Pitino, Buckles Preview Saturday's Contest Against South Alabama
December 03, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2010
Game Notes 
Rick Pitino Audio | Rakeem Buckles Audio
Rick Pitino on Podcast
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and sophomore forward Rakeem Buckles met with the media Friday afternoon at the Yum! Center to preview Saturday's contest against South Alabama on Dec. 4 at the KFC Yum! Center. Start time is set for 1:07 p.m., and the game will be televised statewide on WHAS-TV/Wazoo Sports.
The Cardinals are coming off another impressive performance, improving to 5-0 after rolling past Florida International, 92-55, at home on Dec. 1. Louisville had five players record double figures in scoring, led by Preston Knowles' game-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Gorgui Dieng, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, recorded seven blocks in the contest - the most by a U of L player in seven years. Samaki Walker set the school record with 11 on Jan. 1, 1995, against No. 5 Kentucky. Defensively, the Cardinals held the Panthers to just 28.3 percent (15-of-53) shooting. More notably, it is the fifth time in six games that Louisville held its opponent to less than 40 percent from the field.
South Alabama (2-4) also played last Wednesday, but fell at Alabama, 72-50. Martino Brock and Javier Carter combined for 21 points, as Brock tallied 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting and Carter hit 4-of-8 from the field for 10 points. Collectively, the Jaguars struggled from the field, going 20-of-62 and just 2-of-14 beyond the arc. Defensively, South Alabama pressured Alabama into 22 turnovers.
The Jaguars are under the guidance of 12th-year coach Ronnie Arrow, who's led the program to a 179-132 overall mark and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, South Alabama finished with a 17-15 overall mark, going 8-10 in the Sun Belt to finish fifth in the East Division. The squad returns four of its starters, including preseason all-Sun Belt first-team selection, Tim Williams, who leads the team with 14.8 points per contest.
The Series - Louisville vs. South Alabama
Louisville holds the advantage in the all-time series against South Alabama, 10-1. The Cardinals have won the last three meetings, with the most recent victory coming on Nov. 23, 2008, at Freedom Hall in the Billy Minardi Classic championship game. Behind Samardo Samuels' game-high 24 points, the Cardinals cruised to an 81-54 win. The first meeting between the two schools took place in Dallas, Texas, in the second round of the 1979 NCAA Tournament Midwest Region. Louisville claimed a 69-66 win and ultimately advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
GAME FACTS - Louisville vs. South Alabama
Date: Saturday, Dec. 4
Time: 1:07 p.m. ET
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000)
TV: WHAS (Ch. 11 in Louisville) will televise the game, with Drew Deener (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) calling the action.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM, 101.7 FM) will broadcast the game on radio, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (analyst) calling the action.
SIRIUS: Game will be available on SIRIUS Channel 90.
Series History: U of L leads the all-time series, 10-1 (8-0 in Louisville, 1-1 in Mobile, 1-0 neutral)
Officials: Tim Higgins, Sean Corbin, Brian O'Connell
Next U of L Game: Dec. 8 vs. San Francisco, KFC Yum! Center, 7:07 p.m. (WHAS-TV/Wazoo Sports)
