Jump to content

2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2008–09 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Big East Regular Season Champions
Big East tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceBig East
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 1
Record31–6 (16–2 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFreedom Hall
Seasons
2008–09 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Louisville 16 2   .889 31 6   .838
No. 4 Pittsburgh 15 3   .833 31 5   .861
No. 5 Connecticut 15 3   .833 31 5   .861
No. 11 Villanova 13 5   .722 30 8   .789
No. 23 Marquette 12 6   .667 25 10   .714
No. 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 during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 95th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Big East Conference and were coached by Rick Pitino, who was in his eighth season. The team played its home games at Freedom Hall.

The Cardinals finished the season 31–6, 16–2 and were regular season Big East Champions (their 1st). They defeated Syracuse 76–66 to win the 2009 Big East men's basketball tournament (their 1st). They received an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning the overall #1 seed and were placed in the Midwest Region. They were upset by #2 seed Michigan State in the Midwest Regional final, 64–52.

Preseason

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]
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

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition games
November 1*
5:30 pm, WHAS
No. 3 Georgetown (KY)
exhibition
W 74–67  0–0
Freedom Hall (17,521)
Louisville, KY
November 8*
8:00 pm, WHAS
No. 3 at Northern Kentucky
exhibition
W 84–69  0–0
The Bank of Kentucky Center (8,408)
Highland Heights, KY
Non-conference games
November 22*
5:30 pm, ESPN360/WHAS
No. 3 Morehead State
Billy Minardi Classic
W 102–32  1–0
Freedom Hall (19,493)
Louisville, KY
November 23*
4:00 pm, ESPN360
No. 3 South Alabama
Billy Minardi Classic
W 81–54  2–0
Freedom Hall (19,241)
Louisville, KY
November 30*
3:00 pm, FCS/WHAS
No. 3 vs. Western Kentucky L 54–68  2–1
Sommet Center (8,193)
Nashville, TN
December 6*
2:00 pm, WHAS
No. 11 Indiana State
Marques Maybin Classic
W 83–43  3–1
Freedom Hall (18,924)
Louisville, KY
December 7*
4:00 pm, ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 11 Ohio
Marques Maybin Classic
W 91–56  4–1
Freedom Hall (19,083)
Louisville, KY
December 8*
7:00 pm, ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 9 Lamar
Marques Maybin Classic
W 78–56  5–1
Freedom Hall (19,058)
Louisville, KY
December 13*
1:00 pm, ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 9 Austin Peay W 94–75  6–1
Freedom Hall (19,288)
Louisville, KY
December 18*
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 9 vs. Mississippi
SEC/Big East Invitational
W 77–68  7–1
US Bank Arena (5,922)
Cincinnati, OH
December 20*
2:00 pm, FSN
No. 9 vs. Minnesota
2008 Stadium Shootout
L 64–70  7–2
University of Phoenix Stadium (10,431)
Glendale, AZ
December 27*
4:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 19 UAB W 82–62  8–2
Freedom Hall (19,627)
Louisville, KY
December 31*
6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18 UNLV L 55–56  8–3
Freedom Hall (19,314)
Louisville, KY
January 4*
4:30 pm, CBS
No. 18 Kentucky
Battle for the Bluegrass
W 74–71  9–3
Freedom Hall (20,078)
Louisville, KY
Big East regular season
January 7
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 23 at South Florida W 71–57  10–3
(1–0)
USF Sun Dome (4,827)
Tampa, FL
January 10
12:00 pm, ESPN
No. 23 at No. 17 Villanova W 61–60  11–3
(2–0)
Wachovia Center (17,117)
Philadelphia, PA
January 12
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 20 No. 12 Notre Dame W 87–73 OT 12–3
(3–0)
Freedom Hall (19,865)
Louisville, KY
January 17
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 20 No. 1 Pittsburgh W 69–63  13–3
(4–0)
Freedom Hall (20,082)
Louisville, KY
January 21
7:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 9 at Rutgers W 78–59  14–3
(5–0)
Rutgers Athletic Center (5,178)
Piscataway, NJ
January 25
12:00 pm, Big East Network/ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 9 at No. 8 Syracuse W 67–57  15–3
(6–0)
Carrier Dome (25,721)
Syracuse, NY
January 28
7:00 pm, Big East Network/ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 7 South Florida W 80–54  16–3
(7–0)
Freedom Hall (17,184)
Louisville, KY
January 31
12:00 pm, Big East Network/ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 7 West Virginia W 69–63  17–3
(8–0)
Freedom Hall (19,416)
Louisville, KY
February 2
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 5 No. 1 Connecticut L 51–68  17–4
(8–1)
Freedom Hall (20,069)
Louisville, KY
February 8
1:30 pm, Big East Network/ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 5 at St. John's W 60–47  18–4
(9–1)
Madison Square Garden (6,128)
New York, NY
February 12
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 5 at Notre Dame L 57–90  18–5
(9–2)
Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, IN
February 15
4:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 5 DePaul W 99–54  19–5
(10–2)
Freedom Hall (19,332)
Louisville, KY
February 18
7:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 7 Providence W 94–76  20–5
(11–2)
Freedom Hall (19,484)
Louisville, KY
February 21
2:00 pm, Big East Network/ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 7 at Cincinnati W 72–63  21–5
(12–2)
Fifth Third Arena (12,350)
Cincinnati, OH
February 23
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 6 at Georgetown W 76–58  22–5
(13–2)
Verizon Center (12,653)
Washington, DC
March 1
12:00 pm, CBS
No. 6 No. 8 Marquette W 62–58  23–5
(14–2)
Freedom Hall (20,079)
Louisville, KY
March 4
7:00 pm, Big East Network/ESPN Full Court/WHAS
No. 6 Seton Hall W 95–78  24–5
(15–2)
Freedom Hall (19,535)
Louisville, KY
March 7
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 6 at West Virginia
ESPN College GameDay
W 62–59  25–5
(16–2)
WVU Coliseum (13,089)
Morgantown, WV
Big East tournament
March 12
12:00 pm, ESPN
No. 5 vs. Providence
Quarterfinals
W 73–55  26–5
Madison Square Garden (19,375)
New York, NY
March 13
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 5 vs. No. 10 Villanova
Semifinals
W 69–55  27–5
Madison Square Garden (19,375)
New York, NY
March 14
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 5 vs. No. 18 Syracuse
Final
W 76–66  28–5
Madison Square Garden (19,375)
New York, NY
NCAA tournament
March 20*
7:10 pm, CBS
No. 1-M vs. No. 16-M Morehead State
First Round
W 74–54  29–5
University of Dayton Arena (12,499)
Dayton, OH
March 22*
5:20 pm, CBS
No. 1-M vs. No. 9-M Siena
Second Round
W 79–72  30–5
University of Dayton Arena (12,596)
Dayton, OH
March 27*
7:07 pm, CBS
No. 1-M vs. No. 12-M Arizona
Sweet Sixteen
W 103–64  31–5
Lucas Oil Stadium (33,780)
Indianapolis, IN
March 29*
2:20 pm, CBS
No. 1-M vs. No. 2-M Michigan State
Elite Eight
L 52–64  31–6
Lucas Oil Stadium (36,084)
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time[10] † NCAA Tournament ranks are seeds in the region (E=East, M=Midwest, S=South, W=West).

Rankings

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP33311991918242097557665 (1)1 (45)Not released
Coaches333111091918 т21201277776651 (14)5

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Big East Conference Standings - 2008-09." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-23-10.
  2. ^ "Scout.com 2008 Top 25 Recruiting Classes". Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  3. ^ "SI.com writers discuss SI's official preseason Top 20". CNN. November 10, 2008. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  4. ^ "Dick Vitale's Final Four Predictions". Retrieved November 22, 2008.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Kentucky vs. Louisville – Recap". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  6. ^ "Louisville vs. Villanova – Recap". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  7. ^ "Notre Dame vs. Louisville – Recap". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  8. ^ "Pittsburgh vs. Louisville – Recap". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Villanova vs. Louisville recap". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  10. ^ a b "2008–09 Louisville Cardinals Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 23, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2008.