Cards Will Face Memphis in Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout
June 01, 2011 | Men's Basketball
June 1, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that it has formed a partnership with the University of Louisville to host the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. ET. U of L will renew a longtime rivalry with the University of Memphis with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the non-profit Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
The men's basketball game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports. This will be first of two games between the two schools with the return game being held in the 2012-13 season at Memphis.
"The Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout will be an incredible platform for our organization with two very high-profile basketball programs battling on national television," said John L. Doleva, President & CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "We would like to thank Louisville and Memphis, as well as their fans, for supporting the Basketball Hall of Fame."
Both basketball programs have been projected as early top 20 teams for the 2011-12 NCAA Men's Basketball season. Louisville returns 10 lettermen from its 25-10 BIG EAST Conference Championship runner-up team, led by point guard Peyton Siva and forward Kyle Kuric, with freshmen Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan expected to be key contributors. Memphis, which finished the 2010-11 campaign with a 25-10 record and the Conference USA Tournament title, returns the dynamic backcourt of Will Barton and Joe Jackson and nearly all of its roster while adding impressive newcomers Adonis Thomas and Stan Simpson.
"Memphis and Louisville have a storied rivalry and a long tradition of competitive games," said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. "We're excited to have them back on our schedule. With the addition of Memphis and such opponents as Vanderbilt, Butler, Kentucky and Western Kentucky, this will be a tremendous non-conference schedule. Combined with our BIG EAST Conference games, this will be one of the toughest schedules we have faced."
"Since I got this job two years ago, our fans have talked to me on numerous occasions about the Memphis-Louisville rivalry, and how much they want to renew the series," said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. "This is a great rivalry not only for the schools and their fans, but it's also one of college basketball's top rivalries. I have a tremendous respect for Coach Pitino and what he has done throughout his career and at Louisville. We are looking forward to an exciting and hard-fought game with the Cardinals."
The game will mark the 86th meeting between the two teams and the first since 2005 when both schools were members of Conference USA. The schools have also previously shared league memberships in the Missouri Valley Conference and Metro Conference. Louisville has a 51-34 series advantage.
The University of Louisville will manage the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout this upcoming December. Tickets will be handled by Louisville as they would for any other men's basketball home game and the game will be a part of the Cardinals' season ticket package.
The significant contribution from this game will help the Basketball Hall of Fame in its on-going efforts to preserve and promote the game at all levels.
