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Louisville-Syracuse Postgame Notes
February 12, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2011
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TEAM
- The win was Louisville's seventh consecutive in BIG EAST home games dating back to a 70-60 loss to #11/13 Georgetown on Feb. 23 of last season. That streak is the second-longest in the BIG EAST--trailing only the nine-game streak for Notre Dame--and the longest for the Cardinals since a 12-game string from Jan. 10, 2008-Jan. 31, 2009.
- Louisville has won its first six conference home games for the first time since 1992-93, when that squad went undefeated (6-0) at home in Metro Conference play. The Cards last began 7-0 in league home games in 1974-75 (8-0 at home in the Missouri Valley Conference).
Best starts in conference home games, Louisville history
8-0 - 1974-75 (Missouri Valley)
8-0 - 1968-69 (Missouri Valley)
8-0 - 1967-68 (Missouri Valley)
7-0 - 1972-73 (Missouri Valley)
7-0 - 1966-67 (Missouri Valley)
6-0 - 2010-11 (BIG EAST)
6-0 - 1992-93 (Metro)
6-0 - 1987-88 (Metro)
6-0 - 1983-84 (Metro)
6-0 - 1980-81 (Metro)
6-0 - 1979-80 (Metro)
6-0 - 1973-74 (Missouri Valley)
6-0 - 1969-70 (Missouri Valley)*
* - Only season in which Louisville lost a conference home game (finished 6-2).
- Wins in all three remaining BIG EAST home games will give the Cards their 15th unblemished record at home in conference play.
- U of L won its seventh straight game over Syracuse, with the last five victories all coming over ranked Orange teams. The Cardinals' last loss to the Orange came on Feb. 18, 2006, during Louisville's first season in the BIG EAST.
Last five meetings, Louisville vs. Syracuse
2.12.11 - #16/15 Louisville 73, #12/13 Syracuse 69 (H)
3.6.10 - Louisville 78, #1/1 Syracuse 68 (H)
2.14.10 - Louisville 66, #2/3 Syracuse 60 (A)
3.14.09 - #5/5 Louisville 76, #18/20 Syracuse 66 (N)
1.25.09 - #9/12 Louisville 67, #8/8 Syracuse 57 (A)
- The Cards have taken the last six matchups in which SU entered the game ranked (also a win over #4 Syracuse on Feb. 10, 2000). Louisville last lost to a top-25 Syracuse team on Jan. 10, 1998 (69-65 to the #18 Orange).
- The seven-game win streak is the second-longest active streak for Louisville over a current BIG EAST team, trailing only the Cards' 11 straight victories over USF. For Syracuse, the seven-game losing streak is its longest active string against a league foe.
- U of L has now won six straight over the Orange in Louisville, with SU's last (and only) win in Derby City coming on Dec. 4, 1976 (76-75). Louisville leads the all-time series 13-4.
- Louisville improves to 26-5 in its last 31 February games dating back to the 2006-07 campaign.
- U of L head coach Rick Pitino's 591st career victory moves him into sole possession of third place in NCAA Division I history for most wins in the first 25 seasons of coaching. Pitino passed current West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who won 590 games with Walsh, Akron, and Cincinnati in his first quarter-century on the sidelines.
Best coaching starts by victories (first 25 seasons)
1. 647-133 (.829) - Jerry Tarkanian, Long Beach State & UNLV (1969-92)
2. 600-208 (.743) - Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (1977-2001)
3. 591-216 (.732) - Rick Pitino, Boston U., Providence, Kentucky, & Louisville (1978-83, '85-87, '89-97, '01-Present)
4. 590-211 (.737) - Bob Huggins, Walsh, Akron, & Cincinnati (1981-2005)
5. 587-224 (.724) - Denny Crum, Louisville (1972-96)
6. 579-171 (.772) - Dean Smith, North Carolina (1962-86)
7. 573-218 (.724) - John Thompson, Georgetown (1973-97)
8. 571-219 (.723) - Mike Krzyzewski, Army & Duke (1976-2000)
- The first half against the Orange broke a string of eight straight halves for Louisville in which neither U of L nor its opponent outscored the other by more than five points.
- Louisville has now battled back from at least a seven-point deficit in its last four victories and five of its past six. Syracuse led 26-19 with 5:30 left in the first half before a 26-4 Cardinal run allowed Louisville to take a 45-30 lead.
- U of L has trailed by six points or more in six of its last seven wins.
- The Cards hit 10+ threes in a game for the 10th time this season. The 13 threes tie for Louisville's most in a BIG EAST game since hitting 18 (in 36 tries) against DePaul on Feb. 15, 2009.
- The Orange finished the game shooting 51.1 percent (24-for-47) from the floor, making them the first Cardinal opponent to shoot better than 50.0 percent and still lose since Northwestern State (.526) in the 2006-07 opener.
- Syracuse became the 19th Louisville opponent out of 25 this season to have at least two more turnovers (15) than assists (12).
PLAYER
- Senior Preston Knowles moved into eighth place in Louisville single-season history for threes made, connecting on seven of his 12 tries from behind the arc. He passed Francisco Garcia (71 in 2004-05), Taquan Dean (71 in 2003-04), and Reece Gaines (75 in 2002-03) on the list.
Most threes in a season, Louisville history
1. 122 - Taquan Dean (2004-05)
2. 105 - Taquan Dean (2005-06)
3. 97 - DeJuan Wheat (1996-97)
4. 91 - Reece Gaines (2001-02)
5. 85 - Larry O'Bannon (2004-05)
6. 84 - DeJuan Wheat (1994-95)
7. 78 - DeJuan Wheat (1995-96)
8. 76 - Preston Knowles (2010-11)
9. 75 - Reece Gaines (2002-03)
10. 71 - Francisco Garcia (2004-05)
10. 71 - Taquan Dean (2003-04)
- Knowles' season average of 3.17 threes per game currently sits third in Cardinal history, behind Taquan Dean's senior (3.39) and junior (3.30) year marks.
Highest single-season threes per game average, Louisville history
1. 3.39 - Taquan Dean - 2005-06 (105 in 31 G)
2. 3.30 - Taquan Dean - 2004-05 (122 in 37 G)
3. 3.17 - Preston Knowles - 2010-11 (76 in 24 G)
4. 2.84 - Reece Gaines - 2001-02 (91 in 32 G)
5. 2.77 - DeJuan Wheat - 1996-97 (97 in 35 G)
- Knowles also jumped into eighth in U of L annals for career threes attempted, passing Marques Maybin (460 tries from 1997-01).
Most career three-point attempts, Louisville history
1. 896 - Taquan Dean (2002-06)
2. 856 - DeJuan Wheat (1993-97)
3. 609 - Terrence Williams (2005-09)
4. 589 - Reece Gaines (1999-03)
5. 562 - Edgar Sosa (2006-10)
6. 540 - Jerry Smith (2006-10)
7. 488 - Francisco Garcia (2002-05)
8. 466 - Preston Knowles (2007-Present)
9. 460 - Marques Maybin (1997-01)
10. 457 - Larry O'Bannon (2001-05)
- Knowles becomes the third player in U of L history to hit three or more treys in five consecutive games, joining Taquan Dean and DeJuan Wheat. Dean holds the school record with eight straight games knocking down at least a trio of triples.
Consecutive games with 3+ threes, Louisville history
1. 8 - Taquan Dean - 2.25.06-3.28.06 (5-3-3-3-7-3-5-5)
2. 7 - Taquan Dean - 1.25.06-2.18.06 (4-3-5-6-4-4-3)
3. 5 - Preston Knowles - 1.26.11-Present (3-3-3-3-7)
3. 5 - Taquan Dean - 1.7.04-1.21.04 (3-4-3-3-5)
3. 5 - DeJuan Wheat - 3.12.95-11.26.95 (4-6-3-4-3)
3. 5 - DeJuan Wheat - 11.26.94-12.17.94 (4-5-4-3-3)
- Knowles has failed to hit at least three treys in just three of his last 15 games.
- Knowles has now hit six or more threes in five different games this season, tying the Louisville single-season record set by Reece Gaines in 2001-02. The seven threes are a new career best for the senior.
Games with 6+ threes in one season, Louisville history
1. 5 - Preston Knowles - 2010-11 (6-6-6-6-7)
1. 5 - Reece Gaines - 2001-02 (6-6-6-7-6)
3. 4 - Taquan Dean - 2005-06 (6-7-6-7)
3. 4 - Taquan Dean - 2004-05 (6-7-6-7)
- The seven threes for Knowles tie for the most by a Cardinal since Taquan Dean set the school record by going 9-for-12 against VMI on Dec. 23, 2003. His seven threes tie for the fourth most in Louisville history and second most in a conference matchup (only Francisco Garcia has hit more, nailing eight versus Cincinnati on Feb. 5, 2003).
Threes in a game, Louisville history
1. 9 - Taquan Dean vs. VMI (12.23.03)
2. 8 - Francisco Garcia vs. Cincinnati (2.5.03)
2. 8 - James Brewer vs. Oral Roberts (1.2.93)
4. 7 - Preston Knowles vs. Syracuse (2.12.11)
4. 7 - Kyle Kuric vs. Morgan State (12.27.10)
4. 7 - 10 other occurrences (Taquan Dean 4, James Brewer 1, Reece Gaines 1, Brandon Jenkins 1, Bryant Northern 1, DeJuan Wheat 1, Tony Williams 1)
- Knowles has at least one theft in 16 of the last 17 games after notching a career high-tying four steals against the Orange. All four of his steals came in the first half.
- For junior guard Kyle Kuric, the deadly shooting of late and the domination of Syracuse continued. Kuric scored eight points in the first six minutes of the contest, giving him 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting (6-of-8 from three) in a span of 22 minutes of floor time against the Orange dating back to the final game at Freedom Hall last season.
- Kuric has now made 16 of his last 25 (.640) three-pointers, going 17-for-28 (.607) from long range and 33-for-53 (.623) from the floor in the last five games (18.8 points per game over that span).
- Kuric finished Saturday's first half with 11 points, giving him 38 points over Louisville's last three first halves (against DePaul, Notre Dame, and now Syracuse), in which he has gone 14-for-20 (.700) from the floor, hit 7-of-9 threes (.778), and recorded four assists without a turnover.
- Kuric is averaging 23.3 points per game over Louisville's past three contests.
- Kuric has scored 45 points in his last three halves against Syracuse dating back to last season. Over that stretch, Kuric has gone 18-for-26 (.692) from the field (9-for-13 from distance) with five assists and zero turnovers.
- Kuric set a new career high with four assists in the game.
- For the second time this season, Knowles and Kuric each hit 5+ threes in the same contest, making them the first duo in Cardinal history to accomplish the feat twice. Saturday marked the fifth occurrence in school history of two Louisville players with five or more threes in one game.
Two Cardinals with 5+ threes, same game
2.12.11 - Preston Knowles (7-for-12), Kyle Kuric (5-for-7) vs. Syracuse
12.27.10 - Preston Knowles (6-for-9), Kyle Kuric (7-for-10) vs. Morgan State
3.24.05 - Taquan Dean (5-for-10), Francisco Garcia (5-for-8) vs. Washington
3.3.05 - Taquan Dean (6-for-11), Larry O'Bannon (5-for-9) vs. Charlotte
2.1.02 - Reece Gaines (7-for-12), Bryant Northern (7-for-9) vs. USF
- Junior Terrence Jennings continued his improved rebounding of late, grabbing seven boards in the matchup. He is averaging 8.0 rebounds over his last six contests, notching at least seven in all of those games.
- Over Louisville's last five games, Jennings is putting up 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds.
- Jennings set a career high with four steals in the game.
- Sophomore Peyton Siva notched six assists without just two turnovers in the game, giving him 23 assists in the last three contests, the highest three-game assist total by a Cardinal since Terrence Williams had 29 in three games from Jan. 19-26, 2008.
- Siva collected his 17th multi-steal game of the season, finishing with three.
- Sophomore Rakeem Buckles (seven rebounds) now has four consecutive six-rebound games.
