Cards handcuff UConn, Dieng posts first double-double
by UL is my hot hot sex on Feb 19, 2011 12:41 AM EST
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Dieng. Ying. Yang. Jheng. DANG. Gorgui Dieng, a freshman, pulled down six offensive rebounds and picked & rolled his way to a double-double against a stronger, more experienced Connecticut front court and Louisville again made Kemba Walker look average down the stretch in a 71-58 win in the KFC Yum! Center.
Terrence Jennings had to watch Gorgui from the bench in the second half after getting into foul trouble, but the junior center jump-started the Cardinal offense in the first half, scoring 8 of the Cards' first 10 points. But the biggest story of the game was Peyton Siva outplaying National Player of the Year candidate Kemba Walker. Again.
Siva showed his performance in Storrs this January was no fluke. In front of several NBA scouts, UConn's matador defense made the smallest player on the court look like its biggest star Friday night. Siva obliged by driving and dishing for 15 points, 4 assists and 6 steals--one more steal than UConn's entire team. When Siva is "on," Louisville is a legit threat to beat any team this year.
The technical foul called on Preston Knowles for egging on the pep band and student section's "bullshit" chant will be debated tomorrow--and it was a head-scratching decision by the ref--but even the sanctimonious codger Bob Knight thought it was laughable and that's good enough for me.
After the game, Pitino quipped that if the Cards had lost, Preston would be in the band. I assume he'd play the crash cymbals, the exclamation point of chamber music, but could also see him rocking a drum kit.
One thing that wasn't cymbal-worthy was Preston's range. Knowles had another off night from the field, making only 2 of 13 field goals, but his 7 assists and second-half steal kept the Huskies at arm's length down the stretch. A true percussionist respects his xylophone (flashy jumper) and triangle (fundamentals) without bias.
Kyle Kuric also struggled to find his shot in the first half, but his back-to-back threes sacked a 9-0 UConn run at the start of the second half and gave the Cards a 5 point lead--a margin the Huskies never threatened throughout the remainder of the game.
Great way start to the weekend. Next up: Rutgers at the RAC on Tuesday.
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Awesome game
Fun to re-watch on ESPNU RIGHT THIS MINUTE. Chris Smith’s near awesome putback dunk about to happen.
Fun game. What a great season.
Agreed!
Watched it originally in a bar, no sound and a bunch of dude’s heads in the way. This ESPNU re-broadcast is just what I needed to wind down the night….Kuric for 3!!! sure, why not?!!
It's sort of funny
Clearly, someone told Musburger and Knight that Dieng isn’t pronouncned “Dieng.” But they also didn’t tell them how it was supposed to be pronounced. And the end product = “yang.”
baby monkey
riding backwards on a pig. baby monkey…
by johnnyjoejohnson on Feb 19, 2011 1:36 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Awesome Game!
How F’in hard is it to keep Kentucky Bourbon Ale on tap?! Why only tap 1 keg, EVERYONE is ordering it.
Great performance
Which leaves me scratching my head. You’d think we’d be used to it by now (maybe most of you are), but I still can’t fathom the inconsistencies of Pitino teams at Louisville in how we always seem to play up and down to our competition. We go from losing at Providence to beating #5 UConn on the road. We keep up with #7 Notre Dame step-for-step on the road for two full halves of play, then completely roll over in OT and get blown out. Next game back home we blast #12 Syracuse in the 1st half and eventually hang on to win. Then, we get absolutely humiliated at Cincinnati only to go back home and smack #12 UConn around again. And somewhere in the middle of all that we almost lost to DEPAUL at HOME.
As much as the potential of this current team energizes us for what could be a deep run in the post-season, looking back at one game against the subpar teams who’ve beaten us is equally as scary on the flipside.
What to expect in March?
________________________________________________
www.lordkayoss.com
I'm not expecting much in March
because consistency is what you need to survive. Our longest win streak since the Billy Minardi Classic has been three, and that was against Gardner-Webb, Western Kentucky, and Morgan State.
I’m not complaining. Far from it. This is my favorite Cardinal team since the 1980 NCAA champs. But to expect a deep run in the NCAA tourney is setting the bar way too high.
"Screech, you CAN'T elope!"
"Who are you calling a cantaloupe, you melonhead?"
Remember that we've been playing most of the Big East hurt
The Depaul game was bad because we pretty much had no bench for that game without Preston, Dieng, Buckles all injured.
We are going to be 2-1 in each 3 game stretch?
Pitino & the Cards obviously threw the Cincy game 1) for Mick, and 2) to make sure we beat UConn and RU.
Not needed in this case.
"Screech, you CAN'T elope!"
"Who are you calling a cantaloupe, you melonhead?"
No head scratcher
A team with no stars; a bridge team. Riddled with injuries that forced different line-ups and game plans. You can’t expect key starters to come and go from the lineup without at least some “inconsistencies”,
Instead of lamenting some inconsistencies, we should all be in awe at how they’ve managed to be as consistent as they have.
+1
For sure. Expectations were pretty low this year I’m thrilled with everything they have accomplished. Go Cards!
by uoflcards321 on Feb 19, 2011 7:57 AM EST up reply actions
I've noticed
That at the beginning of the year, every time Siva drove the lane you could expect a brick or a turnover. I was facepalming a lot. His game has come so far this year, he now makes even the best teams look slow and its more shocking when he doesn’t make it.
I knew he had the potential, its awesome that he’s now realizing it. Plus the best part about last night was seeing what a force our team can be with everyone healthy. Jennings in foul trouble and Van Treese has a case of the butterfingers? Put in Dieng and Buckles. Boom. We made Uconn look bad.
ESPN reads Card Chronicle
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=310490097
“Kyle Kuric drilled a 3-pointer from his customary spot in the corner ….”
Admittedly, it SHOULD have read “Kyle Kuric drilled a 3-pointer from Kuric’s Korner ….”
I'm surprised UConn didn't have a plan to stop Siva.
But hey, their loss is our gain. Siva played excellent. Preston played well, I think assists are just as good as shots. Nice to see Gorgui get his first Double-Double. And I hate the refs. They are blind.
I swear I could see Calhoun turn to the bench in disbelief
Every time Siva sped past the defenders to the basket. It was like he was saying “OMG, how to do stop that little ninja?”
Interesting to read the game thread at the UConn blog
I lost count of the number of times people said “I hate Siva.”
"Screech, you CAN'T elope!"
"Who are you calling a cantaloupe, you melonhead?"
Huh. Never done that before. After reading, some thoughts:
1. Our “blog” is better. (Similarly, UofL is better than UConn.)
2. Best line: “We must pick a new Duke player to thrash at halftime of all games.
Next Thursday’s suggestion: all of them.”
3. Second favorite: “There’s really no point in even watching the rest of this game.
Even if we got it back to a 2 or 3 point game, which we won’t, Louisville is just going to hit a wide-open 3. LIKE THEY ALWAYS DO.”
4. To follow up on my game thread point that by next year fans of other BE teams will think they’ve been watching Kuric for four years: “Oh go fuck yourself Kuric.” followed by “The 3-point shot is the worst thing to ever happen to [b]asketball.” and “Oh look at that precious picture. Suck it Kuric.” Admittedly, they’ve gonna feel like they’ve been watching Siva for six by the time he leaves.
by Leeroy Jenkins on Feb 20, 2011 9:25 AM EST up reply actions
9 o 'clock games means that Bob Knight is gonna be drunk.
Did anybody else hear how he constantly messed up. Example: “Preston Knowles is the catalyst tonight, without his great offense who knows where this would be at.” Constantly referring to Louisville’s offense as Louisville’s defense. Etc, etc, etc. Awesome win, GO CARDS!
by ville 606 on Feb 19, 2011 9:40 AM EST via mobile reply actions
And when TJ had it in the post early,
Knight said the Louisville D needs to close in on him down there.
by Get_In_My_BELLY_ on Feb 19, 2011 11:28 AM EST up reply actions
He implied that Marra never scores.
When Marra made his FTs, he said something like “Marra is a kid that doesn’t get as many minutes, but comes right in and gets 2 FTs. That’s something he’ll remember the rest of his life”. Check the stat sheet, Bobby.
Stout Out!
Nah, he just has early onset Alzheimer's.~
How else could he have called someone else’s actions idiotic?
by guyngreen on Feb 19, 2011 7:35 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
On SportsCenter
Neil Everett (the anchor who likes to drop Grateful Dead lyric references like “one man gathers what another man spills”) is calling him “Gorjee Ding.”
smh
"Screech, you CAN'T elope!"
"Who are you calling a cantaloupe, you melonhead?"
Neil is the best
Always making references to the greatest Coen Brothers film, The Big Lebowski.
“Mark it 8 Dude!!”
Hard to believe we're already to 20 wins, and 4th in the BE...
And look how well we played two of the three teams ahead of us; we lost, but we also lost crazy close and away from home. Everyone in this league has lost a BE game, and 15 of the 16 teams have lost at least three. Fact is, this team is good, maybe even really good. Call me crazy to state this so late in the season, but we can’t be sure just how good we really are — not quite yet. We need to see how Jang-Yang-Dang and Buckles fit into our ‘new’ system. All indications (i.e. last night) point to full on ‘Preston! Dance! I think it’s unreasonable to judge a team on one game, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t spending serious time thinking about our Feb 27 match-up with Pitt. (“But what about Rutgers!?” Psh, who cares about Rutgers – if we lose at Rutgers we’ll know all we need to know.) Do I think we beat Pitt? Honestly, I’m not ready to answer that. And that alone makes me excited about what this team has so unexpectedly become.
I know it’s been said countless times, but I’ll say it again: This is without a doubt the most lovable Louisville basketball team of my (short) lifetime. And that alone certainly counts for something.
Call me crazy
but I would love to see a great regular season finish… Then maybe a fairly early exit during the BE tournament.
Seems that every now and then they need a good wakeup call and a reason to really get up for the next game. Plus I would like the extra time for them to rest, recover, and plan for the upcoming NCAA tourn. Plus im a firm believer that you just sometimes have an off night…. Well lets get that off night out of the way in the BE tourn
It really shows what coach P. is capable of
Coach of the year for sure…. this team could really make a run come March. Great chemistry, unselfish play, tough D, the ability to shot the 3. The only thing this team is missing is ego.
My prediction for the last four games:
Win at Rutgers. Win at home against Pitt. Lose to WVU on the road. Win at home against Providence.
by cardcorefan on Feb 19, 2011 12:27 PM EST via mobile reply actions
That's how I see it.
I also called Pitt losing to St. Johns today.
by cardcorefan on Feb 19, 2011 2:35 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
U-CONNvsUL
CARDS FANS, what you saw light night was a team that wanted ti make a STATEMENT TO THE BIG EAST! Siva made one in the way he would go inside and pass and run away from U-CONN PLAYERS and score baskets.How he was stripping the ball. How our CENTERS played and how they got to the Basket , REBOUNDING WAS GREAT. so over all GIVE THE HOLE TEAM A+ NOW LETS SEE THIS ON THE ROAD
Idea courtesy of The Spotted Bass
by crazygameofpoker on Feb 19, 2011 1:20 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Not sure why it disappeared.
by crazygameofpoker on Feb 19, 2011 2:03 PM EST up reply actions 6 recs
Fantastic
Let’s get this baby greened, on t-shirts, and sent to multiple outlets
by Chris Redman is my hero on Feb 19, 2011 2:26 PM EST up reply actions
On a side note...
Right before game time, When UofL runs out of the tunnel, did anyone see a random guy run into the middle with a really cool looking hat? I couldn’t tell, was that J.R. Smith? They showed him at the game, and shortly after CS5 had an oop.
Anyhow, we played awesome, but did TJ get hurt? I saw that he was in foul trouble, but in warmups before the 2nd half, his right knee seemed to be hurt.
SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVAAAAAAAAAAA
In the stands on Friday night . . .
Fans who were able to attend yesterday’s game were treated to a visit from four past or current NBA players. First, DeJuan Wheat showed up and was interviewed by J-Bone. He said he’s recently retired and plans on attending more U of L games now. Second, Coach Walter McCarty came back for a visit. Towards the end of the game the cameras found Earl Clark and sitting near him was J.R. Smith. Having high-caliber pro-talent show up to our games is exciting and I’m sure it helps with recruiting. I’m very glad to have Chris Smith playing for us, and having his brother attend games is an added bonus.
Another cool thing happened last night. Chris Smith was signing autographs when a kid commented he liked the T-shirt Chris was wearing. Chris then took off his shirt, signed it, and gave it to the kid, who then freaked out like had just got an N64 for Christmas. It was fun to watch.
That's an awesome story
This is just a great group.
by Mike Rutherford on Feb 19, 2011 2:56 PM EST up reply actions
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