Men's Basketball Dealt Short Turnaround, Faces Connecticut Monday
January 13, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2013
| No. 3/4 Louisville at Connecticut |
| Date: Monday, Jan. 14 |
| Time: 7 p.m. ET |
| Location: XL Center, Hartford, Conn. |
| Game Notes: Louisville |
| TV: ESPN (WatchESPN) / Sean McDonough (pbp), Bill Raftery (analyst), Jay Bilas (analyst) |
| Radio: WKRD 790 (joined in progress on WHAS 840) | Listen Here | SIRIUS 91, XM 91 |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team had little time to enjoy its win over USF Saturday night, as the Cardinals quickly turned their attention to Monday's game at Connecticut in the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
Tip is set for 7 p.m., and the ESPN Big Monday game will be called by Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Jay Bilas (analyst). WKRD 790 AM will have the game on radio (joined in progress on WHAS 840 AM), with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) broadcasting the contest.
The No. 3/4-ranked Cardinals rolled past the Bulls on Saturday, 64-38, to earn their third 15-1 start under head coach Rick Pitino. USF's 38 points tied a season low for a Louisville opponent this year, matching the 38 scored by College of Charleston earlier this year. USF, which shot 38.3 percent from the field, including just 3-of-18 from 3-point range, was held to 15 first-half points. Louisville won the rebounding battle, 49-24, the lowest rebounding total by an opponent this season.
Peyton Siva led all scorers with 17 points in the win, eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau for his career and giving Louisville its 64th 1,000-point scorer all-time. That total ranks second only to North Carolina, which boasts 67 in that category. Gorgui Dieng recorded his fourth double-double of the season, with 12 points and 16 rebounds, seven on the offensive end. Chane Behanan came off the bench to and scored seven points and collected 12 rebounds.
The Cardinals (15-1, 3-0 BIG EAST) have maintained their top-five national rankings in turnover margin (No. 2 at +7.8) and steals per game (No. 3 at 11.5 per game). Louisville is listed at No. 6 in scoring margin (+20.8), while also boasting the 22nd-best scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to less than 57 points per game. In the Cardinals' 16 games this season, only six opponents have reached the 60-point plateau.
Much like Louisville, Connecticut also will be facing a short turnaround.
“They (Connecticut) have the same thing,” Pitino said of Connecticut's second game in three days. “It's only a hindrance when the other team doesn't do it and that's not the case. They're a great ball club. Obviously, they snapped the long winning streak of Notre Dame at home. They've got arguably one of the best backcourts in the nation (Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright).
“They are a terrific team. I'm really happy for them because I love their coach. He is a class young man and I knew he would do a great job. More so than any other person I've encountered in my life, I knew he would be a great coach.”
Connecticut (12-3, 2-1) outscored Notre Dame 7-0 in the final minute of play to beat the Fighting Irish 65-58 on Saturday and snap the Fighting Irish's 17-game home winning streak. As a team, the Huskies shot 50.9 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle, 34-28. Shabazz Napier had a game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the win. Tyler Olander chipped in 16 points, and Ryan Boatright tallied 14.
The Huskies are under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Ollie, who became the first head coach at Connecticut in 26 years following the retirement of Jim Calhoun. Connecticut was picked to finish ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, and Napier was tabbed a preseason all-conference second team pick. Napier is averaging a team-best 17.5 points per game and ranks 33rd nationally in steals per game.
GAME FACTS - Louisville at Connecticut
Date: Monday, Jan. 14
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: XL Center, Hartford, Conn. (16,294)
TV: ESPN will broadcast the game, with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst) and Jay Bilas (analyst) calling the action.
Radio: The game is available on WKRD 790 AM (joined in progress on WHAS 840 AM), with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) calling the game. Also, BIG EAST IMG Radio will carry the action, with Brock Bowling (play-by-play) and John Celestand (analyst) on the call.
SIRUS: The game will be available on SIRUS channel 91 and XM channel 91.
Series History: Louisville leads the all-time series, 7-6 (4-2 in Louisville, 3-2 in Connecticut, 0-2 neutral).
Officials: Karl Hess, Pat Driscoll, Doug Shows
Next U of L Game: Saturday, Jan. 19 vs. Syracuse, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky., 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
