Cardinals lost

**After a week of grievance I can now get back to the grind of daily life.  Michigan State, the team that ousted the Cards from the tourney, lost to UNC last night in the National Championship game.  The Tar Heels were a lot of analyst’s favorite to win the championship before the season started and they did just that after a long season.  UNC controlled the game from the tip and never gave up the lead after it was 5-3.

**The Cards will lose seniors Terrance Williams, Andre McGee, and Will Scott.  They also lose Earl Clark who will leave early and go to the NBA.

**Tonight, Tuesday, the Lady Cards are playing in the women’s National Championship game.  They will play #1 UConn and hope to upset the third #1 seed they face this tournament (they already beat Maryland and Oklahoma).  The Cards were not expected to reach this far in the tournament, and face an undefeated UConn team that has won every game this season by at least 10 points.  GOOD LUCK LADY CARDS!

Season is Over

The Cards lost Sunday afternoon against Michigan State.  I’m upset and don’t want to talk about for a couple of days…

Cards win

U of L won last night against Arizona.  The Cards dominated the game setting a U of L tournament record by scoring 102 points.  They play tomorrow at 2:20 against Michigan State.  Here’s a little Twill highlight video to get you pumped for tomorrow’s game.

SWEET 16

The Cardinals are going to Indianapolis after a crazy game against 9th seeded Siena College.  The last and maybe best Cinderella hopeful for the NCAA tournament gave U of L its best effort, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the top-ranked Cards.  U of L led the entire game when the roles reversed in the second halfand Siena suddenly took the lead.  All of a sudden Siena was pressing the Cards and grabbing steals that led to fast break points.  In all it was a 15-2 run that required Pitino to call 3 timeouts in 3 minutes.  With 7 minutes left the Cards responded with a 9-0 run of their own led by TWill to take back the lead.  It was an exciting game and I’m sure the players are glad they have a few days of rest before their next game.  Speaking of which, the Cards will play 12th ranked Arizona on Friday night at 7:07 pm. 

Nathan’s bracket:  13/16 Sweet Sixteen teams

Game Day

Cards play Morehead State tonight at 7:10 in Dayton, Ohio.

Here’s a little highlight video of this year for your enjoyment.

Cards’ Practice

One of my sources was allowed to sit in on the Cards practice this week before they left for Dayton.  The practice was intense and basically the only time they stopped during the 2 hour session was when Pitino pointed out defensive mistakes.  Top players were Knowles (on fire), Twill (of course), Swopshire (going to be solid player in the future), McGee (defensive maniac).  After practice Pitino sat down with the small group of spectators and filled out his bracket with them.  He made some interesting picks and had Louisville and Pittsburgh in the championship game, but didn’t fill in the champion…

-tourney note:  On the way up to Dayton the team stopped in at Rafferty’s in Florence, KY.  Around 30 Cards fans who got a tip about the stop were dispersed throughout the restaurant.  Cards players signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans.

-tourney note:  The tournament is here!! Recaps of games, upsets, or special action will be posted!

Overall #1 Seed!!!!

U of L recieved the overall #1 seed tonight.  The other teams to recieve #1 seeds were UNC, UConn, and Pitt.  This is the first time ever that 3 teams from the same conference recieved #1 seeds.  The #2 seeds went to Michigan St., Duke, Oklahoma, and Memphis.  I predict that this tournament will be the most exciting in years.  With all the upsets that took place this week in the conference tournaments I only see that trend continuing.  I advise you to be heavy on choosing upsets when filling out your brackets, I am.  The Madness of March is in full affect and the Cards are on top of the hill right now.  Hopefully they end that way.  Get ready!!!!  The NCAA tournament starts Thursday.

[NCAA Tournament Bracket]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/brackets/viewable_men

Big East Tournament Champs

Louisville won the Big East championship last night in Madison Square Garden.  They beat Syracuse 76-66 to win it all.  This means Louisville won the regular season championship and the tournament championship in the hardest conference in the country, the Big East.  This is the first of both titles for the Cards who joined the Big East four years ago.  The Cards were losing by 8 at halftime and used a run early in the second half to take over the game.  They never gave up the lead after that and shut down Syracuse’s offense.  The orangemen looked tired in the second half from Louisville’s relentless pressure and also from playing their past two games into overtime (6 OT’s against UConn and 1 OT with West Virginia).  The Cards celebrated cutting down the nets and chanting “NUMBER ONE SEED.”

BE tourney cont.

The Big East tourney is producing the best games of the Conference tournament week.  Yes, Louisville winning was the highlight of yesterday, but the other games were more exciting to basketball fans.  Villanova beat Marquette on a last second lay-up in a tough battle.  Pittsburgh, believed to be a top contender for a NCAA #1 seed, lost to West Virginia.  Oh yeah, and Syracuse beat UConn in the LONGEST college basketball game of the year.  The game went into 6 OT periods and Syracuse finally won 124-114.  Whatever you have planned this weekend, cancel it.  Watching the Big East tournament is the thing to do with the semi’s tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. and the final Saturday night at 9 p.m.  Heed my words and watch the Big East tournament.  I GURANTEE you will not be disappointed. 

Big East Tournament

The Cards won their first game in the Big East tournament.  They beat Providence by a score of 73 to 55.  Earl Clark led all scorers with 24 points.  This takes the Cards to the semi-final game Friday night at 7 p.m. against Villanova.  Many analyst have said that if U of L makes it to the Finals on Saturday they are almost a sure lock for a #1 seed for the NCAA tournament.  The Cards already believe they should get a #1 seed because they won the Big East regular season title.  Many of the players as well as coach Pitino were quoted saying they thought they deserved it.