Why even bother with preseason polls?
Before the season began, coaches in the Big East Conference picked the University of Louisville to finish eighth. The No. 8 seed in the Big East tournament receives a first-round bye. That probably made sense, given that the Cards' only returning starter, forward Jared Swopshire, was plagued by a groin injury that eventually would cost him the season.
That was in November. It is now the first of March.
With a win in tomorrow's Senior Night game against Providence, U of L clinches at worst the No. 4 seed and its attendant double bye in the conference tournament. By also winning Saturday at West Virginia, the Cards would lock up the No. 3 seed; they could finish in a tie for second with Notre Dame, but the Irish would get the No. 2 seed because of a head-to-head win. Louisville holds a similar edge over St. John's for the No. 3 seed.
The Cards put themselves in this position Sunday with a 62-59 home court overtime win over fourth-ranked Pittsburgh. Neither team earned any style points for this one; defense dominated a typical bloody-nosed Big East battle. I've been racking my brain since Sunday, and I cannot remember ever seeing U of L shoot 34 percent from the field in a victory. Then again, I might be considered a relative newbie, having watched the Cards only since 1964.
I'm certain Pitt's Jamie Dixon will receive a lot of support for Big East Coach of the Year, as will Steve Lavin of St. John's. That said, I believe Rick Pitino has done more with less than either Dixon or Lavin, especially in light of the continual rash of injuries that has bedeviled U of L all year long. To have this team perched at 11-5 in league play and 22-7 overall with two games remaining reflects a coaching job the likes of which we haven't seen since his early years at Kentucky.
* * * * * * * * *
Big East basketball officiating has given me indigestion for years, but it seems to me Big East refs have had an unusually quick trigger this season when it comes to technical fouls. Yes, I mean in particular the "T" called on Cardinal cheerleader Jordan Alcazar for tossing the ball into the air after Kyle Kuric's game-clinching dunk with less than a second to go.
Before the season began, coaches in the Big East Conference picked the University of Louisville to finish eighth. The No. 8 seed in the Big East tournament receives a first-round bye. That probably made sense, given that the Cards' only returning starter, forward Jared Swopshire, was plagued by a groin injury that eventually would cost him the season.
That was in November. It is now the first of March.
With a win in tomorrow's Senior Night game against Providence, U of L clinches at worst the No. 4 seed and its attendant double bye in the conference tournament. By also winning Saturday at West Virginia, the Cards would lock up the No. 3 seed; they could finish in a tie for second with Notre Dame, but the Irish would get the No. 2 seed because of a head-to-head win. Louisville holds a similar edge over St. John's for the No. 3 seed.
The Cards put themselves in this position Sunday with a 62-59 home court overtime win over fourth-ranked Pittsburgh. Neither team earned any style points for this one; defense dominated a typical bloody-nosed Big East battle. I've been racking my brain since Sunday, and I cannot remember ever seeing U of L shoot 34 percent from the field in a victory. Then again, I might be considered a relative newbie, having watched the Cards only since 1964.
I'm certain Pitt's Jamie Dixon will receive a lot of support for Big East Coach of the Year, as will Steve Lavin of St. John's. That said, I believe Rick Pitino has done more with less than either Dixon or Lavin, especially in light of the continual rash of injuries that has bedeviled U of L all year long. To have this team perched at 11-5 in league play and 22-7 overall with two games remaining reflects a coaching job the likes of which we haven't seen since his early years at Kentucky.
* * * * * * * * *
Big East basketball officiating has given me indigestion for years, but it seems to me Big East refs have had an unusually quick trigger this season when it comes to technical fouls. Yes, I mean in particular the "T" called on Cardinal cheerleader Jordan Alcazar for tossing the ball into the air after Kyle Kuric's game-clinching dunk with less than a second to go.
True, Alcazar in the strictest sense violated a rule by doing so, but the horn had sounded and the game appeared over. Calling the technical after a replay review that reset the clock to :00.5 struck me as excessive. Far more egregious examples of premature celebration by fans have gone unpunished; this could have been handled with a warning.
I still haven't accepted the technical for taunting Kuric received just before halftime of the Notre Dame game. Maybe some of the league's officials have an overblown thirst for notoriety; I haven't come up with another logical explanation yet.
And yes, UK fans, I have seen more than the usual quota of headscratchers in Southeastern Conference games as well. As I've said before, officiating consists of only two basic tasks: knowing the rules and watching the game. Too often this year, the striped shirts appear to have fallen down on the job.
posted by Alan at 7:24 AM
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