College Hoops Video

The Louisville Cardinals were on the NCAA Tournament bubble until they pulled off a season sweep of then #1 ranked Syracuse in the final home game at Freedom Hall. The Louisville Cardinals finished the season at 20-12 and 11-7 in Big East play. Besides the sweep of Syracuse, the other big win for the Cardinals was a February victory over Notre Dame, 91-89. Rick Pitino did have some bad losses this season with dropping games to Charlotte (65-87) and Western Carolina (83-91) reminding Cats fans of some of Coach G’s big losses the previous two season to mid-major teams. Coach Rick Pitino is 38-13 in 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and took the Cardinals to the Elite Eight in the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

This season’s Cardinals have improved along with the performance of big man Samardo Samuels. Samuels has blossomed into the talent fans expected his freshman season, scoring 15.3 ppg and grabbing 7.0 rpg. Jared Swopshire has also improved this year increasing his scoring average to 7.6 ppg and has a 3 point shot to go with his inside game.

Louisville averages 8 3 pointers a game. When they are at or above their season average of 33% from 3, they are a difficult team to beat. When they are under 30 % and are turning the ball over, games like the Charlotte facality have occurred. Edgar Sosa has matured significantly since he first came to Louisville, and is averaging 4.5 apg running the point for Coach Pitino while averaging 13.3 ppg. Fellow senior guard, Reginald Delk, is only averaging 6.6 ppg but when he gets hot, he is capable of 20 or more a game with his 3 point shot.

Overall, Louisville is averaging 76.7 ppg on offense while giving up 69.6 ppg on defense. The Cardinals shoot 44.8 % from the field and hold opponents to a 43% shooting average from the field. The Cardinals are a decent free throw shooting team at 70.6 % and have a team assist to turnover ratio of just over 1.1 per game.

The Cardinals are a #9 seed in this year’s tourney and will take on California in their opening round game. If they are able to make it to the 2^nd round, they will likely take on the #1 seed Duke Blue Devils.

2009 Louisville Cardinals Basketball Schedule

10/28/09      vs. GEORGETOWN COLLEGE (Exhib.)      FREEDOM HALL      7:00 p.m. ET
11/04/09     vs. BELLARMINE (Exhib.)      FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
Hall of Fame Showcase
11/17/09     vs. Arkansas     St. Louis, Mo.     7:30 p.m. ET

HALL OF FAME SHOWCASE
11/21/09     vs. EAST TENNESSEE STATE     FREEDOM HALL     1 or 4 p.m. ET
11/22/09     vs. MORGAN STATE    FREEDOM HALL     1:00 p.m. ET
11/23/09     vs. APPALACHIAN STATE    FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET

11/28/09     at UNLV     Las Vegas, Nev.     4:00 p.m. ET
12/02/09     vs. STETSON     FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
12/05/09     vs. CHARLOTTE     FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
12/12/09     vs. WESTERN CAROLINA     FREEDOM HALL     4:00 p.m. ET
12/16/09     vs. ORAL ROBERTS    FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET

BILLY MINARDI CLASSIC
12/19/09     vs. WESTERN KENTUCKY     FREEDOM HALL     4:00 p.m. ET
12/23/09     vs. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE     FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
12/27/09     vs. RADFORD     FREEDOM HALL     1:00 p.m. ET
12/30/09     vs. USF      FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET

2010 Louisville Cardinals Basketball Schedule
01/02/10     at Kentucky Lexington, Ky.     3:30 p.m. ET
01/06/10     at Providence     Providence, R.I.     7:00 p.m. ET
01/09/10     vs. ST. JOHN’S      FREEDOM HALL     12:00 p.m. ET
01/11/10     vs. VILLANOVA FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
01/16/10     at Pittsburgh      Pittsburgh, Pa.     12:00 p.m. ET
01/21/10     at Seton Hall      Newark, N.J.     7:00 p.m. ET
01/24/10     vs. CINCINNATI     FREEDOM HALL     12:00 p.m. ET
01/30/10     at West Virginia Morgantown, W.Va.     12:00 p.m. ET
02/01/10     vs. CONNECTICUT FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
02/06/10     vs. RUTGERS      FREEDOM HALL     4:00 p.m. ET
02/11/10     at St. John’s      New York, N.Y.     7:00 p.m. ET
02/14/10     at Syracuse     Syracuse, N.Y.     1:00 p.m. ET
02/17/10     vs. NOTRE DAME     FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
02/20/10     at DePaul    Chicago, Ill.     2:00 p.m. ET
02/23/10     vs. GEORGETOWN     FREEDOM HALL     7:00 p.m. ET
02/28/10     at Connecticut Storrs, Conn.     2:00 p.m. ET
03/02/10     at Marquette      Milwaukee, Wisc.     9:30 p.m. ET
03/06/10     vs. SYRACUSE     FREEDOM HALL     2:00 p.m. ET

2010 Big East Tournament
03/09/10     BIG EAST Tournament     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/10/10     BIG EAST Tournament     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/11/10     BIG EAST Tournament     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/12/10     BIG EAST Tournament     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/13/10     BIG EAST Tournament     New York, N.Y.     TBA