The madness rolls on for our Louisville Cardinals after they survived a tough first round game against Manhattan. Up next is the St Louis Billikens from the Atlantic 10 Conference. They beat NC State in overtime to advance in the tournament. St Louis is making its third straight appearance in the Tournament and their ninth overall. They will be looking to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The Cardinals are looking to make their third straight appearance in the Sweet 16 and 20th overall. These teams do have a history that dates back to 1920, and have faced each other as members of the Missouri Valley, Metro and Conference USA. The Cardinals lead the overall series 45-20.

This St Louis team is defined by its play on the defensive end of the floor. They have maybe the best man-to-man defense in the country holding teams to 44% from the field and they also guard well from beyond the arc holding teams to 28% from 3 point range. This is a team like our Cardinals who pride themselves in shutting down their opponents.

On offense this team is very deliberate in their approach. They feed off of the defense’s turnovers and they will run multiple sets using most of the shot clock on every possession. They use so many offensive plays that Coach Pitino said that they are a nightmare to prepare for on short notice. Like the Cardinals they are led by a group of seniors who are the winningest group in school history. 5 of those seniors lead a balanced offensive attack: Dwayne Evans (13.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.3 apg), Jordair Jett (13.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.8 apg), Rob Loe (10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.0 apg), Mike McCall Jr. (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.4 apg), and Jake Barnett (4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 apg).
Jett and Evans are very important on offense and create most of the opportunities for this team to score. Jett has lightning speed, quick hands and can penetrate the lane quick if not closed out.
Rob Loe is a 7-footer that creates a matchup nightmare for opposing defenders because of his ability to step away from the basket and knock down the outside shot.

Here are the Billikens’ rankings:

There are no easy games this time of the year as our Cardinals found out in their opening round. This one is not going to be an easy one. After a very tough and physical game against the Jasper’s our guys are feeling the effects. Russ Smith told the media on Friday afternoon that his body was in shambles. He has a badly sprained thumb that will be taped up on Saturday. Due to the game ending so late up in the morning the team is also feeling the effects. Chris Jones told the media on Friday that he didn’t get to sleep until 4am. With another very tough defense ahead of them our guys are going to have to dig deep to find that extra gear. St Louis’s grind it out style will be brutal to a tired team.

In all of the Billikens’ losses this season their opponents had a low turnover rate and kept them in check on the offensive end of the floor. The Cardinals will have to make the most of their possessions on Saturday and limit their turnovers. They will also have to shoot a decent percentage if they want to move on to Indy. I really think our bench is going to have to have a big impact in this one and Montrezl, Van Treese, and Mango are going to have to own the paint. Will also be interesting to see who will have the task of keeping up with Loe.

I do think our Cards will move on to the Sweet 16, but under the circumstances this one is going to be the toughest game of the entire season. It really could come down to the last few possessions. These are two very proud veteran ball teams with the winningest seniors in all of college basketball. Get ready to be on the edge of your seats again folks. 5 to go! Go Cardinals!

We are less than 24 hours from getting to watch our Cards defend their National Title. The Cardinals will start their march towards Dallas with a first round match-up with Manhattan College who earned a #13 seed in the Midwest after securing the automatic bid out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Both the Cardinals and the Jasper’s have won 11 of their last 12 games. Both of these teams come into the NCAA Tournament winning their last 5 games. The Jaspers are in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time and the first time since 2004, when Manhattan advanced to the round of 32 as a #12 seed. The Jaspers have won their first-round game in two of their last three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals hold the overall lead in this series 6-2 including a 79-51 win the last time these teams played back in 2012.

Former Pitino assistant Coach Steve Masiello has done a remarkable job in just a few seasons at Manhattan and has brought a winning culture back to that program. His coaching resembles that of his former boss and his team is pretty much a mirror image of the Cardinals offense and defense. Like the Cardinals their defensive pressure has been their signature all season long. They apply a suffocating half-court defense, trying to force opponents into turnovers and poor shots. Manhattan ranks 16th in the country in turnover percentage defense (22.1 percent) leading to many fast-break opportunities.

Even though they will run a similar style offense they don’t exactly have the same offensive weapons as the Cardinals. Their team isn’t exceptionally athletic or talented offensively. Like most low-majors, Manhattan will be undersized against high-major foe Louisville. The guys leading the way on the offensive end for the Jasper’s is Rhamel Brown (10.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.7 apg), Ashton Pankey (6.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.2 apg), George Beamon (19.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.8 apg), RaShawn Stores (5.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.0 apg), Michael Alvarado (12.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.0 apg), and Shane Richards (8.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.7 apg).
George Beamon is their best player and he can fill it up if he gets going. A long and bouncy athlete (6-foot-4), Beamon has scored 20 or more points 17 times this season and excels at hitting 15-foot jumpers and 3-pointers when left alone in transition.
Manhattan shoots 36.7 percent from beyond the arc and Shane Richards is their most explosive, yet inconsistent threat off the bench. A 41-percent 3-point shooter, Richards scored 14 points to help Manhattan down Iona.

Manhattan Jasper Rankings:

Manhattan has a decent ball team, and it really is bad luck for Steve Masiello to have to open up against his mentor. His team relies on forcing the opponent into turning the ball over at a high rate and his team loves to put pressure on opposing guards to force them into mistakes. That’s not going to happen Thursday night. The last time these teams played Russ Smith led the Cardinals scoring 23 points on 8-18 shooting and making 4 of 13 from the 3 point line. Smith was also disruptive on the defensive end, with five steals. It will be much the same on Thursday night. Montrezl will also have his way in the front court against a much less physical Manhattan. The Cardinals have too many athletes and too much experience for the Jasper’s to handle. This one isn’t going to be close and Coach Pitino should be able to use his bench in order to rest the guys for a much tougher opponent in the second round.

The wait is almost over Cardinal fans. I’m ready to stop hearing everyone talk about it and ready to see all these teams go at it. I’m looking forward to the most exciting sports day of the year. Go Cards!

It’s going to be a battle for the AAC tournament title tonight, but it’s going to have a Big East feel as the Huskies and Cards lock up one last time. Usually this story would have played out in front of a packed Madison Square Garden on a Saturday Night, but tonight the story will end in Memphis and it’s hard to say what the crowd will be like since they have been thin all week. The Cardinals lead this series 10-6 and have won four straight against the Huskies including that 33 point drubbing on senior day last weekend.

After a year of sitting out of post season play UCONN is one of the hungriest teams in college basketball right now looking forward to getting their chance at a deep NCAA run. Coach Kevin Ollie did an excellent job keeping his team playing hard last year, and this season has been no different. They could have folded their tents after that beat down in Louisville last weekend, but they have now beat the host team Memphis and top seeded UC to make the AAC final.

Their backcourt is experienced, talented and one of the best in the country. They are lead by All-American candidate Shabazz Napier (18.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.3 apg), Ryan Boatright (12.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg) and Omar Calhoun (4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.3 apg) all can pressure the ball, are competitive, play with confidence and have the ability to score. They are also getting quality minutes from DeAndre Daniels (12.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.4 apg), Niels Giffey (8.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.5 blkpg) and Lasan Kromah (7.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.4 blkpg).

Taken together, the Huskies’ big three of Napier, Boatright and DeAndre Daniels are shooting around 44 percent inside the arc and around 45 percent outside it this season. Napier is everything for this team. He leads the team in every offensive category, steals, and even rebounds. He averages 17.8 points a game, and he makes his team better. DaAndre Daniels and Ryan Boatright both average over 12 points per game.

The Huskies are also playing some pretty good defense this week holding Memphis to 26.4% from the field and holding UC to 43.9%. Daniels and Amida Brimah are both in the top five of the conference in blocked shots. They had 4 against the Tigers and 6 against the Bearcats. These guys make the Huskies a scary team down low.
The key for them in their last two wins is that they have played more like a team, and not relied on Napier as much as they had been. It has been more of a team effort.

The Cardinals will get the Huskies best effort tonight. You best believe that they wanted this rematch. Our Cards have had an easier road to the AAC title game, but there will be nothing easy about this game tonight. The Cards biggest strengths to this point has been their ability to score and stop their opponents from scoring. It will have to be par for the course tonight. They lead the conference in points per game at 81.8. Russ Smith is coming off his monster game last night and we have four players averaging double figures. I would think that the scoring tonight will have to be distributed and more balanced. I look for a surprise game from Wayne Blackshear and just maybe Terry Rozier. I think Chris Jones will also have a big outing in his curtain call in his hometown. Taking care of the ball tonight will also be crucial.

The defense will need to have another big night and force them to get the ball in the hands of their guys that don’t handle it well. UCONN is a very good offensive team and the Cards will need to repeat their shut down performance of the Huskies last weekend. The Cards got brutalized on the boards last night, and that can’t happen tonight. Montrezl Harrell is second in the conference in rebounds per game, but last night only had 5. He has to do better in this title game.

With all that said you can throw all logic, stats, and records out the window for this one. It’s the AAC title game. A lot of pride is on the line for these two very proud programs. Don’t think for one second that the guys leading these two teams Russ and Napier don’t want to go out on top. This should be a great game and a fun one to watch. I think our Cards win a close one down the stretch. Our defense will be too much and the Huskies will eventually buckle under the pressure. I’m looking forward to this game! Go Cards!

Saturday is set up to be a very special day in the KFC Yum Center. Not only are we celebrating four of the winningest seniors in school history, but there is also a pretty good team in #19 UCONN coming to town. This will be another opportunity to get a great quality win before the selection and seeding process next weekend. Our Cardinals will also ultimately be playing for the AAC regular season crown. Louisville leads this series 9 to 6 and have won three in a row over the Huskies including a 76-64 victory in the last meeting back in January. UCONN (24-6, 12-5 AAC) comes into the game Saturday winning 7 of their last 8 including big wins over Memphis and Cincy. Louisville (25-5, 14-3 AAC) comes into the game on Saturday winning 8 of the last 9 including the biggest win of the season against SMU Wednesday night.

After a year of sitting out of post season play UCONN is one of the hungriest teams in college basketball right now looking forward to getting their chance at a March run. Coach Kevin Ollie did an excellent job keeping his team playing hard last year and this season has been no different. Their backcourt is experienced, talented and one of the best in the country. They are lead by All-American candidate Shabazz Napier (18.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.3 apg), Ryan Boatright (12.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg) and Omar Calhoun (4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.3 apg) all can pressure the ball, are competitive, play with confidence and have the ability to score. They are also getting quality minutes from DeAndre Daniels (12.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.4 apg), Niels Giffey (8.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.5 blkpg) and Lasan Kromah (7.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.4 blkpg).

Taken together, the Huskies’ big three of Napier, Boatright and DeAndre Daniels are shooting around 44 percent inside the arc and around 45 percent outside it this season.
Napier is 2nd in The American in assists, is third in steals (1.9) and his 18.1 scoring average ranks 2nd in the league. UConn is among the national leaders in three-point field goal percentage (.451, 20th) and free throw percentage (.767, 7th). Connecticut is No. 23 in the Sagarin Ratings, No. 29 in the ratings percentage index (RPI) through March 6th.

UCONN comes into Saturdays game averaging 73.5 points-per-game, while shooting 45% from the floor (2nd in AAC) and 39.4% from 3-point range (1st in the AAC). The Huskies are converting 76.7% of its attempts from the free-throw line (1st in the AAC). Defensively, UCONN is allowing 62.8 points-per-game (4th in the AAC) as the opposition is shooting 38.9% from the floor (2nd in the AAC). The Huskies are out-rebounding their opponents 1065-1046 with a rebounding margin of +0.6 averaging 35.5 boards-per-contest.

UCONN
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
73.5
100th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
35.5
141st
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
12.7
173rd
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.451
132nd
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #26
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 92.8 ranks 11th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 109.2 ranks 92nd

It always a good thing when you can get a game like this to end a regular season. A quality opponent can get a team prepared for the tough weeks ahead as tournament play starts. This UCONN team is a very good opponent to close the season with and they do a lot of things well. They will challenge our Cardinals in every facet of the game on Saturday and we’ll see if the Cards can continue trending upward.

I would like to see Wayne Blackshear and Terry Rozier have solid games as they need a spark to get them going. We are gonna need one of these guys to step up in the next couple of weeks. This game will also be another good test for Mango and Van Treese to see if they can keep a steady production coming from that 5 spot. And Russ and Chris will be tested to the max defensively on Saturday. Not easy to stay in front of UCONN’s talented and very fast back-court. I do think our guys answer the call on Senior Day as they will be riding a wave of emotions from the festivities. I’m looking forward to being right in the middle of it all. Gonna be a great day! Go Cards!

Our Cardinals will be looking to get back on track and looking to get a quality win before heading into the post season when they face #18 SMU on Wednesday night. SMU and Louisville are meeting for the 10th time, and the second time this season. The Cards beat SMU back in January 71-63. Louisville leads the series 7-2. Wednesday’s game is the second collegiate match-up for Hall of Famers Larry Brown and Rick Pitino. The two met 17 times in the NBA (Brown 11-6). SMU is coming into this game (23-6, 12-4 American) and are ranked in both polls for the second-straight week. The Mustangs are 15-0 at home, including a 9-0 mark in newly renovated Moody Coliseum. The Cardinals (24-5, 13-3 American) come into this game after a tough loss this past weekend in Memphis.

Southern Methodist may not Jump out to everyone as a respectable opponent or national contender, but boy are they ever. Larry Brown is a helluva coach and he has assembled a roster that can compete with any team in the American and the country. The Mustangs are second in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (1st American), holding opponents to 36.9%. The Mustang defense is allowing just 61.2 points per game, 17th in the NCAA (2nd American). SMU has held 28 of its last 38 (22 of 29 this year) opponents under 40% shooting. SMU has outrebounded 22 of 29 opponents this season.
On offense, SMU is leading the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting 49.2% (9th NCAA). The Mustangs are also shooting 36.9% from beyond the arc, second in the conference. SMU is third in the league in assists per game at 15.2 (42nd NCAA), and is averaging 72.1 points per game. Additionally, the Mustangs have outscored 25 of 29 opponents in the paint by an average of 34.5-21.2.

They return four starters from last season, Nick Russell (9.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg), Ryan Manuel (5.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.8 apg), Cannen Cunningham (5.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.7 apg), and Shawn Williams (4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.7 apg). They have three transfers giving them great production with leading scorers Nic Moore (14.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.7 apg), Markus Kennedy (11.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.6 apg), and Yanick Moreira (7.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.4 apg). SMU also signed one of the best shooting guards in the country in McDonald’s All-American Keith Frazier (5.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.0 apg).

This team has seven players averaging at least 5.3 points. Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy are averaging double figures. Individually, Nick Moore is 12th in scoring (14.1), 12th in FG% (47.6), 3rd in assists (4.7), 5th in FT% (84.1), 2nd in 3PT FG% (45.1), 5th in 3PT made (2.1), 7th in assist/turnover ratio (2.0) and 9th in minutes played (32.0) He has made the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll eight times this season.
Markus Kennedy is 6th in FG% (54.0), 5th in blocked shots (1.4), 5th in rebounding (7.0) 4th in defensive rebounds (5.2), and has been named American Athletic Conference Honor Roll four times.
This is one of those teams that can come out of nowhere in the NCAA tournament and be the surprise of the college basketball season winning it all. They are deep, talented and versatile and they have great leadership in their Hall of Fame head coach.

SMU’s
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
72.1
149th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
38.6
83rd
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
15.2
42nd
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.492
8th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #18
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 92.8 ranks 12th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 110.6 ranks 61st

This will be the third hostile road environment that our Cards have face in the last four games and this just may be the most hostile of them all. Tonight’s game is the hottest ticket in Dallas and the Mustangs and their fans are hungry for a win against our Cardinals. SMU and Louisville have both improved since the last time these teams played. They have other players that are stepping up and we got guys like Montrezl and Rozier who are now big contributors. It will take the best effort of the year from the Cards to go into Dallas tonight and get a win. Luke and Russ will need to show some leadership, VanTreese and Mango will have to get some production in that 5 spot and Wayne Bkackshear will have to show some sign of life. Chris Jones is also due for a big game especially after the egg he layed in Memphis.

This one is gonna be rough, rowdy and really intense. It’s gut check time for the Cardinals and we’ll see if they are ready to put that Memphis debacle behind them and enter the post season swinging. I do think our Cards pull out a very close game tonight, but be ready to hang on the edge of your seats. Go Cards!

Our surging Louisville Cardinals return to action tomorrow night to face the Temple Owls for the second time this season. The game will be shown on ESPN 2 at 9PM. The Cardinals played the Owls a few weeks ago on Feb 14th after the game had been postponed due to a winter storm. Louisville won that game 82-58. These teams don’t really have a long history and have only met six times overall with Temple holding the advantage 4-2. Temple (7-19, 2-12) is coming off a narrow overtime loss at #22/24 Memphis on Feb. 22, while the Cardinals (23-4, 12-2) come into the game having won six straight.

Temple has a history of being a good program and their fans are used to 20+ win seasons and good basketball. Those days seem like a like a long time ago and a team that was once thought to contend for the AAC title has struggled most of the season to get wins against anyone in the conference. But they have started to show some signs of life in the last couple of weeks beating #23 SMU and taking #22 Memphis to Overtime in their last game. Temple is one of only six teams in Division I to have four players averaging 13 or more points per game, and the Owls’ top four scorers, who have accounted for 83 percent of the team’s points, produced just 26 percent of last year’s total points. Their offense has started to be more consistent, but they are still struggling to find the consistency they once had with their feard match-up zone defense.

The Owls are lead by Dalton Pepper (17.2ppg, 5.1rpg, 2.3apg), Will Cummings (16.3ppg, 3.2rpg, 4.3apg), Quenton DeCosey (15.2ppg, 3.7rpg, 2.3apg), and Anthony Lee (13.8ppg, 8.8rpg, 0.8apg).
Pepper is 4th in the AAC in scoring, 2nd in the AAC in three pointers made and 10th in the AAC in three point percentage. Cummins is 5th in the league in scoring. DeCosey is 9th in the AAC in scoring and has had double figure scoring in 20 of 22 games. Lee leads the conference in rebounding, and has 10 double-doubles on the season. These guys are getting it done but not getting much help from the rest of the team.

Temple comes into Thursdays game averaging 73.2 points-per-game, while shooting 42.6% from the floor and 34.5% from 3-point range. The Owls are converting 69.8% of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, Temple is allowing 77.2 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 47.1% from the floor. The Owls are getting out-rebounding by their opponents 989-927 with a rebounding margin of -2.4 averaging 35.7 boards-per-contest.

Temple
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
73.2
120th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
35.7
144th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.3
124th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.426
266th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #155
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 108.3 ranks 255th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 109.5 ranks 80th

Our Cardinals are on a roll and the first game against Temple is when things really started to come together for this team. The Cards also have four players who average in double figures in scoring, led by Russ with 17.5 ppg (3rd in AAC) and Montrezl with 13.0 ppg to go with a team-best 8.2 rpg (3rd in AAC). Terry Rozier is also a player that is starting to emerge as a solid contributor in many ways. And other guys are filling their roles nicely.
The Owls are running into a buzz saw on Thursday night, and it won’t be too much fun for them. The Cardinals will use this one as a tune-up for the big game coming up on Saturday at Memphis. No Shave Till Dallas. Go Cards!

You can bet that when Louisville and Cincinnati play each other on the field, basketball court or wherever that it’s going to be a battle. If you add to that natural competition two highly ranked teams, playing for a conference title then you have something really special. This is the Cardinals oldest rival and the game on Saturday will be the 99th meeting in the UofL and UC series. It dates back to Metro Conference, Missouri Valley , Conference USA, Big East and now AAC. Louisville leads this series with our old foes from the north 55 to 43, but lost a heart breaker to the Bearcats back on January 30th 66-69. Cincinnati improved to 24-3 overall and 13-1 in the AAC on Wednesday with a win over UCF, and are ranked 7th by AP and 9th in the USA Today poll. Our Cardinals have won 9 out of the last 10 and five straight heading into the game on Saturday at 12PM on CBS.

Coach Mick Cronin has one of his most physical and athletic teams coming into the game on Saturday. Cincinnati is among the national leaders in five key defensive statistics including scoring defense (57.7, fifth nationally), turnover margin (+3.7, 13th), scoring margin (11.7, 25th), field goal percentage defense (38.7, 27th) and blocked shots (5.7, 25th). It will be an experienced and established UC team lead by Sean Kilpatrick (20.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 apg), and a great supporting cast of characters including Titus Rubles (7.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.1 apg), Shaquille Thomas (7.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 apg), Jermaine Sanders (5.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg), Troy Caupain (5.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.4 apg), and Justin Jackson (11.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.7 apg). These guys can all protect the rim and rebound.

Kilpatrick is their do it all guy and their go to. He was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30 list, leads the American in scoring and three-pointers made (2.8 per game).
Titus Rubles is ranked eighth in the American in rebounding since the start of league action. He has pulled down at least six rebounds in 10 of UC’s last 14 contests.
Justin Jackson entered the week ranked eighth in the nation in total blocks (81). He is listed among the league’s Top 10 in five categories: blocks (first at 3.1), offensive rebounds (second at 3.2), field-goal shooting (fifth at 57.0 percent), rebounds (t-fourth at 7.0) and steals (seventh at 1.7). He’s the key to a Cincinnati defense only allowing opponents to 57.4 points a game.

UC comes into Saturdays game averaging 69.7 points-per-game, while shooting 43.3% from the floor and 34.4% from 3-point range. The Bearcats are converting 71.5% of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, UC is allowing 57.4 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 39.3% from the floor. The Bearcats are out-rebounding their opponents 973-851 with a rebounding margin of +4.5 averaging 36 boards-per-contest.

:UC
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME 69.7, 226th OVERALL -REBOUNDS PER GAME 36, 127th OVERALL -ASSISTS PER GAME 13, 154th OVERALL -FIELD GOAL PCT
.433, 238th OVERALL
Compared to
:UofL
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME 83, 11th OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME 38, 47th OVERALL -ASSISTS PER GAME 15.5, 30th OVERALL -FIELD GOAL PCT .480, 21st OVERALL

UC
Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #21
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 91 ranks 5th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 108.6 ranks 102nd
Compared to
UofL
Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #3
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 92 ranks 8th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 116.7 ranks 11th

UC is off to their best start in coach Cronin’s eight-year tenure. He is a guy that embodies the leadership, courage and determination of all of his mentors. And he has passed that down to his team. They are relentless on the defensive end of the floor and they dig in to grind on teams for the full 40. This Cardinals team will also be much better the second time around. In the last game there were a lot of mistakes, defensive breakdowns coming off screens, closing out, and defensive rebounding. The Cards still almost managed to get the win regardless.

UC will see a more disciplined defensive team Saturday, a better rebounding team and wiser team. Players like Montrezl and Rozier are emerging into difference makers. Mango and Stephan have produced 23 rebounds and 27 points in that 5 spot over the last two games. Russ has made his mind up to just win games instead of trying to please everyone and Chris Jones has settled into his role on the team. Factor in Luke Hancock back to being “Luke” and I think it spells success on Saturday for the Cards.

I’m not homer enough to think our guys are gonna walk into UC’s gym and get an easy win. It’s going to be a fight and I expect a very close game throughout. But this time when our guys need that last rebound, that last play to close out the game I think they’ll get it done. Folks I’m really looking forward to this one. It will be the game of the regular season. Let’s hope our guys return to Louisville Saturday with a little more facial hair and ranked 1st in the AAC. No Shave Till Dallas.. Go Cards!….

Our Cardinals will return to the Yum Center court for their third game in the last five days when they play USF on Tuesday night. The game is at 7PM and can be seen on the CBS Sports Network. Louisville has a 28-4 series advantage over USF, winning 14 of the last 15 match ups. This is the second game if the season between these teams. The Cardinals beat the Bulls back in late January 86-46 down in Florida. The Bulls come into this game 3-10 in the AAC and 12-14 overall. The Cards have won 10 of their last 12 games including a 102-54 win against Rutgers on Sunday.

USF isn’t a great team but Stan Heath is a good coach who knows that the strength of his team is the defense and blocking shots on the interior. Heath comes from the forty minutes of hell philosophy learned during his time at Arkansas and defense has been the identity of his teams while at USF. They had a solid defense last year but didn’t have the size down low to finish strong and gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Heath hit the recruiting trail this past summer and got some guys he had hoped would help. And 40.7 percent of USF’s scoring this season has come from three newcomers: Corey Allen Jr., John Egbunu and Chris Perry.

Two of those young guys are leading his front-court this season. Chris Perry (9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and John Egbunu (7.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg). They are joined in the front-court by the best player on the team Victor Rudd (14.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg).
Perry has a 7-5 wingspan and is a traditional low-post player who likes to play around the basket. He ranks 15th in the conference in rebounding and leads all freshmen in the conference in scoring. Egbunu has speed, leaping ability and a willingness to attack the rim. He ranks 10th in the conference in rebounding, the most of any freshman, 11th in blocked shots, 8th in offensive rebounding . Rudd is a do it all athlete and a great all around player. He is one of three players in the American Conference to rank in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. 10th in scoring, 9th in rebounding.

They are led in the back-court by three veteran players. Corey Allen Jr. (9.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg), Martino Brock (9.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Javontae Hawkins (4.1ppg, 1.3 rpg).
Allen is a very active guard who knows how to use his hands and plays at a high level on both sided of the ball. He ranks 14th in assists (3.0), 16th in steals (1.4), sixth in minutes played (33.1). Brock is a lengthy guard who also has a knack for taking away the basketball. Allen and Brock combine for about 4 steals per game.
Hawkins is a very good defensive player in his own right and is great at getting his team-mates invoked. He looks to drive a dish.

USF comes into Wednesday’s game averaging 66 points-per-game, while shooting 43.3% from the floor and 25.6% from 3-point range. The Bulls are converting 67.1% of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, USF is allowing 70.5 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 43.8% from the floor. The Bulls are out-rebounding their opponents 922-919 with a rebounding margin of +0.1 averaging 35.5 boards-per-contest.

USF
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
66.0
297th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
35.5
157th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
12.6
193rd
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.433
235th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #194
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 104.5 ranks 172nd
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 101.9 ranks 222nd

The last time the Bulls beat a ranked team was in Louisville, a 58-51 win over the No. 19 Cardinals on Feb. 29, 2012. And while I don’t think this team is as bad as they appear on paper I don’t think they have even the slightest of chances Tuesday night. Our Cardinals are playing the best basketball of the season right now and this will just be another tune-up for the big showdown in Cincy this weekend. This will be the final regular season conference meeting between these two schools and I can’t say that I’ll miss it. Cards romp and the facial hair continues to grow. Go Cards!

Our Cardinals have won seven out of their last nine and will be looking for another one Sunday when they return to the Yum Center to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The game is at 6PM and will be broadcast on ESPN2. Sunday evening’s contest marks the 14th meeting between the schools dating back to 1975, with the Cardinals holding a 12-1 advantage in victories. The Cardinals and Scarlet Knights faced each other back on January 4th at the RAC. The Cards won that game 83-76. Rutgers is 4-8 in the AAC and 7th place in the conference. The Cards are 9-2 in the AAC and 2nd place in the conference just one game back from Cincy.

There hasn’t been a college program in the country with more trouble surrounding it during this past year. And the Rutgers basketball program was the top story. I’m sure you’ve see the video of former basketball coach Mike Rice throwing balls at his players. So now new head coach Eddie Jordan has the task of completely turning it around. There were a lot of defections from the Rice turmoil but the cupboard isn’t completely bare.
They do have some proven scorers back this season who are leading Jordan’s hybrid Princeton style offense.

Myles Mack (15.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Kadeem Jack (14.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg), J.J. Moore (11.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg), Jerome Seagears (9.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Junior Etou (5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Wally Judge (7.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
Mack is their do everything guy and their leader. He is seventh in AAC in scoring and first in FT% (.888). Jack was named Conference player of the week earlier this season. He’s a very good rebounder and versatile player. He ranks seventh in AAC in rebounding, 12th in scoring. Moore is a transfer from Pitt and has give them a big lift with his scoring ability. He ranks 22nd in the AAC in scoring. Seagears is not as good of a scorer, but really does well on the defensive end of the floor and is great at getting his teammates involved in the game on the offensive end. He Ranks 1st in AAC in assist/t-over ratio (2.5) & 9th in assists (3.7/g). Judge is 11th in AAC in rebounding.

Rutgers comes into Sundays game averaging 74.5 points-per-game, while shooting 43.8% from the floor and 34.8% from 3-point range. The Knights are converting 70.5% of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, Rutgers is allowing 76.4 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 44.1% from the floor. The Knights are getting out-rebounding by their opponents 899-900 with a rebounding margin of 0.0 averaging 36 boards-per-contest.

Rutgers
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
74.5
93rd
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
36
134th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.2
148th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.438
221st
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #180
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-107.3 ranks 233rd
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
-106.1 ranks 144th

Our Cards played one of their most complete games of the season on Friday night. They looked solid in every aspect of the game. They lead the American in scoring (82.3 ppg) and scoring margin (+20.1). Hopefully they are peaking at the right time and this game will just be another one to perfect things. Should not be any problems in this one. Cards win big and the beards keep growing.

After a 9 day lay off the Cardinals take to the court for a showdown with Temple on Friday at 6pm on ESPN2. The game was postponed due to the winter storm in the Northeast. These teams don’t really have a long history and have only met five times overall. Which makes it seem very odd that this game is featured on ESPN’s rivalry week. Temple leads the all-time series 4-1 and has won the last four meetings. The most recent matchup came on March 19, 2002, as the Owls prevailed 65-62 over the Cardinals in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament in Freedom Hall. The last time Temple and Louisville met in Philadelphia was on Feb. 2, 1997 at the Spectrum, when the unranked Owls upset the 14th-ranked Cardinals, 67-44.

Temple has a history of being a good program and their fans are used to 20+ win seasons and good basketball. Those days seem like a like a long time ago and a team that was once thought to contend for the AAC title is struggling to get wins against anybody in the conference. Things have gone south fast in Philly and that doesn’t look likely to change in the near future. Despite being the only school in Division I to have four players averaging 14 or more points per game, ranking eighth in the country in fewest turnovers and 13th in turnovers per game Temple has dropped its last three contests. They are 6-16 overall, including 1-9 in conference play. This is a team struggling to score points and struggling to find the consistency they once had with their feard match-up zone defense.

The Owls are lead by Dalton Pepper (17.5ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.4apg), Will Cummings (16.4ppg, 3.2rpg, 4.4apg), Quenton DeCosey (15.2ppg, 3.5rpg, 2.2apg), and Anthony Lee (14ppg, 9.2rpg, 0.7apg).
Pepper is 4th in the AAC in scoring, 1st in the AAC in three pointers made and 10th in the AAC in three point percentage. Cummins is 5th in the league in scoring. DeCosey is 9th in the AAC in scoring and has had double figure scoring in 20 of 22 games. Lee leads the conference in rebounding, and has 10 double-doubles on the season. These guys are getting it done but not getting much help from the rest of the team.

Temple comes into Thursdays game averaging 74.6 points-per-game, while shooting 43.4% from the floor and 35% from 3-point range. The Owls are converting 69.1% of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, Houston is allowing 77.8 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 46.4% from the floor. The Owls are getting out-rebounding by their opponents 787-851 with a rebounding margin of -2.9 averaging 35.8 boards-per-contest.

Temple
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
74.6
94th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
35.8
144th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.5
125th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.434
236th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #173
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 111.3 ranks 295th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 110.8 ranks 58th

This is the type of team that our Cards have matched up well against this season. They aren’t a big, tall and athletic team but do have some solid players. Coach Pitino has had eight days to prepare for this game but in the AAC this year teams remain winless after a six or more game lay-off. The break did give our guys a chance to work on the defense and give them a chance to get healthy. Wayne Blackshear is back to 100% and will play Thursday night. I can see this being a big game for him. We really have the edge at every position on the court, but the real advantage comes with our bench play.
Temple is pulling out all the tricks for this one including making it their annual white-out game, but unless they’ve developed two or three more scorers over this past week this one isn’t going to be close. Our Cards should have a big night and it will be great to finally be watching them play again. Our wait is almost over Cardinal fans. Go Cards!