Pitino Previews Saturday's Game against Western Carolina
December 11, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2009
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino met with members of the media on Friday at the Yum! Center to preview Saturday's game against Western Carolina. The Cards and Catamounts will tip off at 4:07 p.m. ET at Freedom Hall and the game will be televised by WHAS-TV in Louisville.
After a week off from action to prepare for final academic exams, Louisville will play its third of eight straight games at home. U of L dropped its second game in seven tries as the Cardinals fell 87-65 to Charlotte on Dec. 5. Samardo Samuels led the way with 14 points, while Mike Marra added 11 points. The Cards were playing without guards Preston Knowles, Peyton Siva and Jerry Smith.
Western Carolina (9-1) has won seven straight and is off to its best start in 46 years, since also opening up with eight wins through its first nine games back in the 1963-64 season. The Catamounts, whose balanced lineup features five players averaging at least eight points, won 66-59 against Campbell at home in its last game. WCU opened Southern Conference play with a 72-67 win on Dec. 2 over Wofford, a team picked to finish second in the league. Western Carolina is no. 87 in the early Sagarin Ratings through games of Dec. 10.
Louisville won the only previous meeting between the two schools as DeJuan Wheat scored 26 points to lead the Cardinals to a 108-76 victory over Western Carolina on Dec. 5, 1994. Tick Rogers collected a U of L school record 10 steals in the game.
GAME FACTS - Louisville (5-2) vs. Western Carolina (9-1, 2-0)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 12
Time: 4:07 p.m. ET
Site: Crum Court / Freedom Hall (18,865), Louisville, Ky. (UofL 673-138 all-time in Freedom Hall)
TV: WHAS (Ch. 11 in Louisville) will televise the game with Drew Deener (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst)
Radio: WKRD (790 AM, 101.7 FM) with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (analyst) Also: joined in progress on WHAS (840 AM)
SIRIUS: SIRIUS Satellite Radio Ch. 122 (XM Channel 203)
Series History: U of L leads 1-0 all-time (1-0 in Louisville)
National Ranking: U of L is receiving votes in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and the Associated Press Poll this week; Western Carolina is unranked.
Satellite Coordinates: AMC 6, Transponder K21V, Ch. A (KU digital; downlink frequency 12111 vertical; data rate: 18.30Mb; symbol: 13.235)
Officials: Michael Stephens, Bill McCarthy, Lamar Simpson
Next U of L Game: Dec. 16 vs. Oral Roberts, 7:07 p.m. ET (WHAS-TV)
George Goode Out for Western Carolina Game
University of Louisville forward George Goode suffered a bone bruise in his left knee joint in practice on Thursday and will miss Saturday's game against Western Carolina. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test administered at Jewish Hospital on Friday revealed no other issues with his knee. Due to the nature of this injury, he could be sidelined for as little as a few days or as long as several weeks, dependant upon his recovery
