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Post VII-- Top Ten Louisville Rivals Investigation: #7 Poll

Just when you've given up on the the Top Ten Louisville Rivals Investigation ever coming to an end because it's been almost 3 months since a post, I go and throw out the ultra exciting announcement of #6 and the super stimulating #7 poll.  Happy beginning to the conclusion of the Top Ten Louisville Rivals Investigation!

Congratulations Syracuse University, you are our plurality #6 Rival.  Louisville owns Syracuse.  I don't care what they predicted at Big East Media Day, there's no chance that Louisville finishes in the Big East below Syracuse or loses to the Orange.  Mark my words. Believe in Charlie Strong.

Louisville Rivalries according the CCers' votes:  

Louisville's Top 10 Rivals

1.  University of Kentucky

2.  West Virginia University

3.  University of Cincinnati

4.  Marquette University

5.  University of Memphis

6.  Syracuse University

7.  ?

There are only 4 spots left.  Choose wisely.  I've added WKU and updated the Pitt summary, but UConn is the same.  Here are your options for #7:

 

 

Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University and the University of Louisville are more of a natural  rivalry because of the schools' close proximity to one another. I thought this rivalry was one that Louisville fans could brush off in basketball.  However, on November 30, 2008, the Hilltoppers dealt the Cardinals a 12 point loss that no one saw coming.  According the ESPN or AP's fast facts, apparently the Hilltoppers lead the series by 5 (was 39-33 after the 2008 loss).  The same team that was ranked #3 in the preseason, obtained an overall #1 seed for the NCAA tournament, and finished in the Elite 8 against national runner up Michigan State lost to a member of the Sun Belt Conference.  Ouch:

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Samardo Samuels grabbed the ball and launched a game's worth of frustration and all of his 260 pounds at the rim. Surely, this would be the moment the Louisville freshman would help the third-ranked Cardinals take control and finally put away Western Kentucky.

Jeremy Evans had other ideas. The Western Kentucky center -- all 190 pounds of him -- thrust his arm between the ball and the basket and somehow sent Samuels sprawling to the floor.The rest of the Cardinals soon followed in a stunning 68-54 upset."It just gives you a little attitude that 'Hey, we're going to get this done,'" first-year Western Kentucky coach Ken McDonald said about the big-time block. "That was a huge play."

There were plenty to go around for the Hilltoppers (3-2), who knocked off a top-three opponent for the first time in more than 40 years. A.J. Slaughter had a career-high 25 points and Steffphon Pettigrew added 17 points and 12 rebounds for Western Kentucky, which pulled away in the second half against the listless Cardinals (2-1).

"You don't like to learn your lessons from losing, but to be quite honest the way we practiced all week, we did not deserve to win," coach Rick Pitino said. "You reap what you sow."McDonald, who got the coaching bug while sneaking into practices at Providence when Pitino coached the Friars in the mid-1980s, borrowed a page out of Pitino's playbook in giving the Hilltoppers their first win over a top-three team since beating Indiana in 1967.Rather than throw his biggest players on the floor in an effort to offset Louisville's size advantage, McDonald went small, sending the 6-foot-5 Pettigrew out to guard the 6-9 Samuels. Getting help whenever Samuels got the ball in the post, Pettigrew helped limit Samuels to 11 points and eight rebounds in 36 mostly ineffective minutes."I knew [Pettigrew] was going to battle," McDonald said. "I know traditionally big guys don't like shorter, strong guys on them and Steph battled."So did the rest of the Hilltoppers, who outrebounded Louisville 48-36, outscored the Cardinals 24-18 in the paint and dominated the final 15 minutes.<!-- begin inline 2 --> <!-- start sidebar table -->

Fast Facts

• This was Louisville's fifth loss in a regular-season neutral-site game in the last three seasons, with four of those coming to unranked opponents.

• Western Kentucky leads the all-time series with Louisville (39-33) and has won two straight against ranked Louisville teams.

• Louisville shot 27 percent, only the fifth time in the last 10 years the Cards were held under 30 percent.

-- ESPN research

<!-- end sidebar table --><!-- end inline 2 -->"They probably underestimated us because we're Western Kentucky and they're the No. 3 team in the country," said Pettigrew, who grew up in Elizabethtown, Ky., about 30 minutes south of Louisville. "We just tried to go out there and throw the first punch and keep our composure throughout the whole game."

 

 

At least Western went on to the Sweet 16 that year for their second year in a row.  Revenge on the Hilltoppers was a considerable highlight to the 2009-10 season.  13 Cardinals played and 12 of them scored.  Chris Brickley scored 4 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in 4 minutes, making his overall efficiency rating 1,330,029,384.  Damn, Chris, where were you the rest of the season?  Eat it Hilltoppers.  I don't care if your second leading scorer broke his foot.  However, after having three sister attend Western, I cheer for them whenever they play any game in any sport that is not against Louisville.  I also pray that they will blow Kentucky out in football for embarrassments' sake. Hope this series continues forever.

Louisville 102, W. Kentucky 75

Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith scored 17 points apiece to pace six Louisville players in double figures as the Cardinals routed Western Kentucky 102-75 on Saturday.

Louisville avenged last season's loss to the Hilltoppers by shooting 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the field and converting 25 Western Kentucky turnovers into 36 points in the Billy Minardi Classic.Samardo Samuels added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals (7-3), while Terrence Jennings tallied 11 points off the bench. Jared Swopshire and Kyle Kuric added 10 points apiece for Louisville.Steffphon Pettigrew scored 23 points to lead the Hilltoppers (5-4) and A.J. Slaughter added 16.Western Kentucky played without second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Sergio Kerusch. The 6-foot-5 junior forward, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, broke his foot in practice on Friday.

CCers on Western Kentucky University:

I’ll go off on a tangent and say Western Kentucky. That basketball rivalry actually goes waaaay back (Hickman played for Diddle while at WKU) and we’ve played them a ton. In fact, they lead in the rivalry in the overall record. Don’t we play down in Diddle Arena this season? Should be a great scene down there in Bowling Green.  by kentuckybred

That's all I've got.  Feel free to fill me in on the older parts of the rivalry. 

 

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Louisville are definitely not a traditional rivalry, but it's in the making. The fact that both are urban schools in industrial cities should count for something.  Lately, we've had some pretty big basketball games.  You might recall, as I do, a game in mid-January this year when both Louisville and Pitt fans were trying to determine whether the season was going to turn into a hot one for them.  The Cardinals looked like they had the game handled for the first 35 minutes or so.  Then, a bad call, a bad play, an overtime, and the Cardinals blew it.   A heart-breaker that no CCer needed after a devastating loss to Kentucky and a blown opportunity against Villanova a week  prior. 

Louisville Cardinals' Toughness Can't Cover Talent Gap in Pittsburgh Loss Jonathan Lintner by Jonathan Lintner Senior Analyst Written on January 16, 2010 Rackmultipart

For 40 minutes Saturday, Louisville handed Pittsburgh its own Steel City lesson on how to play tough.  But in a five-minute overtime session, the Panthers fought back, overwhelming the Cardinals' efforts the same way Kentucky and Villanova recovered from second-half deficits to beat Louisville already this season.

This was disappointing.  However, not so long ago, the Cardinals took on a #1 ranked Pitt and owned.  This game will stay in the record books for a while despite the more recent victory of a #1 ranked Syracuse.  

No. 1 Pittsburgh falls to No. 20 Louisville 69-63

The junior forward scored 16 points—including the clinching jumper with 45 seconds remaining—and grabbed 11 rebounds on his 21st birthday to lift the 20th-ranked Cardinals over the No. 1 Panthers, 69-63 on Saturday night.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—Pittsburgh’s perfect season unraveled in a perfect storm of missed shots, missed opportunities and one exquisitely timed birthday party by Louisville’s Earl Clark.

Clark celebrating in such a fashion could not have made me happier.   It should also be noted, that other than this past season, the Cards have owned the series.

Since joining the Big East fve seasons ago, the Cards have had tremendous success against Pitt during the regular season.

In 2007, Louisville secured a signature victory by going on the road and upsetting the highly-favored Panthers by 13. A year later, U of L became the first program in the Big East to notch multiple victories inside the Peterson Events Center. And then last January, Pittsburgh saw both its undefeated season and No. 1 ranking fall by the wayside after a trip to Freedom Hall.

Since entering the Big East, the Louisville- Pitt Football series has gone from one sided, to almost split down the middle.  Currently it's Louisville 3, Pittsburgh 2.  As with most current football rivalries Louisville is in, the down slope coincides with a particular coach that I will not mention by name. 

After Big East Media Day 2010, I feel like there is more at stake than ever before in playing Pitt.  They are picked to finish first in the Big East while Louisville is picked to finish last.  If there's one game that's got Respect + written on it in the Big East for Charlie Strong this year, it's on Saturday, October 30 (Dammit, I'm going to be at a wedding).  No one wants to see highlights like this again:

 

University of Connecticut

I haven't heard a whole lot of press on the Louisville-Connecticut Rivalry.  However, this past basketball season watching a struggling UConn lose twice to the Cards put a smile on my face.

Back to Storrs, Connecticut. Time out. 29 seconds on the clock. Everyone inside Gampel Pavilion knew Edgar wanted to take the last shot. Pitino knew that Edgar needed to take the last shot. For himself. For his team. For the win. And perhaps most importantly, for confidence heading into March. 29 seconds left. "I'll make it," says Edgar.

Sosa feeds off the pressure, the fans, the moment, the oft overstated bravado that is a New York City point guard. Yes, Peyton Siva is primed for a great career at Louisville. But today, this week, this March...it's Edgar's time. Throw out the efficiency stats. Forgive the missed free throws. Ignore the criticism. A Louisville team that plays well this March is a team that's led by a confident Edgar. A Good Edgar. An "I'll Make It" Edgar.

I did a quick Google search to see what's out there.  This jogged my memory, not only is there a rivalry here between football and basketball, there is also a rivalry here in women's basketball:

Q.  Can you just address how Louisville UConn rivalry has matured in the last two years, two Big East finals now and a national championship?  And maybe also how after this game how maybe you guys will take this rivalry to even a higher level now that you're playing in a national final?
 
COACH AURIEMMA:  Yeah, it's always interesting for us in the last 10 years or so, however long, it was going to be Connecticut and Notre Dame for the rest of the Big East history.  And then it was Connecticut and Rutgers for the rest of the Big East history.
Now it's Connecticut/Louisville.  It just seems to me that if you consider yourself the best team or the best, more importantly, the best basketball program in a conference, then it's just natural that as other programs get better you're going to have to deal with that.
And in this case, again, because of Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham, specifically, and generally the way they recruited and the way they've built their program, who knows what's going to happen in the future.  Who knows where they'll be next year.  I just hope we're still around to still talk about who our big rivals are.

I don't know a lot about women's basketball, but I do know that both teams were in the final four last year, and UConn won. 

Besides this, I also remember in the Cards two most recent dominant seasons the Huskies were unbeatable.

The other memory that UConn brings to mind, in a rivalry sense, is the 2007 football game.

UConn scored its first points on a Larry Taylor's controversial 74-yard punt return. With the Huskies down 7-0 with 13 minutes left in the third quarter, Taylor settled under a 45-yard punt and appeared to call for a fair catch at the Connecticut 26.

Replays showed Taylor putting up his right hand, and Louisville players stopped their pursuit as soon as he caught the ball. But Taylor sprinted left, then down the sideline and the referees didn't stop the play.

Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe called a timeout before the extra point in an effort to get the officials to take another look, but after a consultation, they said a fair-catch signal isn't reviewable.

Fair Catches are now reviewable.  I still can't believe this call.  Worst part about this was that UConn won the game 21-17, and the Cards were 1 conference game short of being bowl eligible. 

CCers on Connecticut:

i would go cincy 2 wvu 3 and uconn (yes uconn) 4.by jcarti01

Love to hate strongly dislike UConn and it’s coaches.by SullyCard Rivalry

I think Syracuse and UCONN could be an OK rivalry if all three of our football teams improve but its just not there for me yet.  I wouldn’t necessarily agree that we have more than 3 or 4 true rivals right now but if I were forced to make a Top 10, I suppose those teams would have to be included.

My 2010 List:
1. UK
2. WVU
3a. Cincinnati
3b. Marquette
5. Memphis

by UL is my hot hot sex

I think UConn, at least for me, is a more hated rival than either Cincy or Marquette. I have even found my self rooting for Cincy of late – Cincy coach is a member of the Pitino tree, the Cincy fball team helped maintain BE fball relavancy.  UConn on the other hand makes my skin crawl – I still wretch at the thought of the fair catch… plus the arrogance of their bball team irritates me, I mean how can they presume such arrogance when they aren’t even the best program at their school? by cardinNO

I'll take that as a UConn Nomination for the #3 spot. That fair catch really pissed me off too. As soon as it happened I said a rivalry should spawn from it. That and them beating us basketball in 2007 or 2008 during their team spirit week.by REALISTICCARDSFAN... Yes I just quoted myself.
Lol. I bet this year the women’s team could beat the men’s at UConn. That would be an awesome game.by CardinalDude

Before we joined the Big East, did UConn even show up on our rivals radar? Calm down a little, realize that the Cards have fans of all ages so rivals with more history than UConn are still leaving bitter tastes in those fans’ mouths.

Consider this… do you hate the UConn football team, or just the player that signaled the fair catch? My animosity died when he graduated two years ago and the rules were changed to make fair catches reviewable. I also respect the way their team has had to deal with the death of Jasper Howard last season. I have more angst for Kragthorpe than I do UConn football.

I would put UConn in our top 5 or 6, but even though I may not like them, I have more respect for them than I do a Memphis or a Marquette. Thanks to the women’s bball coach at UConn, that respect does dwindle based upon some of his past comments. by guyngreen
It should be... a team that we play annually in both major sports (fb & bb)…and it should be a team that is competitive in both. That leaves UCONN as the only option.  F$%K anyone who signals for fake fair catches!  by *G*
I agree  UCONN should have been the choice for #3!!! ...Well I guess you all are one reason that UCONN has taken our lunch money for that last few years. – I am disgusted with this poll…by cardinNO