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Mike Miller

Mike Miller has been NBCSports.com's college basketball editor since 2003. It's a position he relishes; no wonder considering he transferred to Kansas to watch Paul Pierce play. Most of his favorite sports memories involve college hoops, usually during March, when every waking moment is spent thinking about March Madness.



Louisville's scary good, didn't you know?

Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 3:35 PM
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It’s funny about Louisville.

Early injuries knocked the Cardinals off everyone’s radar by December. Once they recovered from those, back-to-back losses entering the NCAA Tournament took the shine off winning nine straight games and a second-place finish in the Big East.

But two dominating tourney wins – including a dismantling of Oklahoma – have launched Louisville back to where they were supposed to be to start the season: Final Four worthy.

For those who only memory before the New Year was the Patriots’ run at perfection, let’s recap:

Rick Pitino’s squad opened the season ranked No. 6 in both polls. It featured more balanced and overall talent than the 33-5 team that reached the 2005 Final Four. It had big men (6-11 David Padgett, 6-9 Derrick Caracter and 6-8 Juan Palacios), versatile swingmen (6-6 Terrence Williams and 6-9 Earl Clark) and quick guards (6-1 Edgar Sosa, 6-1 Jerry Smith and 5-11 Andre McGee).

It was easy to project a Final Four-type season (we did) until injuries kept CaracterPalacios and Padgett out until Jan. 1. Issues at point guard and perimeter scoring issues only added to the Cards’ problems during losses to BYU, Dayton and Purdue. (Sure, now those don’t look that bad, but who knew those 3 teams would combine for 75 wins?)

Once Padgett and CaracterPalacios returned, the wins started piling up (17-4 since their return). A hint of that preseason promise showed in wins against Marquette and West Virginia, but it fully developed during a 59-51 win against Georgetown, where Padgett outplayed Roy Hibbert and Pitino showed off his fashion sense with a white suit.

The polls were slow to react, but others paid attention to Louisville’s stellar defense and efficiency margin (only Kansas, Wisconsin, UCLA and Tennessee were better in conference play). The Cards were dominating, but it wasn’t clear how many people realized it.

Once they lost to Georgetown and Pitt to close the season, the Cards nabbed a three seed out East, the same loaded region with North Carolina, Tennessee, Washington State and Butler.

The result? A would-be trendy Final Four pick wasn’t so trendy. Only 7 percent of the 3.5 million people in ESPN’s tourney challenge tagged Louisville to reach the final weekend, behind Wisconsin, Pitt and just ahead of UConn, Stanford and Xavier. Less than one percent had the Cards winning it all.

Then came the tourney and the stomping of the Sooners. Louisville’s made everyone take notice, and is expected to handle Tennessee (it’s favored by 2.5) and give top-seeded North Carolina all it can handle this weekend – in Charlotte, N.C. no less.

That’s what happens when you win two games by an average of 79-55 on a national stage. Everyone starts to re-think their bracket.

Offensively and defensively, we did a beautiful job. You really can’t find a weakness in the way the guys played,” Pitino said afterward.

Simply put, the Cardinals are more than simply healthy. They’re dominant.

“I definitely think we’re playing our best ball right now,” guard Jerry Smith said. “We’re clicking right now, we’re really focusing in and we’re winning.”

That means everyone. McGee hounded Oklahoma’s guards on defense. Padgett and Palacios have been their usual consistent selves, while Williams and Sosa haven’t had to force any shots.

But maybe most crucial has been Clark. Perhaps the team’s most talented player (we thought so to start the season), he’s been on a tear the last six games, averaging 13.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg an outing, 1.29 PPWS – or closer to what Clark did to start the season when Padgett and Palacios’ absences forced him to do more.

Now he’s turned into a more vocal player in the locker room and in practice, which has translated into more confidence on the court. That’ll be key against the Vols, who even with issues at point guard and with an ailing Chris Lofton, are one of the nation’s most athletic teams and difficult to contain.

Along with Memphis-Michigan State, it should be the Sweet 16’s most entertaining game and certainly one you might’ve expected to see next weekend in San Antonio. Same goes for a likely Elite Eight game against Carolina.

Can the Cardinals win two Final Four-type games for a berth in the Final Four? Absolutely. In case you haven’t noticed, they have the talent. All that was missing was a healthy roster.

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Comments

Padgett and Palacios was injured. Caracter had to sit out because of dicipline problems.
It's going to be interesting to read the back peddling article you will write after Tennessee beats Louisville.
Denny Crum is the best college coach in the country today, bar none.  
Tennessee won't beat Louisville.
Hoops East
   Tennessee's best player Lofton is from just outside Louisville.  Why didn't Pitino want him??  Anyway, I say the Pitino Machino mauls the vols in a route.  UL's size and defense will be the deciding factor as usual, shutting teams down who are normally known for putting points on the board.
 If I were gamblin' this weekend, Louisville, Wisconsin and WKU look good for covering in their first games.
Denny Crum is on the sidelines now, enjoying the Cards successes, and his retirement.

The Cards have surprised the media, but us fans were just waiting for this time.  They are healthy, cohesive, and enjoying playing together.

And stifling, defensively and offensively.
Denny Crum...don't you mean Rick Pitino? Denny retired after the 2000 season, but I agree that Rick Pitino is the best college coach in the country. He got his tuchas handed to him in Boston but learned a lot and it shows. I also think that we're witnessing the seed of the best of the next generation of college coaching in David Padgett, if that becomes his chosen profession. Go Cards (U of L 1978)!
Umm, Eli? Denny Crum hasn't coached the Cards since 2001. This is all Rick Pitino's team
Louisville, was picked by everyone in the pre season to goto the final four. After losses to BYU ,(1st game Padgett missed) and Dayton (1st game Padgett was back after breaking a knee cap) the love was gone for the Cards. Even after drilling Marquette at their place, beating Georgetown, and Notre Dame and others in Feburary, they still received no love from anyone. That's two years in a row in the Big East UNDEFEATED in Feb. This article is the first love I have seen since November. There is plenty of room on this bandwagon. Us far as UT is concerned, if Lofton is hobbled any you can hang it up. Otherwise it WILL be a close game.
Lofton is not from "just outside Louisville".  He's from Maysville, much closer to Cincinnati and Lexington on the eastern half of the state.  Also, Pitino did want him; he offered him a scholly his junior year and he turned it down.  My prediction: If Lofton does not bring his "A" game, the Vols will go down.
Chris Lofton is from Mason County, KY.  Nowhere near Louisville.  Look at a map.  And Pitino did recruit him.  Lofton was non-committal so Pitino moved on to his disastrous flirtation with Sebastian Telfair.  

Some very uninformed comments posted here.
I find it funny that any national media attention paid to Tennessee revolves around Chris Lofton (and now his recent shot-making struggles).  The fact that we Vols fans are aware of is that sure, the last two years, Lofton was the team, more or less.  This year, it's an entirely different story.  Wayne Chism is playing as good as anybody in the country right now, and Tyler Smith is a beast rebounding and scoring points in the paint.  

Let's not forget that Memphis's one loss just so happened to come from Tennessee (at Memphis's house) and the Vols have played the toughest schedule of anybody this year.  

Anyone who thinks Tennessee is going to get "handled" runs a strong risk of being made to look like a fool.  Memphis was supposed to beat Tennessee, too.  

Look how that turned out.
Even though I am a Vols fan, gotta admit Pitino is a great coach and Louisville outplayed everybody last weekend.  Regardless of who wins, let's all remember that UK is the real loser here.  Now isn't that something that Vols and Cards can all feel good about.  
Justin has it right. Lofton wouldn't commit early, so Pitino instead signed Sebastian Telfair - who wound up skipping college for the NBA. By that time, Lofton had moved on. Pitino says Lofton made the right decision - he's gotten more minutes at UT than he would have had at Louisville. As for the Cards, they're doing just fine, thankyouverymuch. I'm surprised at how many pundits are picking Tennessee to win tonight's matchup. I say the Cards win by a dozen in a game that stays close until the under-8:00 media timeout in the second half.
Being a relocated Louisville resident to Lexington Ky. It's hard to find anyone to share my joy over the Cardinals success. (It's been a long time coming.) In this town, emphasis on town, you can not even scratch out a living picking garbage if your not for U.K. It makes me feel like the media has conspired with these small town minds to ignore the at present greatest team since never nervous Pervis
one word to describe last weekend's victory over Oklahoma and last night's trashing of the Vols: DOMINATION!!!!!


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