.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Louisville-Connecticut Postgame Notes
February 19, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
TEAM
- Louisville won its fourth straight game over Connecticut, tied for the longest active streak by any Husky opponent (Pittsburgh has also defeated UConn in four straight matchups). The Cardinals now lead the all-time series 6-5.
Longest current winning streaks over Connecticut
1. 4 - Louisville
1. 4 - Pittsburgh
3. 3 - Niagara
3. 3 - North Carolina
3. 3 - Stevens
3. 3 - Syracuse
- U of L becomes the first team to defeat UConn twice in back-to-back seasons since Georgetown and Seton Hall each did so during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 campaigns.
- The Cards won their eighth consecutive conference home game, the second-longest active string in the league (trailing only Notre Dame's nine-game streak) and the second-longest in U of L's BIG EAST history. Louisville won 12 straight BIG EAST home games from Jan. 10, 2008-Jan. 31, 2009.
- U of L has won its first seven league home games for the first time since the 1974-75 team went 8-0 at home in Missouri Valley Conference play. The school record for home conference wins is eight.
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 - 2010-11 (BIG EAST)
7-0 - 1972-73 (Missouri Valley)
7-0 - 1966-67 (Missouri Valley)
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).
- An unblemished home record in the BIG EAST this year would be the 15th undefeated season for the Cards at home in conference play, with the last coming in 1992-93 (7-0 in Metro Conference home games).
- Louisville (20-7) has now notched at least 20 wins in nine consecutive seasons, a claim only seven other schools in the nation (Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, Florida, Texas, Utah State, and Pittsburgh) can make. Gonzaga (18-9) can add its name to the list with two more victories in 2010-11.
Consecutive 20-win seasons, Division I (active)
1. 22 - Kansas (24-2 in 2010-11)
2. 15 - Duke (24-2)
3. 14 - Syracuse (21-6)
4. 13 - Florida (20-5)
4. 13* - Gonzaga (18-9)
6. 12 - Texas (23-3)
6. 12 - Utah State (24-3)
8. 10 - Pittsburgh (24-2)
9. 9 - Louisville (20-7)
* - Streak entering the 2010-11 season (all others include this year's 20-win effort).
- The 20-win season was the 19th for Louisville head coach Rick Pitino at the Division I level, placing him sixth among active coaches and 15th among all coaches.
20-win seasons in Division I, active coaches
1. 33 - Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (1977-Present)
2. 27 - Mike Krzyzewski, Army (1976-80) and Duke (1981-Present)
3. 24 - Jim Calhoun, Northeastern (1973-86) and Connecticut (1987-Present)
4. 22* - Bob Huggins, Akron (1985-89), Cincinnati (1990-05), Kansas State (2007), and West Virginia (2008-Present)
5. 20* - Roy Williams, Kansas (1989-2003), North Carolina (2004-Present)
6. 19 - Rick Pitino, Boston U. (1979-83), Providence (1986-87), Kentucky (1990-97), and Louisville (2002-Present)
6. 19* - Mike Montgomery, Montana (1979-86), Stanford (1987-04), and California (2009-Present)
* - Have not reached the 20-win mark in 2010-11. Huggins currently sits at 16-9, while Williams is 19-6 and Montgomery is 13-13.
- Louisville has won 19+ games in 37 of the last 41 seasons.
- Pitino (592 career victories) moved into a tie for 43rd place on the all-time wins list for Division I coaches, matching the total of Houston's Guy Lewis (1957-86).
- Louisville and Pittsburgh are the only BIG EAST teams yet to lose back-to-back games this season.
- The Cards improve to 27-6 in their last 33 February games dating back to the 2006-07 season.
- The Cardinals notched 12 steals in the game, their 26th game (out of 27) this season with at least six thefts. The one game with fewer than six steals this season (four at Notre Dame) ties for the fewest in the nation.
- The Cards held UConn to 31.8 percent (7-for-22) shooting in the first half, lowering the first-half shooting percentage of Louisville's opponents this season to 38.7 percent.
- U of L forced the Huskies into a season-high 16 turnovers, its highest total since turning the ball over 20 times against St. John's in last year's BIG EAST Tournament. This comes one game after UConn recorded a season-low seven turnovers in a 78-70 win over Georgetown.
- Connecticut became the 20th Louisville opponent this season to have at least two more turnovers than assists (eight).
- Louisville held UConn without a field goal for a stretch of 7:57 in the second half (10:20 to 2:43), during which the Cards expanded their lead from seven points to 16.
- U of L held the UConn starting five to just 33 points in the game, including nine in the first half
PLAYER
- Freshman center Gorgui Dieng earned his first career double-double against the Huskies, setting new career highs with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
- Senior Preston Knowles' lone three on Friday night put him into a tie with DeJuan Wheat (78 treys in 1995-96) for seventh place on the Louisville single-season three-pointers made 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 - Preston Knowles (2010-11)
7. 78 - DeJuan Wheat (1995-96)
9. 75 - Reece Gaines (2002-03)
10. 71 - Francisco Garcia (2004-05)
10. 71 - Taquan Dean (2003-04)
- Knowles also moved up the single-season attempts chart, passing Wheat, Francisco Garcia, and Reece Gaines to move into sixth. Knowles is now 78-for-196 (.398) in three point tries this season.
Most three-point attempts in a season, Louisville history
1. 275 - Taquan Dean (2005-06)
2. 273 - Taquan Dean (2004-05)
3. 241 - Reece Gaines (2001-02)
4. 222 - DeJuan Wheat (1995-96)
5. 200 - Larry O'Bannon (2004-05)
6. 196 - Preston Knowles (2010-11)
7. 195 - DeJuan Wheat (1994-95)
8. 194 - Francisco Garcia (2004-05)
9. 193 - Reece Gaines (2002-03)
10. 188 - Terrence Williams (2006-07)
- Knowles tied a career best with seven assists, a mark he also reached on Dec. 16, 2009, against Oral Roberts. He also collected a steal for the 18th time in his last 19 contests.
- Junior forward Terrence Jennings collected all eight of his points in the first six minutes of the game. It took 11:48 before UConn's point total finally surpassed that of Jennings alone.
- Sophomore Peyton Siva's stuff of Jeremy Lamb's layup try in the first half was his third block against UConn this season (he has five on the year).
- Siva notched a steal for the 24th time in 27 games this season, collecting six. The six-steal game was the second of Siva's career as well as his third with at least five, his seventh with at least four, his 12th with three or more, and his 27th with at least two.
- Five of Siva's steals came in the first half, already the third time this season he has notched five steals in a single half. Siva also achieved the mark in the second half against St. John's (finished with seven) and in the first 20 minutes versus Morgan State (five total).
- The five steals in one half tie for the most by a Louisville player over the last 13 seasons, while the six total steals tie for the 10th most in a game in Cardinal history.
- Siva's two-six steal games this season are the most by a Cardinal since Alvin Sims had three in 1996-97. Siva, Sims, Jason Osborne, Tick Rogers, and Terrence Williams are the only five Cardinals in the last 25 seasons to notch multiple six-steal games in one year.
Six-steal games in a season, since 1986-87
1. 3 - Alvin Sims - 1996-97 (6-6-6)
1. 3 - Tick Rogers - 1995-96 (6-6-10)
3. 2 - Peyton Siva - 2010-11 (7-6)
3. 2 - Terrence Williams - 2008-09 (6-7)
3. 2 - Alvin Sims - 1995-96 (9-7)
3. 2 - Jason Osborne - 1994-95 (6-7)
- Since turning the ball over a career-high eight times at Georgetown, Siva has registered 29 assists with just 10 turnovers. Against UConn, Siva turned the ball over 26 seconds in, but committed just one miscue the remainder of the contest.
- Siva is averaging 17.0 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.5 steals per game against the Huskies this season.
- Junior Kyle Kuric hit 2-of-5 threes against the Huskies and is now 19-for-his-last-34 (.559) from long range.
- Sophomore Mike Marra has now hit his last seven free throws after nailing both of his tries from the stripe on Friday. Junior Chris Smith extended his own streak of consecutive free throws made to 10 (2-for-2 on the night).
- The Cardinals held UConn scoring leader Kemba Walker (23.2 points per game coming in) scoreless for the first 15:45 of Friday's game, Walker's second-longest scoring drought to open a game this season. Walker took longer to get on the scoreboard only at Texas, when he did not score until the 2:32 mark of the first half.
- Walker failed to score within the game's first 10 minutes for just the third time this season (also against Tennessee on Jan. 22).
- Against the Cards this season, Walker is shooting 30.3 percent (10-for-33) from the floor and 23.1 percent (3-for-13) from three.
- The Connecticut freshman trio of Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Roscoe Smith combined for 49 points, 21 rebounds, six assists, and six steals in the two squads' first meeting this season. On Friday night, the three managed only eight points and 11 rebounds, going 2-for-15 (.133) from the floor and 1-for-7 (.143) from three.
