Louisville Loses Again

Did it hit anyone yet that Louisville just isn't good? It hit me a while ago. Just wait until next year U of L fans, Earl Clark and Derrick Caracter coming in. It should be an exciting next 3-4 years for Louisville fans.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting C.K.:</div><div class="quote_post">Did it hit anyone yet that Louisville just isn't good? It hit me a while ago. Just wait until next year U of L fans, Earl Clark and Derrick Carracter coming in. It should be an exciting next 3-4 years for Louisville fans.</div>
Ummm...last I heard Caracter was kicked out of his school due to poor grades(typical UL player). I say he won't qualify to play at Lousville, so they better hope that Earl Clark can be the savior, because I simply don't think they're going to be that good next year either. Dean graduation isn't going to help either...

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting UKFan33:</div><div class="quote_post">Ummm...last I heard Caracter was kicked out of his school due to poor grades(typical UL player). I say he won't qualify to play at Lousville, so they better hope that Earl Clark can be the savior, because I simply don't think they're going to be that good next year either. Dean graduation isn't going to help either...</div>

Wow I didn't hear that, thanks for the heads up. Even without Caracter they still have a nice group of recruits and they already have a nice group of young players such as Juan Palacios, Terrence Williams, David Padgett, and Brandon Jenkins.

 

Speaking of typical UL players or whatever, Ohio State recruited this combo football/basketball player named Josh Chichester. He committed and everything but he didn't academically qualify so he's not coming anymore... instead he's going to Louisville.

 

What's simply funny as hell is that Louisville has continued to be in the A.P rankings this whole time, along with Syracuse, who is another team that has no business even in the top 40.

This is what we'd call typical big name, Eastern conference bias. If a Big 10 team, say, Michigan or Indiana, someone who is highly ranked, lost as many as 2 games in one week, they would tumble in the rankings like a boulder on a platform of paper towels. Yet teams like Louisville and Syracuse have to lose 4 out of 5 or something drastic before the voters wake up and admit that they aren't as good as they all wished they were.

 

Louisville lost again tonight to Villanova 79-73:

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Allan Ray matched his season high with 26 points and No. 4 Villanova equaled its best start in the Big East with a 79-73 victory over Louisville on Monday night.

The Wildcats (16-2, 7-1) twice seemed to have control of the game with a double-digit lead but the Cardinals (14-7, 2-6) pulled close twice before losing for the fifth time in six games.

As usual, Villanova relied on its four guards for almost of its offense. Mike Nardi had 20 points, Randy Foye added 19, all but two in the first half, and Kyle Lowry had eight. They came into the game accounting for 79 percent of the Wildcats' points and the four had all but five of the points in the 72-70, last-second win over Notre Dame on Saturday.

Villanova started 7-1 in the Big East in 1982-83.

Taquan Dean had 23 points and seven assists for Louisville, which continues to struggle in its first season in the Big East. The Cardinals, who were ranked seventh in the preseason poll and reached as high as No. 4 during the season, fell out of the Top 25 on Monday.

Villanova had an 11-point lead in the first half that Louisville cut to five at the half. The Wildcats again used the 3-pointer, they finished with 14, to pull away to a 63-48 lead, but the Cardinals chipped away by going inside and they got within 70-69 with 3:40 to play on a basket by David Padgett .

Ray made two free throws and scored on a layup before Foye scored on a putback with 1:45 left that made it 76-68.

Villanova finished 14-for-26 from 3-point range, while Louisville was 12-of-23 in what started out like a long-range shootout and became an old-fashioned inside game late.

Ray and Nardi each had five 3s, Nardi getting two of his - and three free throws when he was fouled in the act - in the 13-0 run that made it 63-48.

Dean was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and the Cardinals shot 55.8 percent overall (29-for-52), a huge improvement over their season-low 33.9 percent in Saturday's loss at Rutgers. They ended a run in which they shot less than 40 percent in five straight games.

In a shooting spree that would be hard to match if there was no defense being played, both teams hit nothing but 3-pointers for a span of 5:54 in the first half.

Villanova made seven 3s and the Cardinals had five in the long ball run and nine of the shots accounted for a lead change.

The last of the 3s was by Ray with 7:06 left in the first half and it gave Villanova a 34-20 lead. It was the Wildcats' 10th 3 of the half, matching the most Louisville gave up in a game this season.

Dean hit the last of the Cardinals' 3s in the run and it was also their last points for 5:09 as the Wildcats went up 41-30. Dean and Terence Williams hit consecutive 3s and Dean added two free throws as the Cardinals closed the half with an 8-2 run to get within 43-38.

The game was played before a crowd of 19,488 at the Wachovia Center.</div>
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketbal...6618_recap.html