of 8-0 or better this season in their 15 games.

The Cardinals were without Anas tonight who had a migraine, Shaqquan had a knot on his head that he got in practice limiting his time, and Montrezl got into foul trouble sitting most of the first half. These things certainly didn’t help the Cardinals on the offensive end of the floor. The Cardinals looked a little better on the defensive end of the floor forcing the Tigers into 15 turnovers and getting 11 steals. The Cardinals have now produced double-digit steals in 12 of their last 15 games and they have now had fewer turnovers than their opponents in 13 of their last 15 games.

For the second straight game it was Chris Jones who was this team’s saving grace. He led all scorers with 22 points. He also had 2 assist and 5 steals. He is ranked in the top six in the ACC in steals. For all the hard time he gets from some fans this Cardinal team would be in big trouble without him. I really think he has turned the corner and now fully understands the role he plays on this team.

Terry Rozier is another guy that continues to come through in the clutch when the Cardinals need a basket. He had 15 points to go along with 6 rebound, 4 assist and 3 steals. He currently leads the ACC in Steals. He has been the most consistent player in a Cardinal uniform this season.

I was hoping that Wayne Blackshear would be pushed by the recent play of Shaqquan Aaron. Tonight Wayne had a nice game scoring 11 points, to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He is another player that is among the top 6 steal leaders in the ACC. He was 3-10 from behind the arc tonight.

Montrezl had his mildest performance of the season. He got into foul trouble early in the game sitting for most of the first half and really never got it going like we are used to from him. He did have some moments in the second half and did end up scoring 6 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. He is now just 32 points shy of becoming Louisville’s 66th career 1000 point scorer. His 6 double-doubles this season is tied for the ACC lead.

If you have been watching some of these conference games this season then you know how much of a grind it’s been for all of the top teams in the country. When teams get into the conference part of the schedule the scouting report really finds their weaknesses. Louisville did get 15 rebounds from the five spot on Wednesday night and Mango really was going hard to the glass on both ends of the floor. I was very impressed with his effort. Despite the rebounding efforts the Cardinals only got 4 points from the five spot. Teams are going to keep playing to this weak spot.

Regardless of the teams shortcomings they keep finding ways to win games and guys are stepping up and making plays when they need to. I’ll take a 2-0 start to conference play and run. Things are going to get tougher in the coming weeks but the Cardinals are going to keep getting better. Bring on the Tar heels…

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The Beak Basketball Breakdown: Clemson

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The Cardinals took care of business on Sunday evening down in Winston Salem beating Wake Forest in their very first conference game. Now the Cardinals will play their very first ACC game at the KFC Yum Center on Wednesday night against Clemson. The Cardinals and the Tigers have only played three times on the hardwood with Louisville leading the series 3-0. After their win Sunday the Cardinals are 149-66 against current ACC teams.

COACH PITINO TALKS CLEMSON AND THE PROGRESS OF HIS TEAM

Clemson has won four of their last six games. They are averaging 65.2 points a game shooting 42.5% from the field, 28% from Three and 66.5% from the free throw line. Jaron Blossomgame is averaging 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds while Damarcus Harrison is averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds. Donte Grantham is the third player averaging double-digit points and Landry Nnoko is grabbing 6.5 rebounds. The Tigers are a team that rely heavily on their defense and they are holding teams to 62.6 points a game on 39% shooting from field. Their defense has held teams to 65 points or less in seven of their last 10 games. They average almost 6 blocked shots a game good for 19th in the country.

Clemson 2014-15 Overall Rankings Offense | Defense

OFFENSE
-POINTS PER GAME
65.2
248th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
37.0
93rd
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
10.8
292nd
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.425
232nd
OVERALL

DEFENSE
-POINTS ALLOWED
62.6
101st
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
25.4
103rd
OVERALL
-BLOCKS PER GAME
5.7
19th
OVERALL
-STEALS PER GAME
5.0
316th
OVERALL

2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #141
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-97.5 ranks 106th
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-99.2 ranks 204th
-Per Kenpom’s game prediction he has Louisville winning the game 70-53 based on his indexes.

Our Cardinals have four players averaging in double figures with Terry Rozier (17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds), Montrezl Harrell (16.7 points, 9.5 rebounds), Chris Jones (12.1 points, dishing out 3.2 assists) and Wayne Blackshear (12.1 points). With Shaqquan Aaron coming around the Cardinal’s now must get something going at the 5 spot. Chinanu, Mango, and Anas are averaging 8.3 points a game combined while averaging 13.3 rebounds. These numbers have to come up for the Cardinals to be any real threat in the post season.

It will be interesting to see if Chris can put together great back to back performances and if the play of Shaqquan Aaron has lit a fire under Wayne Blackshear. We’ll see if the post guys show any type of spark after Coach Pitino said that he was going to put his focus on them. I don’t think the Cards have any trouble with Clemson and it will be another opportunity to get better. Tough road trip to Chapel Hill is looming.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 79 Clemson 65

Cards Exorcise The Demon Deacons

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The Louisville Cardinals have played in and won their first ACC game beating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons tonight 85-76. No matter what happens now the Cardinals can always say that they won the first one. They say first impressions are always the most important and while the Cards weren’t overly impressive tonight they did let the conference know that they are here. The Cardinals have now won their first conference road game for the 8th straight season. Louisville now leads the series over Wake Forest 3-1 and their record against the ACC is now 149-66.

COACH PITINO WAKE FOREST POST GAME

The Cardinals didn’t play their sharpest game of the season and the effort on defense wasn’t the best but Coach Pitino played a lot of guys and was dealing with foul trouble. They Still had 8 steals and 4 blocked shots. The Cardinals found out tonight that they aren’t going to get the whistle on the road in the ACC and had 25 team fouls. The Cardinals were out-rebounded by one 36-35, they ran the offense much better tonight and the shots fell well enough to go 50% from the floor, and 41% from the three. The Louisville bench outscored theirs 16-9.

There were a few solid performances tonight but the most impressive outing was from Chris Jones. He sat down with Paul Rodgers after the game and said “We are more focused now and we know what we need to do to win a national championship and I’m all in”. This kid took a beating from the fans after that Kentucky game and also took a pretty good tongue lashing from his coach. He was benched last week in the game against Long Beach State. He could have easily buried his head in the sand and really struggled to come out of this funk. But talk about exorcising the demons Jones did that tonight showing some Memphis moxie getting his first double-double of his Louisville career scoring 22 points, and dishing out 10 assist. He also had 4 rebounds and 3 steals while only having 2 turnovers. I couldn’t be happier for this guy. If we can keep “Memphis Moxie” around this Cardinal team will be a force to be reckoned with.

Montrezl Harrell wasn’t much of a factor in the second half but did pace the Cardinals with a huge first half. He had his 6th double-double of the season with 25 points, and 13 rebounds. It was a homecoming for Montrezl and there were reportedly signs in the crowd that welcomed him back.

If Louisville fans didn’t understand how important Terry Rozier is to this team they do now. He quickly picked up his 4th foul in the second half with the Cardinals up 46-35, and without his offensive prowess the Cardinals would only score 12 points in the next 9 minutes while Wake Forest closed the gap to 56-55. He did get back into the game and ended up hitting several big-time shots when the Cards needed them the most. He finished with 18 points.

Rick Pitino said after the game tonight about Shaqquan Aaron “He is an active participant, fear of failure is the worst thing for a ball player and he has no fear”. I’ve said from day one that this kid was going to be the real deal and that he would contribute immediately. So far he hasn’t let me down and tonight he hit some big shots scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Can’t wait to see this kid when he adds some bulk. Watch out!

This team is an obvious work in progress. They have to find more consistency on the offensive end of the floor while maintaining the tenacity for 40 minutes on the defensive end of the floor. We have to bring some of the younger guys around and they have to learn the system better. They must become a more cohesive unit and by the sound of some of the post game comments tonight that is slowly coming about. One thing I noticed after the game tonight was the guy’s high-fiving each other and noticed that Chris and Montrezl shared a moment.

The Cardinals are 1-0 in the ACC, ranked #5 in the country and things appear to be on the right track. I still have a lot of optimism about what this team can achieve over the next 3 months. Instead of worrying about the things that need to be fixed I’m just going to enjoy watching the progress every week. It’s going to be a fun conference season folks. Go Cards!

The Beak Basketball Breakdown: Demon Deacons

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The Cardinals have made it through those less than exciting games of the non-conference schedule and will now head into their first season in the ACC. Standing with my son last summer during the ACC celebration I was filled with anticipation for the Cardinals move into the ACC conference. Most of that anticipation was looking forward to the quality football opponents and while we have had the fortune of playing in a quality basketball conference last years’ time in the AAC made me look forward to this season in the ACC. Now that day is here and the Cardinals will head to North Carolina to play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. These programs have played three times in the past with the Cardinals leading the series 2-1. The last time these teams played was during the 1996 NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Regional Final. The Demon Deacons won that game 60-59 and the Cardinals were led in scoring by Samaki Walker. The Cardinals will head into their inaugural season in the ACC with a winning record. They are 207-61 all-time vs ACC teams.

COACH PITINO TALKS ABOUT HIS TEAM AND THE WAKE FOREST GAME

The Demon Deacons are 8-6 this season and have won their last three games. They are averaging 70.2 points, shooting 42% from the floor, 34% from the three, and 65% from the free throw line. Defensively they are allowing 66.4 points and their opponents are shooting 43.1 percent. Codi Miller-McIntyre leads the Demon Deacons averaging 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Devin Thomas is averaging 10.7 points and 9.6 rebounds, Konstantinos Mitoglou is averaging 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, and Mitchell Wilbekin is averaging 8.0 points. Wake Forest is 6-3 at home this season and this is their first game this year against a ranked team. The Demon Deacons have struggled on the offensive end of the floor but they do get after it on the defensive end and are ranked within the top 50 in defensive efficiency.

Wake Forest 2014-15 OVERALL Rankings Offense | Defense

OFFENSE
-POINTS PER GAME
70.2
131st
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
40.8
23rd
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.6
131st
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.420
252nd
OVERALL

DEFENSE
-POINTS ALLOWED
66.4
188th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
27.5
30th
OVERALL
-BLOCKS PER GAME
4.2
105th
OVERALL
-STEALS PER GAME
7.9
66th
OVERALL

2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #123
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-93.5 ranks 49th
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-97.5 ranks 234th
-Per Kenpoms game prediction he has Louisville winning the game 69-60 based on his indexes.

Our Cardinals are 12-1 heading into conference play and are ranked fifth in the nation with their lone loss coming to top ranked Kentucky. They are averaging 74.1 points, shooting 43.1% from the floor, 29% from the three and 65% from the free throw line. Defensively they are allowing 54.2 points and their opponents are shooting 35%. Terry Rozier leads the Cardinal’s averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Montrezl Harrell is averaging 16 points and 9.2 rebounds, Wayne Blackshear is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds, and Chris Jones is averaging 11.4 points. This will be the second road trip of the season for the Cardinals.

This is a team struggling to find that closeness of some of the teams we’ve had over the last 4 years. Part of that is due to there being so many young guys and the lack of four-year guys. Team chemistry is very important especially during the March run. Hopefully they will find some of it during these upcoming ACC battles. And hopefully some of the guys struggling to grasp the team concept will also find their way. These things must happen for this group to achieve their full potential.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 75 Wake Forest 69

The Beak Looks Back, Louisville Football 2014

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Now that there have been a couple of days to process Louisville’s loss to Georgia in the Belk Bowl, it seems like a good time to start taking a look back at the Cardinals 2014 football season. The Cardinals would start the 2014 season after losing 3 first round NFL draft picks and their entire coaching staff. The gamble to bring back a proven winner to the program paid off and Coach Bobby Petrino was able to lead this team to 9 wins and a trip to a bowl game in his first season back. What makes his first year back even more impressive is that he did it with a roster full of players that were recruited to play in a different system, three inexperienced QBs and in the Cardinals first season in the ACC.

OVERVIEW

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Let’s take a look at the Cardinals first ACC season from a Bird’s-eye view (pun intended).
I can’t think of a football season in my lifetime that I had been more excited about than this one. A big reason why is for the first time ever the Cardinals would be playing in a very solid football conference. Gone were the days of playing schools with little or no football tradition. We were about to embark on a whole new journey with this team.
Coach Petrino’s Louisville sequel would start with the Cardinals ACC debut. It was obvious in the first game against Miami that this would be a season defined by a solid defense. In that game the Cardinals got their first ACC win but the offense faced many challenges especially after having to play without DeVante Parker who would miss the first seven games.
Not long after the first ACC win the Cardinals would get their first ACC loss at Virginia. The inconsistency at the quarterback position would become a reality during this game and would become a weekly theme. Our loss was their gain as it was their first win in the ACC in 11 attempts.
The wins weren’t pretty but they would be welcomed as the Cardinals beat Wake Forest and old foe Syracuse in the next two games.
The offensive woes probably weren’t more evident than in the Cardinals 2nd ACC loss of the season in Death Valley. The Cardinals had a chance for the go ahead TD with one minute left in the game but couldn’t get into the end-zone from the 1 yard line.
The offense would get a boost in the very next game against NC State as DeVante Parker would return to the line-up. Michael Dyer would also have his best game in a Louisville uniform in this win.
With these guys giving an extra boost to things it would help the Cardinals hang tough with the defending champs, but the Cardinals would still get their 3rd ACC loss to FSU.
The Cardinals were able to maintain some of that offensive consistency and would finish their first regular ACC season on a winning note beating Boston College and Notre Dame.
After taking Cardinal Fans on an up and down ride the Cardinals finished the regular season 9-3 and 5-3 in conference play.

BEST MOMENT

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After a back and forth game the Louisville defense had another big goal line stand. With a minute left in the game the Notre Dame kicker Kyle Brindza missed a 32 yard field goal to give Louisville the win. The 15,000 Louisville fans that made their way to the game got to watch the Louisville Cardinals get a win in their very first trip to South Bend. The Cardinals offense leaned on running back Brandon Radcliff and Reggie Bonnafon that night. For Reggie this game was the answer to his late father’s request to own his destiny and it really was special watching him walk off the field to the echo of fans congratulating him along the way. Notre Stadium has been described as having the power to inspire. And it has inspired some great athletes over the years, and was the backdrop to one of the biggest underdog stories in sports. It has also been the site of many special moments and on that cold November night it was the Cardinals that left their story of triumph and glory among those walls and with those thousands of ghosts of seasons past. The Cardinals became only the 12th team in history to go to South Bend and win on their very first trip.

WORST MOMENT

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All three of the Louisville losses were tough to take but in each game it felt like the Cardinals could have very easily won them. There was also no obvious valley to the season to point to. That being said the Cardinals 37-14 loss to Georgia was probably the toughest one of the season. From the start of the game Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason picked apart the Louisville secondary picking up third down after third down. The Bulldogs had raced out to a 20-7 lead by halftime, and after the half they pounded away with Nick Chubb who finished the game with over 266 yards. His rushing total was second highest in school history. The Cardinals defense gave up 492 yards of total offense. It was really hard seeing that unit go out like they did after standing tall time and time again all season. And it was tough watching that group of seniors go out with this type of loss. In a season full of optimism and pride this had to be the worst moment. It was really the only one I could think of.

SURPRISE MOMENT

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No matter what the projections were for the Cardinals season, nobody expected red shirt Kyle Bolin to be playing and few people expected the season finale against UK to go right down to the wire much less to see Louisville trailing 40-37 with 5:38 left in the game. In that position though Kyle Bolin in his first college game came up with a seven-play, 81 yard drive that Brandon Radcliff capped off with a 4 yard touchdown run giving Louisville a 44-40 lead. A sack and interception by Gerod Holliman on the next Kentucky drive ended the game and sealed the 4th straight victory over the Cardinals arch rival.

OFFENSIVE MVP

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There were a lot of gutsy performances this season on the offensive side of the ball for the Cardinals, but nobody had more of them than Cardinals running back Brandon Radcliff. He ran the ball 144 times this season for 737 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had big-time games against Wake Forest 129 yards with 2 touchdowns, Syracuse 110 yards with 2 touchdowns and his best of the season in the biggest win of the season at Notre Dame 136 yards with 1 touchdown. Even in the loss in the Bowl game to Georgia he ran his guts out for 89 yards carrying most of the load on the night. He is a remarkable young man with a lot of drive and determination and he only broke the mold on what he’s capable of this season. HONORABLE MENTION: DeVante Parker had 43 catches for 855 yards with 5 touchdowns and he did this while only playing in six games this season. His biggest performances of the season coming against Florida State 214 yards and Kentucky 180 yards with 3 touchdowns. He would have won the MVP by a mile had he played in every game.

DEFENSIVE MVP

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I had to think about this one for a little while, but it kept coming back to Gerod Holliman. Not only did he have 44 tackles and one sack but he tied the NCAA record with 14 interceptions. His biggest games were at Boston College where he had 3 interceptions, Florida State with 2 interceptions and in the game against Kentucky where he had a big sack and huge interception on back to back plays to end that game. He really was a big part of a Louisville defense that stepped up all season. HONORABLE MENTION: Lorenzo Mauldin was the heart and soul of this Louisville defense and even if he hadn’t made a tackle all season just his leadership on and off the field would have got him mentioned in this article. He did have a lot of tackles though 52 of them to go along with 6 and a half sacks. His biggest game was against Wake Forest with 5 tackles and 3 sacks. Both of these guys are going to be deeply missed next season.

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When Charlie Strong decided to leave the program Tom Jurich and other members of the Louisville administration were faced with a difficult decision. They had the choice to find a coach who was an up and coming unproven in the college ranks or go with the guy who had won here before. The second choice would bring a splattering of skepticism. The program had come too far since the last failed experiment of an unproven coach and Tom Jurich knew what he had to do to maintain the level of excellence that had been established. He did face a ton of backlash from the skeptics, but after watching his program win 9 games while facing their toughest schedule in years and becoming bowl eligible for a 5th straight season he had the last laugh. I think he made the right choice and the excitement for Louisville football is at an all-time high. We have a lot of momentum heading into year number two of the Bobby Petrino sequel. We will sign a top 25 recruiting class in February and should march another top 25 team on the field in April. I can’t wait to attend the signing day party and can’t wait to attend the first day of spring football practice. GO CARDS!

Rivalry Overreaction

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After the basketball game between the Cards and the Cats last weekend I came down with a terrible stomach virus. It has taken me a few days to be able to read all of the articles and really reflect back on that game and get a feel for how folks felt about the outcome. Maybe it’s because this was the first season where the rivalry game in both football and basketball happened only a few weeks apart, maybe it’s because of the recent disparity of both sports, but the back and forth between the fans has been as heated as ever. And I have also noticed how some think the basketball game should be stopped all together.

Look we all overreact sometimes and it is tough losing the last 7 out of 8 to the other side especially when you may work in an office full of their fans. I wrote an article last year before the Cardinals and the Cats played each other in the Sweet 16, and explained why I even felt like it wouldn’t bother me if this rivalry ended. But my feelings had more to do with the vitriolic nature and the hate filled back and forth more than the string of recent losses. It really did put a damper on this game for me. But that was an overreaction and me getting too caught up in what a small minority of folks were doing. I since have regained my passion for both the football and basketball Battles of the Bluegrass and hope it last forever.

The majority of the current overreaction appears to be because of the latest string of losses in the basketball game and due to their coach holding a 7-1 advantage recently in the series. So based on that I decided that I would take a closer look at what most consider the other top rivalries in college basketball to see what those overall records looked like.

These are in no particular order, but are thought of as the other top rivalries in college hoops.

-(UNC 133 DUKE 105)

*There has been several times when UNC won 16 straight in this series. And Roy Williams has lost 8 out of the last 11 to Krzyzewski.

-(Georgetown 41 Syracuse 49)

*There have been as many as 6 losses in a row by teams in this series.

-(Cincinnati 49 Xavier 32)

*Cincy has won as many as 8 in a row in this series.

-(Kansas 187 Kansas St 92)

*Kansas has won as many as 32 straight in this series.

-(Duke 113 Maryland 63)

*Duke has won as many as 15 straight in this series.

-(Indiana 88 Purdue 113)

*Indiana has won as many as 13 straight in this series.

-(Michigan 97 Michigan State 77)

*Michigan State has won as many as 8 straight in this series.

-(VCU 41 Richmond 26)

*Richmond has won 2 out of the last 13 in this series.

-(Florida 43 Florida State 22)

*Florida has won 5 straight in this series.

In the Battle of the Bluegrass rivalry the series stands at 32-15 with Kentucky leading and winning the last 7 out of 8. No team has ever won more than 5 in a row in this series.

Some of the best rivalries in college basketball have pretty big margins separating the two teams and as you can see above many times has been dominated by one team or the other. Has that hurt these bitter rivalries? Should we not consider UNC and Duke a rivalry anymore because Roy has lost 8 of the last 11 to Mike?

Once a Rivalry is started fans who have developed feelings of pride, solidarity, loyalty to a certain side aren’t ever going to change no matter how many times the other guys beat them. That’s what makes the rivalry great. We as human-beings need rivalry and it makes sports a lot more interesting. Sure Calipari and his Cats are putting it on us lately, but they have been pretty good overall don’t ya think. And our Cardinals haven’t done so bad either.

All of you folks freaking out over this recent loss to UK need to take a step back away from the ledge. Look at the big picture. Our little rivalry here in the state of Kentucky is just as competitive as any of the others in the country. It was here before any of us and it will be here after we are all gone. No matter how many games John Calipari wins with his super recruits.