2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Big East Regular Season Champions
Big East Tournament Champions
NCAA, Regional Final
Conference Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches #5
AP #1
2008–09 record 31–6 (16–2 Big East)
Head coach Rick Pitino
Assistant coach Steve Masiello
Assistant coach Walter McCarty
Assistant coach Richard Pitino
Home arena Freedom Hall
Seasons
« 2007–08 2009–10 »
2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#1 Louisville† 16   2   .889     31   6   .838
#4 Pittsburgh 15   3   .833     31   5   .861
#5 Connecticut 15   3   .833     31   5   .861
#11 Villanova 13   5   .722     30   8   .789
#23 Marquette 12   6   .667     25   10   .714
#13 Syracuse 11   7   .611     28   10   .737
West Virginia 10   8   .556     23   12   .657
Providence 10   8   .556     19   14   .576
Notre Dame 8   10   .444     21   15   .583
Cincinnati 8   10   .444     18   14   .563
Seton Hall 7   11   .389     17   15   .531
Georgetown 7   11   .389     16   15   .516
St. John's 6   12   .333     16   18   .471
South Florida 4   14   .222     9   22   .290
Rutgers 2   16   .111     11   21   .344
DePaul 0   18   .000     9   24   .273
† 2009 Big East Tournament winner
As of April 4, 2009[1] • Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville in basketball. The team was coached by Rick Pitino in his eighth year at the school. Louisville played its home games in Freedom Hall and was a member of the Big East conference

Contents

Preseason

After an elite eight appearance in the 2008 tournament, Louisville entered the 2008–09 season ranked third in both the AP and Coaches polls in part due to a strong recruiting class. The incoming freshman class is ranked fifth overall by Scouts.com[2], led by number one ranked center Samardo Samuels. Louisville has been picked by many analysts to be a potential Final Four contender, including Sports Illustrated[3] and Dick Vitale[4].

Regular season

Despite the #3 preseason ranking, Louisville struggled in the non-conference losing to three unranked opponents. After beating Kentucky on an Edgar Sosa buzzer-beating three pointer[5], Louisville entered Big East play ranked #21. After beating South Florida easily, Louisville beat three straight ranked teams in close games: #17 Villanova[6], #12 Notre Dame in overtime[7], and previously unbeaten #1 Pittsburgh.[8] Louisville would continue strong play, going undefeated in January and winning its first eight conference games before losing to #1 Connecticut on February 2. After beating St. John's, Louisville lost by their most lopsided margin since joining the Big East, a 33-point drubbing by Notre Dame. After that game, Louisville won its final seven regular season games to win the school's first ever regular season Big East championship.

Big East Tournament

By virtue of their outright regular-season title, Louisville received a double-bye in the Big East Tournament and played their first game in the tournament quarterfinals. In the tournament, Louisville beat Providence 73–55 in the quarterfinals and #10 Villanova 69–55 in the semifinals to advance to the school's first ever Big East Tournament championship game in four seasons in the conference.[9] In the finals, Louisville won its first Big East Tournament Championship, defeating #18 Syracuse 76–66.[9] Due to losses in the early conference tournament rounds by several teams above them, the Cardinals finished #1 in the final regular season AP and coaches' polls—the first time in school history they have been ranked #1 in either poll.

NCAA Tournament

Louisville was awarded the top seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, as well as the overall #1 seed in the tournament. This is Louisville's second ever 1-seed. The Cardinals beat Morehead St. and Siena in the first two tournament rounds, advancing to face Arizona in the Sweet 16 on March 27. After beating Arizona by 39 points, Louisville faced Michigan St. in the Elite Eight and lost 64–52.

Roster

Name[10] # Position Height Weight Year Home Town
Chris Brickley 11 Guard 6–4 175 Junior Manchester, NH
Earl Clark 5 Forward 6–9 220 Junior Plainfield, NJ
Reginald Delk 12 Guard 6–4 175 Junior Jackson, TN
George Goode 22 Guard 6–8 205 Freshman Raytown, MO
Terrence Jennings 23 Forward 6–10 225 Freshman Sacramento, CA
Preston Knowles 2 Guard 6–1 170 Sophomore Winchester, KY
Kyle Kuric 14 Guard 6–4 175 Freshman Evansville, IN
Andre McGee 33 Guard 5–10 180 Senior Moreno Valley, CA
Samardo Samuels 24 Forward 6–9 240 Freshman Trelawny, Jamaica
Will Scott 20 Guard 6–3 185 Senior New York, NY
Jerry Smith 34 Guard 6–1 200 Junior Wauwatosa, WI
Edgar Sosa 10 Guard 6–1 200 Junior New York, NY
Lee Steiden 25 Forward 6–4 185 Sophomore Louisville, KY
Jared Swopshire 21 Forward 6–7 215 Freshman St. Louis, MO
Terrence Williams 1 Forward 6–6 215 Senior Seattle, WA

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Record
Exhibition games
November 1* 5:30 p.m. Georgetown College #3 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(exhibition)		 WHAS W 74–67  0–0
November 8* 8:00 p.m. at Northern Kentucky #3 The Bank of Kentucky Center • Highland Heights, KY
(exhibition)		 WHAS W 84–69  0–0
Non-conference games
November 22* 5:30 p.m. Morehead State #3 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(Billy Minardi Classic)		 ESPN360, WHAS W 102–32  1–0
November 23* 4:00 p.m. South Alabama #3 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(Billy Minardi Classic)		 ESPN360 W 81–54  2–0
November 30* 3:00 p.m. vs. Western Kentucky #3 Sommet Center • Nashville, TN Fox College Sports, WHAS L 68–54  2–1
December 6* 2:00 p.m. Indiana State #11 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(Marques Maybin Classic)		 WHAS W 83–43  3–1
December 7* 4:00 p.m. Ohio #11 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(Marques Maybin Classic)		 ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 91–56  4–1
December 8* 7:00 p.m. Lamar #9 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(Marques Maybin Classic)		 ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 78–56  5–1
December 13* 1:00 p.m. Austin Peay #9 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 94–75  6–1
December 18* 9:00 p.m. vs. Mississippi #9 US Bank Arena • Cincinnati, OH
(SEC/Big East Invitational)		 ESPN W 77–68  7–1
December 20* 2:00 p.m. vs. Minnesota #9 University of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, AZ
(2008 Stadium Shootout)		 Fox Sports Net L 70–64  7–2
December 27* 4:00 p.m. UAB #19 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN2 W 82–62  8–2
December 31* 6:00 p.m. UNLV #18 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN2 L 56–55  8–3
January 4* 4:30 p.m. Kentucky #18 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY
(Battle for the Bluegrass)		 CBS W 74–71  9–3
Big East regular season
January 7 7:00 p.m. at South Florida #23 USF Sun Dome • Tampa, FL ESPN2 W 71–57  10–3
January 10 12:00 p.m. at #17 Villanova #23 Wachovia Center • Philadelphia, PA ESPN W 61–60  11–3
January 12 7:00 p.m. #12 Notre Dame #20 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN W 87–73 (OT) 12–3
January 17 6:00 p.m. #1 Pittsburgh #20 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN W 69–63  13–3
January 21 7:00 p.m. at Rutgers #9 Rutgers Athletic Center • Piscataway, NJ ESPNU W 78–59  14–3
January 25 12:00 p.m. at #8 Syracuse #9 Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY Big East Network, ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 67–57  15–3
January 28 7:00 p.m. South Florida #7 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY Big East Network, ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 80–54  16–3
January 31 12:00 p.m. West Virginia #7 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY Big East Network, ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 69–63  17–3
February 2 7:00 p.m. #1 Connecticut #5 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN L 68–51  17–4
February 8 1:30 p.m. at St. John's #5 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY Big East Network, ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 60–47  18–4
February 12 7:00 p.m. at Notre Dame #5 Edmund P. Joyce Center • South Bend, IN ESPN/ESPN L 90–67  18–5
February 15 4:00 p.m. DePaul #5 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPNU W 99–54  19–5
February 18 7:30 p.m. Providence #7 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY ESPN2 W 94–76  20–5
February 21 2:00 p.m. at Cincinnati #7 Fifth Third Arena • Cincinnati, OH Big East Network, ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 72–63  21–5
February 23 7:00 p.m. at Georgetown #6 Verizon Center • Washington, DC ESPN W 76–58  22–5
March 1 12:00 p.m. #8 Marquette #6 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY CBS W 62–58  23–5
March 4 7:00 p.m. Seton Hall #6 Freedom Hall • Louisville, KY Big East Network, ESPN Full Court, WHAS W 95–78  24–5
March 7 9:00 p.m. at West Virginia #6 WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, WV ESPN W 62–59  25–5
Big East Tournament
March 12 12:00 p.m. vs. Providence #5 Madison Square Garden • New York City
(Big East Tournament Quarterfinals)		 ESPN W 73–55  26–5
March 13 7:00 p.m. vs. #10 Villanova #5 Madison Square Garden • New York City
(Big East Tournament Semifinals)		 ESPN W 69–55  27–5
March 14 9:00 p.m. vs. #18 Syracuse #5 Madison Square Garden • New York City
(Big East Tournament Finals)		 ESPN W 76–66  28–5
NCAA Tournament†
March 20 7:10 p.m. vs. #16-M Morehead State #1-M University of Dayton Arena • Dayton, OH
(NCAA Tournament First Round)		 CBS W 74–54  29–5
March 22 5:20 p.m. vs. #9-M Siena #1-M University of Dayton Arena • Dayton, OH
(NCAA Tournament Second Round)		 CBS W 79–72  30–5
March 27 7:07 p.m. vs. #12-M Arizona #1-M Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN
(NCAA Tournament Sweet 16)		 CBS W 103-64  31–5
March 29 2:20 p.m. vs. #2-M Michigan St. #1-M Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN
(NCAA Tournament Elite Eight)		 CBS L 64–52  31–6
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time [10] † NCAA Tournament ranks are seeds in the region (E=East, M=Midwest, S=South, W=West).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
  2. ^ "Scout.com 2008 Top 25 Recruiting Classes". http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/701516.html. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
  3. ^ "SI.com writers discuss SI's official preseason Top 20". CNN. November 10, 2008. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/ncaa/11/10/roundtable/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
  4. ^ "Dick Vitale's Final Four Predictions". http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3711542. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
  5. ^ "Kentucky vs. Louisville – Recap". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290040097. Retrieved 2009-01-17. 
  6. ^ "Louisville vs. Villanova – Recap". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290100222. Retrieved 2009-01-17. 
  7. ^ "Notre Dame vs. Louisville – Recap". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290120097. Retrieved 2009-01-17. 
  8. ^ "Pittsburgh vs. Louisville – Recap". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290170097. Retrieved 2009-01-17. 
  9. ^ a b "Villanova vs. Louisville recap". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290720097. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
  10. ^ a b "2008–09 Louisville Cardinals Media Guide". http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/lou/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/0809-preseason-info.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-22.