2014 NCAA Tournament Profile: Louisville Cardinals
By Cam Newton
Mar 15, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino poses with his team and trophy after the game against the Connecticut Huskies in final of the American Athletic Conference college basketball tournament at FedEx Forum. Louisville defeated Connecticut 71-61. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Louisville Cardinals
Record: (29-5, 15-3 AAC)
RPI: 18 (.613)
BPI: 4 (84.9)
Conference: American Athletic Conference
How They Qualified: Automatic Bid (won AAC Tournament)
Season Summary
It’s hard to believe that only last year the Louisville Cardinals dominated the college basketball landscape in order to win the school’s third national title. Despite losing floor general Peyton Siva and big man Gorgui Dieng to the NBA, as well as almost losing Russ Smith to the NBA, the team regrouped and found new leadership elsewhere, while still being helmed by Hall of Famer Rick Pitino.
The Cardinals were in the preseason top three and were one of the teams to watch going into the season. Unfortunately, a major blow was struck to the team as forward Chane Behanan was released from the team for unspecified reasons and guard Kevin Ware, the player whose injury was rallied around by his Cardinal teammates, was redshirted. Already, the outlook wasn’t good for the Cardinals. They had just lost two key players who helped get them to and win a national title and were no doubt demoralized.
Nevertheless, the Cardinals proceeded onward with their season. Louisville only had a handful of miscues all season, including a loss to UNC early on, to archrival UK in Rupp Arena, a crushing loss at home to Cincinnati, and two losses to Memphis. Louisville never had any standout wins besides that Russ Smith buzzer beater to beat Cincinnati on their home turf or the three wins against a tough Connecticut squad, one reason many said that Louisville didn’t deserve high rankings or high seedings.
The AAC Tournament came and Louisville was trying to prove everyone wrong. Being named the two seed by a literal coin flip, Louisville played three games in three days at the AAC Tournament, with Russ Smith and company absolutely mowing down every team that stood in its path (sorry Rutgers and Houston). They made it to the championship game to face Connecticut for the third time, ultimately winning this match-up by ten points (it wasn’t as close as the score indicates).
What You Need to Know
Leading Scorer: Russ Smith – 18.3 points per game
Leading Rebounder: Montrezl Harrell – 8.2 rebounds per game
Leading Passer: Russ Smith – 4.7 assists per game
Bad Losses: None
Good Wins: Connecticut (thrice), @ Cincinnati, SMU (twice)
What to Expect
Louisville is on a major hot streak entering the NCAA Tournament. After winning their last five games, including winning their previous three by an average of 33 points, many are opening their eyes to Louisville. After flying under the radar for the latter half of the season, many are beginning to realize that Louisville is a legitimate national title contender. It all makes sense too! As it stands, Louisville is the number two overall team in KenPom rankings, as well as being one of the best teams statistically in all of the nation.
The Cardinals also seem to be putting all the pieces together at the right point in the season. Russ Smith was an extremely streaky player who has found himself this season and is currently on an absolute tear. If Louisville wants to have a shot at a third straight Final Four and another national title, it will take everything they’ve got. And trust me, they’ve got exactly what they need.
Congratulations to Louisville! They are going to their fortieth NCAA Tournament!