Hey sooner....you really are a horse race person.  I've been to stakes day in Lexington and hit the track at Saratoga once a year.  But don't really follow horse racing closely.  I go for the fun and to drop a couple on the long shots.  I won a trifecta once...but the lead horse was disqualified a few minutes later.  I'm still not sure why....Boy did I ever go from fun ignorant to mean ignorant in a flash. 

Good Luck keeping your chi for the rest of the day.  It would be awesome for you guys to knock off the big dog.  Go Cards.       

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NEW ORLEANS -- Technically, it is called the Final Four, but a more  appropriate title would be Kentucky and the Three Hopefuls. There is simply no  doubting the overriding storyline heading into college basketball's culminating  weekend. Beating the Big Blue in the Big Easy is going to be very, very  hard.

But wait, there's hope. The Other Three are very good teams; otherwise, they  wouldn't be here. Fortunately, your resident Hoop Thinker -- or should I say,  Hope Thinker? -- has come along to drain a few three-pointers as I outline how  Louisville, Ohio State and Kansas can pull off the upset.

How Louisville Can Beat Kentucky

1. Control the pace.

These teams are more plodding than their reputations would lead you to  believe. According to Kenpom.com, the Cardinals are ranked 125th in the country  in tempo; Kentucky is 160th. Still, Louisville is the one that really needs to  keep the pace slow and possessions low. That means employing the early-and-late  strategy on offense. If the Cardinals can get a transition bucket and score  early in the shot clock, they should do it. If they can't, they should run some  clock. The last thing the Cardinals want is for Kentucky to get its fast break  going. Once UK starts running, the Wildcats will be going downhill all  night.

The best way to manage pace is to take care of the basketball. On that front  the Cardinals have shown some promise -- but only lately. During the season they  ranked 217th in the country in turnover percentage. During the NCAA tournament,  however, they have committed 15 fewer turnovers than their opponents. Against  Florida's vaunted fullcourt pressure, Louisville coughed it up just six times.  Point guard Peyton Siva has committed 12 turnovers to go along with 28 assists  in these four games. So they've proven they can do it. Whether they do it on  Saturday is still a question.

2. Shoot lights out.

It's ironic that on the 25th anniversary of the year Rick Pitino's Providence  Friars rode the three-point shot to the Final Four (in New Orleans, naturally),  he has brought one of the worst-shooting teams he has ever had back to the Big  Easy. This season, the Cardinals made just 31.7 percent of their three-point  attempts, which was ranked 14th in the Big East and 272nd in the country. During  the NCAA tournament, they have made 39 percent -- much of that coming courtesy  of the two Smiths, Chris and Russ. (Or as Pitino calls him, Russ-diculous, in  deference to his shot selection.)

Can they keep that up? Hard to say. But if they do, they've got a puncher's  chance.

3. Hope.

The Cardinals will enjoy a huge psychological advantage in this game -- and  they know it. Nobody expected them to be here. Everybody expected Kentucky to be  here. Louisville's fans are thrilled their team is playing in this game.  Kentucky's fans are panicked their team might lose it.

John Calipari knows it's pointless to tell his players to tune out all of  these externals. They're too wired in. That wouldn't be such a concern if this  weren't such a young team, but there's no telling how 19- and 20-year-old kids  will perform under this kind of duress.

So Louisville's best strategy is to hope the young Cats succumb to the  pressure and play terribly. It's hard to make shots when you can't breathe.

That was by Seth Davis. #3 Hope, that is where I am at with this one. I hope the Cardinals "shock-the-basketball-world" tonight. Good luck Louisville and go Big East! 

 

The big day is here, I'm nervous, hopeful and jittery.

Well, showdown #1 for the BEAST today. Hopefully there is a second showdown on MONDAY night to prove that the BEAST rules!!!!

Strange, there is this aura of tension in my house today as my wife keeps trying to engage in a conversation about tonight's UK-UL game and I refuse to participate. I hear her brash, almost cocky banter about how UK already has proven they are the better team by winning in RUPP ARENA, which is the exact reason I think LOU will win today's game. Overconfident, young, overwhelmed by the moment when they walk on the court with all the weight of THE BIG BLUE NATION and their expectations of an easy win and paralyzing fear of what a loss would mean

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the realization of a young team that relies heavily on three freshmen that they have the additional weight of being in a FINAL FOUR and the vindication that their coach so badly needs to win a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP that they must be anticipating but have no guarantee of reaching can be dibillitating. I more expect KY to lose than LOUISVILLE TO WIN.

It's besides the point that KY is essentially the same team now that they were in DEC and LOUISVILLE is a much improved team, brimming with confidence and riding the longest active winning streak of any Division one team, armed with a smothering pressure defense that has baffled opponents, including KY which shot only 29% in RUPP Arena against THAT version of the LOUISVILLE TEAM. PITINO has had 6 days to prepare and revenge is a great motivator for a team that has essentially exceeded any expectations and should be free on the burden of any real pressure other  than they have the chance to play in the National Championship in 2 days. If LOUISVILLE loses, so what. They made the FINAL FOUR and have represented the BIG EAST well and their fan base is satisfied with renewed faith in their coach and their team. And this is a TEAM, make no mistake about that, not a collection of talented teenagers waiting for next week to apply for their million dollar check. The unmeasurable element of CHEMISTRY is something that LOUISVILLE has shown they possess when their backs are against the wall and the pressure is on as in the second half of the FLORIDA game when they rallied from a double digit defecit and won going away(in all fairness, KY has shown great chemistry as well but has not faced the adversity that shows CHARACTER as well as CHEMISTRY.)

I expect that LOU will win one of the ugliest games in FINAL FOUR HISTORY, quite a feat considering the quality of the FINAL FOUR participants just last year. LOU CAN WIN an ugly game, KY can win by 20+ if LOU is not careful. I believe they will be careful enough not to be tight which will be exactly what KY will be, tight. And in a tight game, give me PITINO and the team with the big heart today.

Looks like we may be coming to a close of this marvelous, season long BE thread.

Louisville gave it all they could - just couldn't knock down the shots we needed to stay alive.  If we had, could have been different.

Regardless - Louisville closes out its season & the BE representation in this year's Big Dance.

Thanks to all my BE brothers who I've enjoyed discussion with this season.

Gonna miss Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia - just won't be the same.

It's been real

Best to everyone.

Well, showdown #1 for the BEAST today. Hopefully there is a second showdown on MONDAY night to prove that the BEAST rules!!!!


THE bottom of the BIG e-W-ast could'nt beat a top 50 team

  Junior PG Tray Woodall admitted that he was originally dubious of the CBI. “I’ll be completely honest. When I first heard about this [CBI] tournament, I thought it would be a lose-lose situation,” Woodall said. “We’re Pitt, we’re not supposed to be in tournaments like this. We looked at this that we wanted to keep getting better


Hey Champions!!! I hated that I could not see the game live. Sounds like the run to the CBI championship was and is great for the younger guys. I was so disappointed  sitting here in Hokie Country this season knowing Pitt will soon be fighting the Tarfeet, Dookies, etc. Not the season I was hoping for. However, I believe winning the CBI was a significant accomplishment. Losing the first game in the championship series and coming back showed true character. Hopefully we can avoid the injuries that plagued the squad this year, and, have a strong season next year. Congrats again....you all earned it!!

Strange, there is this aura of tension in my house today as my wife keeps trying to engage in a conversation about tonight's UK-UL game and I refuse to participate. I hear her brash, almost cocky banter about how UK already has proven they are the better team by winning in RUPP ARENA, which is the exact reason I think LOU will win today's game. Overconfident, young, overwhelmed by the moment when they walk on the court with all the weight of THE BIG BLUE NATION and their expectations of an easy win and paralyzing fear of what a loss would mean


Yes congradulations Pitt. and the Big e-(W)-ast    on your cbi championship

Twill... fans... and other UofL posters, congrats on a great run!  Your team showed a lot of heart last night.  Every time I thought it would turn into a blow-out... those kids came fighting back.

Yes, I also must say congrats to a wonderful run for the Cardinals.  Those guys came ready to play and that defense with the zone switching to man-to-man, back and forth was incredable to watch.  They did a good job of pulling Davis away from the basket in order to get all those offensive rebounds for easy points.  Also the pressure put on the ball made life difficult for the Dentucky guards.  That is one well coached team that lost to superior individual talent; not from better team play.  I'n not sure is even one of Louisville's first 5 would start on that Kentucky team and to think they could have won that game is an amazing accomplishment. With virtually the entire team returning next year; things are looking good.  Great job Louisville.

While yesterday's game was a bitter pill, seeing BLACKSHEAR'S potential when healthy, knowing that our biggest recruiting commitment is LUKE HANCOCK who cannot back out at the last second, knowing that the chance that ANY CARD leaving under pretences as ridiculous as TJ did last year is extremely small, knowing that DIENG & BEHANAN are likely to improve as much or more over the summer as they did during the year this season, knowing that percentages say we have to have a season with fewer injuries than the past two years, I see plenty of sugar to help swallow the bitter pill that was yesterday's game. Even without MARRA & VAN TREESE making a full recovery(which hey likely will), even if Terry Rozier turns out to be a bust(never know about freshmen till they actually play), even if the HALL OF FAME can't figure out that PITINO is one of the very best coaches of all time, we have a top 5 team with an ELITE level coach already signed , committed, and in school. The past two years this team has had that elusive ingredient, CHEMISTRY, that makes a team better, that is unmeasurable in any way, that indicates that everyone is happy and pulling together, not pulling out to go somewhere else. I think there is close to 100% chance that we have no transfers or academic casualties from this group and close to a 0% chance that anyone declares fo the draft even though there are a couple who could. But they have unfinished business.

And that unfinished business will keep these players here another year and pull them closer together an make them want to take that next step from FINAL FOUR participant to NATIONAL CHAMPION. I don't want to be ranked too highly, preferring to fly under the radar content in my own knowledge of the talent that the CARDS have. I want the team to feel slighted, hungry to prove they belong in the discussion of true NATIONAL CONTENDERS. I want people to realize that PITINO is ALWAYS looking long term at the big picture in his coaching style and quit fretting over regular season losses or motivational comments in the press. I want people to realize that SIVA is a special, talented young man who had a terrible first half but instead of sulking, he responded with one of his best halves of basketball in the second half and that he was never 100% healthy at ANY POINT of this season and never complained about any of it. He is that leader that provides CHEMISTRY, that player who prefers to pass that people like to play with instead of a player who is constantly hunting for his own shot and paralyzes a team's offense by constantly playing on-on-one(or two or three).  He is our point guard and will be better next year withot concussions and an ankle with a deep bone bruise that needs WEEKS of rest, not days, to fully heal and his shot will improve with a summer of work and two good feet to jump off of. I want people to rememebr that while we lost two seniors, neither was considered a high quality recruit or potential star player. They were players who reached their maximum potential via hard work, but neither is playing in the NBA in the future. Neither was a true leader and it's a shame that after a season of being rock solid, MR. STEADY, C. SMITH would decide he was gonna carry the team yesterday and go 3 for 11 with 1 rebound and at least 5 bad shots. more than he took all year. But I get it. He knew someone had to step up yesterday and he gave it i his best shot so my statement is not to criticize him, it is to illustrate how remarkably he has played as a marginally talented player for this level of competition and to say thank you for TRYING to provide senior leadership on the big stage. It's too bad we got the 4 for 15 RUSS with 3 tournovers and one assist instead of the almost shoot 50% RUSS, but without his fearless approach to the game we don't have a chance in this game. Let's just hope his retains his same aggresive attitude but learns that SOMETIMES discretion is the better part of valor. And most of all remember that everyone on this team will be a year more mature with a better understanding of PITINO's complex scheme, that we start next year with a team that is intensely familar wth their coach and he with them, that without a single roster change, the team we saw on the floor yesterday will be the same team we see next year at the start of the season, version 2.0.

Hats off to KY. I don't think I've seen a better 6 man team in college EVER but they had better win it this year as I think we saw the last of a dying breed yesterday really help push them over the top against LOU. DARIUS MILLER was MONEY under the pressure of LOU's charge in the second half, as he has been in that situation in many of KY's games where they were challenged. He will be the last senior to be a significant contributor while CALIPARI is coaching there IMO, the last player to have the experience and talent to be a leader and team player under pressure circumstances. There will be other KY teams loaded with young NBA talent as long as CAL is there but that senior leadership can be more important than raw talent on the big stage under pressure. I don't see them having that again so they better capitalize this year while they do have it. I expect all 6 of those players to be playing pro basketball somewhere next year leaving UK fans to extoll the virtues of another #1 recruiting class while waiting to see if the hype lives up to their expectations again. Their future will be uncertain EVERY year until the rules are changed and the cloud of investigation will hover over them with very recruiting class. If they win, I think the prospect that CAL pulls another timely exit for the NBA before the investigators descend on UK yet again(no school has been sanctioned as often or as severely as KY over the past 100 years) is very high, He talks the talk and says all teh right things, but he will chase the MONEY and the NBA has money that even UK can't match. That's who he is and is not meant as a slur, it might be who I am if I were in his position.

Without sounding like "SOUR GRAPES," I predicted last week that I anticipated the winner of the UK-UL game WOULD NOT win the National Championship. The emotional and physical draining of that game is such that there is almost a guarantee of a letdown on a short 48 hour turnaround. How does the winner not lose some focus in the natural desire to celebrate winning the biggest game in the history of the state of KY? Wouldn't matter if UL won or UK won, I'd feel the same way and I said it before. It's a KANSAS team that wants revenge for a NOV loss that awaits KY, not an SEC bottom feeder that is mentally beat beforethe ball is even tipped off. Again, KY is the more talented team, but KANSAS is probably more talented than LOU and has the heighth inside to match KY that almost every other team has lacked this year. As bad a big game coach as I think BILL SELF IS(no coach has lost more times to a lower seed with 10+ NCAA appearances EVER), he did beat and perhaps outcoach Calipari the last time these two coaches got this far. I suspect he may just do it again and the 9 times he has lost as a #1 or 2 seed without reaching the Final Four will be replaced with the legacy of being one of a handful of coaches with 2 National Championships. He wants that legacy just as badly as CAL wants the legacy of winning a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. That is also a spoonful of sugar that makes yesterday's bitter pill a little easier for me to swallow.

The great year has come to a close, I have loved this team, I have loved how they came together to equal more than the sum of their parts.  Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith will always have a spot in my memory and... and,,, we will be better next year.  We got a taste, the hunger doesn't diminish.  Peyton will continue to work on his shot, Wayne will make himself NBA ready, Chane will work on his outside game, Gorgui will continue to improve his physicality and range, Russ will work on decision making and we'll get guys back... L'ville vs OSU in the National Championship

Well T Will - the team from up the road just won the whole thing....guess we can put this thread to bed now.

It's been real.

We'll take care of them on Labor Day when Charlie Strong puts a whoopin on'em.  And we'll see them on the hardwood in December.

We'll be ready.

Peace to everyone.  This has been a great thead.

And good luck to all of you.  UofL....your boys manned up down the road.  Good job and way to represent.  4 teams in the S16, 2 in the E8 and one in the Final Four for like the forth year in a row.  Wow the big eas sucks. 

A special later or till the next time to:  Sooner, fans, twill, bolt, runeman, UCOA1, bbwv, smurph, z, gasman, Khep, nysufan, BIG12KO, topcopp, Cuseinky, hockey, mefive, bearcatnation and a bunch bunch more.  I know I did, but hope I didn't forget anyone.  Good Stuff folks.  It's been a hell of a ride.