Men's Basketball Embarks on BIG EAST Tournament
March 06, 2012 | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2012
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Louisville Game Notes 
| 2012 BIG EAST Tournament Bracket
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team embarks on the BIG EAST Tournament this week at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., set to face the winner of the Seton Hall/Providence matchup in the second round on Wednesday, March 10. Tip is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN/ESPN3D.
The Cardinals (22-9, 10-8 BIG EAST) earned the No. 7 seed in the tournament, obtaining a first-round bye.
Louisville last played on March 3 at second-ranked Syracuse, falling to the Orange, 58-49. Russ Smith and Chane Behanan each came off the bench to score 10 points, while Behanan also grabbed seven rebounds, five on the offensive end. Gorgui Dieng tallied six points and grabbed 12 rebounds. As a team, Louisville shot just 33.9 percent (21 of 62) from the floor, knocking down only 2-of-23 beyond the arc. Louisville did outscore Syracuse in the paint, 32-18, and won the rebounding battle, 40-32 (18-8 on the offensive end). The Orange, who shot 55 percent in the second half, were led by Brandon Triche's 18 points.
In their last game against Seton Hall, the Cardinals posted a 60-51 road victory on Jan. 28. Russ Smith scored 14 points off the bench, while Chris Smith and Dieng each contributed 11. Dieng also recorded14 rebounds and had five blocks. The Cardinals shot 45.5 percent from the field and held the Pirates to just 27.6 percent shooting. Jordan Theodore had a game-high 18 points.
The only contest between Louisville and Providence this year resulted in a 90-59 Friar victory on Jan. 10. Bryce Cotton and Kadeem Batts had identical 27-point performances in the win. Vincent Council added 15 points and LaDontae Henton chipped in with 14. Louisville was led by Chris Smith, who had 16 points and four assists. The Friars shot 52.8 percent for the game, including a 9-of-15 stint from beyond the arc. Twenty-five of the Friars' points came from the charity stripe.
QUICK NOTES
- The Cardinals have won 23 games at Madison Square Garden, including capturing eight of their last 13 contests.
- This season, Louisville is 18-1 when leading with five minutes remaining in the game (only loss to Notre Dame), 14-0 when scoring at least 70 points and 17-3 when leading at the half.
- Russ Smith has 56 steals over his last 22 games, giving him 69 for the season. Smith, who ranks eighth on the school's single-season steals list, is three short of tying Jason Osborne (1994-95) for seventh and five short of tying Labradford Smith (1989-90) for sixth.
- Kyle Kuric has hit 155 career 3-pointers, pitting him 12th on the school's career list. Kuric needs two 3s to surpass Marques Maybin (156 from 1997-2001) and four to take over 10th (Everick Sullivan, 159 from 1988-92).
GAME FACTS - Louisville vs. Winner of Seton Hall/Providence
Date: Wednesday, March 7
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. (19,786)
TV: ESPN/ESPN3D
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) will broadcast the game on radio, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (color) calling the action.
Series History: Louisville leads the all-time series over Seton Hall, 10-5 (5-1 in Louisville, 5-4 in New Jersey). Louisville holds an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series against Providence (6-0 in Louisville, 4-4 in Providence, 1-2 neutral).
