BIRMINGHAM - They say act like you've been there before.

Well, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals have been to the Sweet 16 before, and that's exactly where they're headed after handing a sound thumping to the Oklahoma Sooners.

They knew what it took to advance, and they made it look easy in a 78-48 victory over the Sooners.

"We played a good game against Boise State, but we played a great game tonight," Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said. "Offensively, defensively, we just played a complete game. You really can't find a weakness in the way the guys played tonight."

Continue reading "Cards Roll Onto Sweet 16" »

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - They say act like you've been there before.

Well, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals have been to the Sweet 16 before, and that's exactly where they're headed after handing a sound thumping to the Oklahoma Sooners.

They knew what it took to advance, and they made it look easy in a 78-48 victory over the Sooners.

I'll be back with quotes.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville has extended its lead to 29 points at 70-41 with just under 7 minutes to go.

The Cardinals will advance to its 16th Sweet 16 since 1975, a mark that is 5th among all schools. The 3-seeded Cardinals will tangle with 2-seed Tennessee in Charlotte.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - An Earl Clark three-pointer and Jerry Smith layup has built the Cardinals lead out to 23 with just under 15 minutes to go in the game.

Oklahoma had cut it to 18 before a quick flurry of points by Louisville. The Cards look really, really good right now.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - At the half, the Cardinals have a 44-22 lead on the Sooners.

The Cardinals have come out with a balanced offensive attack, getting production from David Padgett and Earl Clark on the inside and stellar shooting on the outside from Jerry Smith, terrence Williams and others.

They have also played suffocating defense, which has led to points off turnovers.

As exciting as the first game of the day was, it looks as if this one is ging to follow suit with most of this tournament in Birmingham.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

BIRMINGHAM - With just over 5 minutes to go, Louisville has taken a commanding lead over Oklahoma. They are dominating defensively, in the paint and from deep. They just look 10 times better than the Sooners right now.

They lead 33-16 with 5:24 to go. They've been rotating guys pretty regularly as well, so they look fresh. I'm not sure they will let off the pedal at all.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville maintains a 7-point lead with just over 7 minutes to go in the first half. Jerry Smith has connected on another 3-pointer to give him 8 points already.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville has jumped out to an 18-12 lead on the heels of an 11-3 run. Jerry Smith has 5 and David Padgett has 4 for the Cards.

Still working on that UT game story...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - David Godbold picked up right where he left off.

The senior guard for Oklahoma had a career-high 25 points Friday for the Sooners, and he his 3-for-3 from deep right from the start. The Sooners have a 9-7 lead with just under 15 minutes to go.

I'm working on a final recap from the UT-Butler game that had the crazy finish. Should be up in a few minutes...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals are trying to improve their impressive NCAA Tournament resume and advance to the Sweet 16 Sunday afternoon.

Standing in their way: the 6-seed Oklahoma Sooners.

Continue reading "16 Sweet 16's?" »

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Lousiville head coach Rick Pitino was focused on not letting Boise State get hot with the deep shot, but it was his team that torched the nets and stamped its spot into the second round.

The Cardinals shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from long range with seven different players making a trifecta.

Continue reading "Three-Point Shooting Lifts Louisville" »

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville handled its first round test easily Friday, posting a 79-61 victory over Boise State. The Cardinals were red hot from 3-point land in the first half and that carried over for the entirety of the game.

Louisville will face 6-seed Oklahoma in the night cap of Sunday's action in Birmingham.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The public address announcer just announced a crowd of over 14,000, but they are all heading for the exits here at the BJCC.

Louisville has a 14-point lead. They've shown no signs of letting it get under a 10-point lead, and BSU hasn't showed that they're capable of cutting the lead down.

The Broncos also look like they're starting to get worn down...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - At the 11 minute mark of the second half, the Louisville Cardinals are showing no signs of a letdown, as they still hold a 63-44 lead.

Boise State strung together consecutive baskets, but David Padgett and Juan Palacios answered with baskets of their own.

Another game in Birmingham, and another without much edge-of-your-seat excitement that we've come to know and love in March. The first game of the day was good between Tennessee and American, but after that one, it's pretty much been a snooze-fest.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Andre McGee became the 7th Louisville player to make a three-pointer, and the junior has given the Cardinals a comfortable cushion.

McGee nailed two straight threes to stretch the lead out to 19. That's where it stands now with the Cards leading 54-35 with just under 16 minutes to go in the game.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Boise State still trails 44-31 at the half, but Tyler Tiedeman has caught fire to keep the Broncos close.

He has 12 in the game and rattled off 7 in the last two minutes.

However, it would be totally stretching the story if I told you Boise State was in control of the game.

Continue reading "Tiedeman Keeping Boise State In The Neighborhood" »

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - As I posted my last entry, Earl Clark drained a trey. He is the sixth Cardinal to make a 3-point basket tonight as they lead by 12 with just under four minutes to go.

Keep in mind that David Padgett has only logged two minutes, and still, the Cardinals are rolling.

I think they have 50 by the half..(35-23 now)

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Apparently irritated by my previous blog post, Louisville retaliated.

After a 8-0 run by Boise State, Louisville ran off 10 unanswered to regain complete control of the game. They lead by 11 with 7 minutes to go. At this stage in the game, the Cards have 3's from Terrence Williams, Preston Knowles, Juan Palacios, Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith.

It's basically been an aerial assault with an occasional drive to the basket.

Boise State is scoring, but it seems they're laboring to put up any kind of points, while Louisville makes it look so easy...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - After trailing by 11 in practically a road game, Boise State is showing signs of life, and they're doing it without production from star forward Reggie Larry.

After a Juan Palacios 3-pointer pushed the Cardinal lead to 11, Boise State's Tyler Tiedeman and Jamar Greene stroked treys, and now BSU trails by just 5, 18-13.

11:50 to go in the first half. Also, Louisville's David Padgett picked up 2 quick fouls and hasn't been on the court since the first two minutes of the game.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - A pretty strong contingent of red is in the building, or at least it sounds like it. It also could be because the Cardinals -- mainly Terrence Williams -- is on fire to start the game.

Wiliams has all 7 of Louisville's points and the Cards are up 7-1 early.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday's action in the NCAA Tournament will get kicked into high gear from the start as the high-octane Tennessee Volunteers will tip things off in Birmingham at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Bruce Pearl's troops will battle No. 15 seed American, who is making its first tourney appearance.

The first session wraps up with an intriguing matchup with perenniel mid-major power Butler taking on 10-seeded South Alabama, who will make a short trip up Interstate 65 to play.

Continue reading "NCAA Tournament Preview: Birmingham" »

Posted by Dan Sellers at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pitt has pulled ahead by four thanks to a basket by Ramon and a few free throws. Louisville is taking and missing bad shots, although the last time down resulted in a Padgett putback. There's 1:53 left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Levance Fields missed from deep in the corner as time expired and we're going to overtime.

Both teams are in the double bonus, not that either team shoots free throws all that well anyway.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pitt and Louisville are tied at 62 with 16.5 left. Pitt will have the ball after the timeout. Brown just blocked a shot for Pitt, but Earl Clark cleaned it up and put it in to tie it.

We might get some free basketball!

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Sorry again for the lack of updates. The forces of evil have been working hard on my computer.

In a game bereft of runs, Pitt and Louisville traded 9-0 runs, but the end result is that we're right back where we started. Louisville is up 60-58 with 2:32 to go, but Pitt is going to the line.

Sam Young has gotten hot in the second half and now leads Pitt with 17. Earl Clark is still carrying Louisville with 17 points, mostly on a variety of dunks.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Forty seconds, two turnovers and no points later, we have reached the first TV timeout.

The main point of discussion on press row (besides where to go find a drink after the game) is the football score Alabama is putting up on Florida in the SEC tournament. First, we saw Bama score the first two touchdowns for a 14-0 lead. Then, each team added a FG, and the next thing we new, it was 42-14.

We're all checking to see if our monitors are in working order.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - We've had more missed dunks and layups in this tournament than I think I've ever seen.

We just had another when an alley oop ended up as an oops and stuck between the rim and the backboard. That is the second dunk attempt to do that today.

There have also been about four blocked shots already in this half. Louisville still leads 37-36 with 16:26 left.

After one defensive breakdown, David Padgett yelled out, "Jerry!" so, naturally, I sprang to attention. He was talking to Jerry Smith though. He's the one who broke down.

Anyone know why the Panther mascot is named Roc?

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Louisville is shooting a little better than Pitt at the break. The Cards have hit 13-30, while Pitt is 11-30.

Neither team is putting on a clinic at the line. Pitt is 5-12, while Louisville is 5-8.

DeJuan Blair leads the Panthers with 10 points. Sam Young has seven, but is only 2-9 from the floor.

Earl Clark and Juan Palacios have eight apiece for Louisville. The Cards' guards are struggling with their shots. Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith and Andre McGee are a combined 2-10.

Both teams have eight turnovers and 21 rebounds. Pitt had been leading in rebounding by about five with five minutes left.

It's not a pretty game, but it is a pretty even game. Pretty even stats, too.

Louisville's dance team performed at the half, and i have to say, they're really good. They were much more in sync than many of these groups.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Louisville made a little run before the half and lead 33-30. Neither team really has much of a rhythm on offense, but part of that is just good defense.

I'll be back in a minute with some stats.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The teams keep going back and forth at MSG. Pitt's up two at the moment. Louisville has been getting inside pretty easily when they don't do something stupid before then.

Actually, Pitt's doing a nice job of getting the ball inside as well and scoring among the trees.

Louisville's cheerleaders are out holding up cards that spell, "cards." As if they didn't know what they were.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pitt is up two on Louisville at the second timeout. It's been a balanced attack for the Panthers. Five players have scored, but nobody more than four.

Louisville's cheerleaders are performing. Their girls also have ribbons in their hair, but not those State Fair ones. Their just these huge, red, Christmas package bows. it's hard to believe they can hold their heads up straight.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pitt and Louisville are tied at the first media timeout 8-8. Earl Clark has gotten free for two wide open dunks for the Cards. Levance Fields got fouled on a three point shot, which he made, but missed the free throw for the four-point play.

The scorecards we were given do not have Louisville's Jerry Smith on it, and as the spokesperson for the Society for the Advancement of Jerrys, I'm quite upset on his behalf. Perhaps we should sue.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pitt and Louisville are warming up and getting ready to start the evening session of the Big East tournament. It's the first game between two teams that are not trying to get into the NCAA tournament. Pitt figures to be a middle of the bracket team, while Louisville hopes to come out of here with a 2-seed.

The Cards struggled in the early part of the season, but once they got healthy, they started playing like the preseason top 10 team everyone thought they were.

Pitt also had some injury problems, notably the loss of Levance Fields for a while. They muddled through OK without him and now, they're back in form as well.

Pitt will probably have trouble with Louisville's front line. The Panthers do not have a lot of size.

Louisville won at Pitt by 2 in the regular season.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Rick Pitino was in relatively good spirits despite today's loss. He admitted his team is struggling to keep things going for 40 minutes because they have such a short bench. Essentially, he said, they are playing four guards almost all the time, and that's been an adjustment, especially on offense.

Purdue totally took what was left of Louisville's inside game, Earl Clark, away from them. He only scored two points, both from the line and shot 0-for-7 from the floor. That left the Cards to settle for a lot of threes, but their legs gave out at the end of the game and the shots just wouldn't fall.

Louisville ended up shooting 19-for-59 for 32 percent from the floor and only 7-for-30 (23 percent) from three-point range. Terrence Williams had a good game, though, with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting before fouling out.

Purdue was led by Robbie Hummel's 15, but Chris Kramer added 14, Keaton Grant scored 12 and Scott Martin added 11.

After the game, Hummel talked about learning from the Missouri experience last week, when Purdue blew a late lead and lost. He said the coaches told him that losses hurt, "but if we don't learn from a loss, it's a waste."

Purdue coach Matt Painter was pleased with his guys' response to last week's loss. He talked about how he doesn't believe in just putting a loss behind you and moving on.

"I think you need to sit in it a bit and think through what went wrong," he said.

His guys did that this week, working pretty much exclusively on attacking the press and attacking the zone, something Purdue did poorly at the end of the Missouri game.

I though it was curious that Painter had E'Twaun Moore in the game at crunch time instead of Tarrance Crump, who had played well, especially when it came to breaking the press. Moore really seemed to struggle with that aspect of the game and didn't play all that much because of it.

I asked Painter about the decision to play Moore, and he gave kind of a long winded explanation that ended up with, "Sometimes you just have to let guys play through stuff and learn. It was one of those things, where sometimes I just have to guess what's going to work, you know?"

Painter then says to me, kind of surprisingly, "You watched the game! Sweet!"

I think he meant that as a compliment, although what was I supposed to be doing?

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- It wasn't an elegant finish to the game, but Purdue's young guns finally finished a tough one and beat Louisville, 67-59. The Cards missed their last seven three-point attempts down the stretch, which allowed Purdue to get away with some spotty free throw shooting. The Boilers only hit 9-of-14 freebies in the last few minutes, but it was good enough.

I'll have more stats, notes and quotes in a bit. Also, the Butler-Florida State game comes up in about half an hour.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Against Clemson and Missouri on the road, Purdue was in the same spot: a small lead at the last timeout. In those games, they didn't finish. The crowd isn't as hostile here (although Louisville has more fans), but Purdue's inexperience will be tested again. On the floor for Purdue is three freshmen and two sophomores.

Purdue's lead is 57-53 with 3:56 to go and freshman Scott Martin is going to the line for a one-and-one. Martin is only 2-for-4 from the line today, and in both his previous trips, he missed the first of two tries and hit the second.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Keaton Grant, who hurt his shoulder a few minutes ago, has now left the game because he's cramping up.

Meanwhile, Robbie Hummel, who cramped up earlier is back in.

Purdue has a couple of fast break scores and the lead is back to eight with six minutes left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- This one is going to the wire. Purdue leads by four with 7:32 left after the teams traded fast-break dunks. Louisville's Jerry Smith, who has really been a spark for the Cardinals off the bench, beat the Boilermakers down the floor for the first dunk. Smith now has nine points for the Cards.

Then, Chris Kramer returned the favor for Purdue. Kramer is 6-foot-3 and can dunk but can't shoot threes.

Kramer also has the hustle play of the game so far with a steal on a Louisville fast break, and then a pass to Terrence Crump at half court as he's falling out of bounds with the ball. That turned into a layup.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Just when it looked like Louisville was going away quietly, the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-38. Preston Knowles hit a three from the corner and Sosa got a layup on a breakaway after a Purdue turnover.

The Cardinal fans are back in the game and Louisville's defense is feeding off of it.

As I write this, another Cardinal fast break has cut the lead to four at the second TV timeout (only! this has been a slow half).

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- With 14:24 left, things are starting to come apart a little for Louisville. Purdue just had a three-shot possession that ended with a little hook in the lane by Marcus Green to put the Boilers up 13. That came after Will Scott, the Cardinals best offensive player today, picked up his fourth foul. Terrence Williams also has three fouls, and he's been the only other real threat for Louisville offensively.

On Purdue's side, Hummel came back in, but after one possession, limped off again with the cramps.

Now, a referee is limping on the baseline. Rough game.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Purdue came back with a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around an Edgar Sosa free throw to extend the lead back to 11 at 42-31 at the first TV timeout.

Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer did the damage for the Boilermakers. The three by Kramer was only his third of the year and 16th of his career. For a little guy (Kramer's only 6-foot-3), he doesn't shoot a lot of outside shots. Grant on the other hand has four three-pointers in this game.

Sosa is trying to take over for Louisville, but he's trying too hard. He's doing way too much dribbling and not enough passing. Louisville gets better looks when they move it by passing than by dribbling around the perimeter.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- After missing their first three shots of the half, Louisville has scored five straight on a three-pointer and a long two by Will Scott. The three-pointer came after Edgar Sosa got all the way to the hole on a drive but passed up the layup to send it out to Scott. That looked like a dumb move before Scott's shot fell.

Purdue has helped Louisville's cause by forcing some tough shots that weren't really necessary.

Robbie Hummel is out of the lineup for Purdue at the moment because of cramps.

Purdue is up, 36-30, with just over 17 minutes left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Keaton Grant buried a three-pointer with two seconds left to put the Boilermakers up nine at the half against Louisville. The Cardinals made a bit of a run in the last couple minutes of the half when Terrence Williams hit a three and a pair of free throws, but the Boilers came back on a layup by Hummer after Purdue broke the Cardinal press and then Grant's three.

Louisville is shooting a miserable 27 percent from the floor, while the Boilers are hitting at a 50-percent clip. That's really the whole story of the half. The Cards are settling for shots that aren't as good as the ones Purdue is getting and aren't turning the Boilers over enough to get easy shots. Purdue has nine turnovers, which is a lot for a half, but the Cardinals have seven of their own.

The Louisville dance team is now on the floor, and they're huge. Not the individual girls, but the group. There must be 30 of them.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Chris Kramer (he's fine, by the way) and Terrance Crump have stoked Purdue on a 9-3 run to put the Boilermakers up seven with 2:43 left in the half. Crump's penetration led to a three-pointer by Robbie Hummel and a jumper of his own, while Kramer had a steal that led to two free throws and a penetration layup of his own.

Louisville's cold shooting continues, and it was best exemplified when Keaton Grant fell down, allowing a Cardinal player (I think Sosa, but the numbers are hard to read), miss a layup and Louisville also missed the put back. A Will Scott three is about all Louisville has managed offensively in about six minutes.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Purdue's Scott Martin has gotten loose inside the Louisville defense the last few times down the floor and has turned that into three points to help the Boilermakers to a 17-16 lead at the eight-minute timeout.

The Boilers have adjusted their defense to do more switching on the perimeter to try to counteract Louisville's weave. That's helping some, but the Cards are still getting inside and either kicking it out for jump shots or getting fouled inside. Louisville is still shooting poorly though and Purdue isn't giving them too many second chances.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Louisville called a timeout after Purdue went on a 7-0 run fueled by some cold Cardinal shooting. Purdue has turned some rebounds into quick strike opportunities at the other end.

The Boilermakers lead, 12-9, with just over 12 minutes left in the half, but Chris Kramer, Purdue's tough guy, just limped off the floor.

Purdue fans are getting a little frustrated with the officiating because they have called four hand-checks way away from the basket on the Boilers so far. Purdue is going to have to adjust to those calls because the refs have been consistent.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Louisville's full-court, zone press is giving Purdue problems bringing the ball up. The Boilermakers have been a little sloppy with the ball with three turnovers already. The Cards lead, 9-5, at the first break.

Louisville's offense is basically a weave around the perimeter until someone finally gets bored and drives to the hole. That has worked reasonably well. The Cards have already drawn three fouls on the Boilers.

Purdue has already played eight different guys and is currently going with a smaller lineup where all five guys are decent ball handlers.

* Before the game, when the starting lineups were introduced, Louisville's players did not come out of their huddle and onto the court. Last week at Missouri, Purdue was apparently not introduced at all.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- A few more thoughts right before we tip.

* Looks like it'll be a late arriving crowd here at Indianapolis. That's no surprise given the weather outside. If and when this place fills up, it looks like Louisville may end up having the most fans here, although Purdue fans are here in pretty big numbers too. The red that the Cards fans are wearing stands out more than the black that Purdue fans tend to wear, especially since black is also one of Louisville's colors.

* We just had the national anthem. The singer was an older guy named Everette Greene. I've never heard of him, but he did it beautifully, especially if you like low voices. This guy's voice made James Earl Jones sound like Pee Wee Herman.

* Even though Rick Pitino is going for win No. 500, there isn't unanimous love for the coach. One Cardinal fan I saw had a sign that said "Bring Back Denny Crum."

* Usually, the school pep bands get seats behind a basket, but both Purdue and Louisville's pep bands are up in the corners across from where I'm sitting.

* Beer at the Conseco Fieldhouse costs $6.50 a glass. I don't think I paid that much at Wrigley Field this summer.

* I saw some employee walking around with a shirt that labeled her as the "Alcohol Consumption Supervisor." I'm not really sure what that job entails. It could be watching for drunks, making sure people get carded, or maybe she just offers advice on drinking techniques. She was busy, so I couldn't ask her.

* You can get souvenirs for just about anything, but nobody is selling snow shovels yet.

* An author was signing books in the concourse. The book was about Indiana HS basketball legends. Only here does that kind of thing happen.

* When the teams were warming up before the game, Pitino was standing at center court watching his team warm up. Usually, for the early warmups, the head coaches aren't around. Pitino also stole a couple of glances at Purdue warming up behind him.

* Press row security is non-existent here. I hope some drunk walking behind me doesn't spill his beer on my computer. That would ruin my day.

* There is someone sitting in press row with a seeing-eye dog. Not sure who the dog is rooting for.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

INDIANAPOLIS -- I'm writing today from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where the Wooden Tradition will take place starting in about an hour.

The first game features Purdue, the de facto host of this event, taking on Louisville. John Wooden was a three-time All-American at Purdue from 1930-32. Purdue ended the 1932 season ranked No. 1, which was before the days of post-season tournaments. This is the eighth edition of the Wooden Tradition and the Boilers have appeared in all but one of them.

Matt Painter's squad boasts one of the top freshman classes in the country, and those guys play a lot. Guard E'Twaun Moore and forwards Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin and JaJuan Johnson are all expected to start today, along with sophomore Keaton Grant. Another sophomore, Chris Kramer is arguably Purdue's best player, but he hasn't started since taking a header off the standard at Clemson two and a half weeks ago and suffering a concussion. Purdue is deep, with nine guys averaging at least 14.6 minutes per game.

The Boilers are off to a 5-2 start, with both losses coming on the road. Purdue's youth really showed up In the games at Clemson and Missouri, where it led late but couldn't finish. Louisville will be the first ranked team the Boilers have played this season.

Louisville is also 5-2, but in the Cardinals' case, that's a disappointing start. The Cards were ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason polls but have fallen to 22nd in the AP poll and 20th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll.

There has been a lot of attrition on the Louisville front line. The latest forward to hit the bench is freshman Derrick Caracter, who is out for not living up to his name. He was suspended indefinitely by the team last week. Caracter joins center David Padgett and forward Juan Palacios, both of whom have knee injures and center Clarence Holloway, who is recovering from open heart surgery performed in September.

This leaves the Cards with only seven scholarship players. This week, Josh Chichester, a 6-foot-8 wide receiver on the football team, joined the basketball squad.

Fortunately for Louisville, Terrance Williams and Earl Clark are still on the team. Williams, a preseason All-American candidate, is averaging 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and posted a triple-double against Hartford. Clark is averaging a double-double with 14.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per contest.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino will make his second attempt to win his 500th collegiate game. Pitino's record currently stands at 499-184 in 22 seasons at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville. Louisville lost to Dayton at home in his first try at No. 500.

* It's snowing here in Indianapolis. A lot. Current forecasts call for 4-6 inches of snow this afternoon, followed by a period of freezing rain (half an inch or so of that), and then beginning around midnight, another 4-6 inches of snow. There's already an inch or two on the ground. The bad weather might keep the crowds down a bit, although a lot of Purdue and Butler people will be locals. Any Florida State fans making the trip are probably already here, so maybe Louisville fans would be most affected. Louisville is about 120 miles south of here and they are expecting bad weather there as well.

* I stepped out into the arena to find my seat (halfway up in a corner) and watch Purdue shoot around a little bit. The seven or eight guys out there were wearing their uniforms, with a warm-up shirt over the top, but E'Twaun Moore was fully accessorized. He was wearing one of those portable music players on a lanyard around his neck and had earphones on. Isn't technology great? In my day, you'd have had to strap a boom box around your waist and wear big, tin-can headphones to do something like that. That would have made it hard to practice your shot.

I wonder what Moore was listening to. Perhaps some nice Christmas music or the latest from the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Maybe he has some Matt Painter motivational speeches on there. "Get back on D!" "Pass the bad word ball!"

Nah, it's probably stuff by that rapper, Half Dollar.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Derrick Caracter converted a breakaway layup with about a minute to go giving the Cardinals a nine-point lead and it was pretty much over from there. Old Dominion didn't score again and Louisville avoided complete disaster to take home a split at the Las Vegas Invitational with a 64-53 win.

Terrance Williams was the spark for the Cardinals, hitting 8-of-11 shots for 20 points while Earl Clark was a beast down low once again, logging 11 points and 15 rebounds.

It's clear the Cardinals have the talent to justify their No. 6 ranking coming into the week. Clark, Williams and Caracter are big-time players. Whether they'll have enough gas to be a contender down the stretch is another question. Coach Rick Pitino doesn't sound confident about the health of injured starters David Padgett and Juan Palacios, a notoriously slow healer.

Continue reading "Louisville Pulls Away, Face Questions For Future" »

Posted by Jason Owens at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- When seven-foot three falls, it falls hard. Behemoth Old Dominion center Sam Harris just tried to dunk on Earl Clark. It didn't work. Clark hit him hard and he fell to the floor with a loud crash. He went on to miss his free throws as well, allowing Terrence Williams to convert with a 3-pointer on the other end to secure a 55-48 Louisville lead with 3:32 remaining.

Posted by Jason Owens at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Derrick Caracter just got tabbed for his fourth foul with about nine minutes left in regulation. This could spell trouble for Louisville. On Friday, the BYU game started slipping away from the Cardinals around the same time he picked up his fourth foul. ODU has cut the Cardinals lead to 45-44 with 7:25 remaining.

Posted by Jason Owens at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Derrick Caracter is trying to spark a run for Louisville, which now holds a 45-38 lead with 11:26 remaining in regulation. After picking up a big block on defense, he ran the length of the court for a transition layup attempt that put him on the line and got the Cardinals faithful on their feet.

The momentum has decidedly shifted. Old Dominion needs to respond soon.

Posted by Jason Owens at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Louisville's early 10-0 lead over ODU is already a distant memory. It's been all Old Dominion all the time since then as the Monarchs take a 28-27 lead into the half.

Last night the Cardinals shot 70 percent from the field in the first half and still trailed. Turnovers killed them. Now, they're turning the ball over and they can't find the bucket, shooting just 11-of-28 from the field.

ODU's not shooting any better with a 10-for-27 clip, but Brian Henderson's 3-point shooting has been the difference. He's hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc to lead ODU with nine halftime points. Earl Clark is a beast again for Louisville, hitting 4-of-5 shots for nine points of his own. But the Cardinals need someone else to step up on offense to avoid a second straight upset.

Posted by Jason Owens at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Sophomore stud Derrick Caracter had a great game against BYU on Friday outside of what Rick Pitino categorized as bad fouls. He's right back at it tonight against Old Dominion.

In the span of about a minute, Caracter attacked two loose balls he didn't have a chance at, hitting ODU players in the process. Pitino just shook his head both times. The Cardinals can't afford to lose Caracter to foul trouble in a close game with David Padgett and Juan Palacios already out of the lineup. With about three minutes left in the first half, Louisville holds a 24-21 lead.

Posted by Jason Owens at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Louisville looked ready to run away with this game early. Old Dominion had other ideas. After digging a 10-0 hole, Old Dominion has made it a 17-13 game with 7:41 remaining in the first half. Brian Henderson has found his stroke; it looks like the Cardinals are in for another tough game.

Posted by Jason Owens at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- We're definitely seeing a different Louisville team than the one that lost on Friday. The Cardinals are playing shutdown defense, aren't turning the ball over and scored the first 10 points of the game. Old Dominion didn't even score until the 13:20 mark.

The Monarchs did eventually get on the board as the Cardinals hold a 12-5 lead at the 11:50 mark. After shooting 50 percent in the first half against Carolina, ODU can't find the basket now. It goes to show what a difference a day makes in college hoops.

Posted by Jason Owens at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- When the schedule was announced, college basketball fans circled today on the calendar as a clash of top 10 teams North Carolina and Louisville at the Las Vegas Invitational. It's not going to happen.

Injuries to David Padgett and Juan Palacios took their toll on Friday as BYU upset the No. 6 Cardinals setting up a Louisville-Old Dominion matchup in tonight's undercard. And this game isn't going to be an easy one for the Cardinals either.

Old Dominion's offense gave North Carolina fits for much of Friday's 99-82 UNC win. They shot well from the field, outrebounded North Carolina 30-24 and made the game a lot closer than most people expected.

If Louisville doesn't adjust to eliminate the turnovers and foul trouble that plagued it during Friday's loss, it could turn out to be a very disappointing trip to Vegas for the Cardinals.

Posted by Jason Owens at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Facing a high-octane BYU team without key players David Padgett and Juan Palacios, Louisville coach Rick Pitino was honest in his assessment of the Cougars' 78-76 win tonight in Las Vegas.

"We're a depleted team," Pitino said. "We were looking forward [to facing North Carolina], too. But Brigham Young is a better basketball team."

Now, unless Old Dominion pulls of the upset in the night cap, BYU will face the Tar Heels on Saturday.

Continue reading "Pitino: "BYU A Better Basketball Team"" »

Posted by Jason Owens at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

LAS VEGAS -- Unless we see another upset tonight, there will be no Carolina-Louisville matchup in Las Vegas. Behind a relentless offensive attack and a ball-hawking defense, BYU just stunned the No. 6-ranked Cardinals, 78-76.

And if you haven't heard of Jonathan Taverneri, it's time to start paying attention. The 6-foot-6 BYU wing was a beast tonight, scoring 29 points, including a 5-of-11 performance from behind the arc and the game-clinching free throws with 1.4 seconds to go.

Top-ranked North Carolina will look to avoid the same result as it prepares to take on Old Dominion at 9 p.m. PST for the right to face the Cougars in Saturday's Las Vegas Invitational finale.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- It's all but official. BYU is at the line for one more free throw with a 77-73 lead, 1.4 seconds left on the clock and an upset over the sixth-ranked Cardinals in the making.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- I've never understood how every person in the stands knows what to do when the players on the court don't. Facing a 74-70 deficit with about 40 seconds remaining, Louisville let 12 seconds run off the clock before committing a foul. And BYU still wasn't in the bonus as the Cardinals had to foul again to stop the clock.

Now BYU has the ball with a 76-73 led and 11.3 seconds remaining. The Cardinals need a miracle.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Albeit premature, but the always annoying overrated chant tried to make its voice heard as BYU holds a 74-67 lead over No. 6 Louisville with 1:19 to go. A three-pointer by Jonathan Taverneri for his 25th point gave the Cougars their current lead.

Louisville will be at the foul line coming out of the timeout with a chance to cut the deficit to five.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Derrick Caracter just picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with BYU holding a 67-61 lead. Louisville can't afford to be without its leading scorer for long as it's already thin up front with the injury to David Padgett. In fact, as I wrote this, Rick Pitino put him back in the game after just a few seconds on the bench.

With an attacking BYU offense, Caracter will have trouble playing effective defense down the stretch. This could be a big turning point.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- And one's got nothing on the Cougars. BYU just took a 62-57 lead courtesy of a sweet behind-the-back pass from Jonathan Tavernari that led to a Trent Plaisted dunk that got the Cougar faithful on their feet.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- BYU just took a 54-52 lead thanks to a four-point swing courtesy of a missed layup by Earl Clark. Clark, who had hit five of seven shots prior, left a finger roll short on a fast break leading to an easy two for the Cougars on the other end.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- This game just feels like one that will go down to the wire. After struggling early, Louisville has jumped right back into the game and taken a 51-48 lead six minutes into the second half. Jonathan Taverneri continues to shine with 17 points for the Cougars while Derrick Caracter is taking on his newfound leadership role head first with a team-best 14 points in place of the injured David Padgett.

The crowd has livened up too as North Carolina fans are filling in the empty seats in anticipation of the night cap between UNC and Old Dominion. A lackluster atmosphere is starting to feel more and more like a tournament as the Louisville fans are energized by the Cardinals' comeback.

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- This is the first time I've watched a Rick Pitino team live and he's one of the more vocal coaches I've ever seen. Whenever the action's near the Louisville bench he's barking instructions to his players that I can hear from the other side of the court. And he's not the only one. His assistants are giving their vocal cords a workout. Maybe they need to yell a little louder with BYU taking a 41-37 lead into halftime.

Continue reading "Pitino's Presence" »

Posted by Jason Owens at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- I just got handed a box score for the first 12 minutes of the BYU-Louisville game and it's one of the stranger ones I've seen. The Cougars shot 26 percent from the field while Louisville shot 67 percent; yet the Cougars held a 20-18 lead. The problem for Louisville is that BYU has taken twice as many shots. The Cardinals just can't hold on to the ball. They've given it up 10 times already.

It's a few minutes later and the Cougars have extended that lead to 36-21. Rick Pitino's going to have to figure out a solution or Louisville won't stand a chance. When they're not giving the ball up, they're outplaying the Cougars by leaps and bounds, but you can't win if you give your opponent so many opportunities to beat you.

Posted by Jason Owens at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- Anyone who expected Louisville to coast through BYU is in for a surprise tonight. About eight minutes into the game, the Cougars have jumped out to a 15-11 lead over the shorthanded Cardinals. BYU is playing a shoot first, ask questions later style that has resulted in a lot of missed shots but a lead on the scoreboard.

Continue reading "BYU Playing Fast and Furious" »

Posted by Jason Owens at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS -- The folks at CSTV.com called me up and asked if I wanted to spend a weekend in Las Vegas and cover a potential Final Four matchup preview with top-ranked North Carolina and No. 6 Louisville playing in the Las Vegas Invitational. Ummmmm - yeah.

So I'm here at the Orleans Arena just off The Strip getting ready to watch Louisville take on BYU in the first game of the evening session with North Carolina and Old Dominion set to tip off at 9 p.m. PST. Both Carolina and Louisville need to win tonight to set up a potential Final Four preview matchup on Saturday night.

Continue reading "Live From Las Vegas" »

Posted by Jason Owens at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)