Maalik Wayns Named to Wooden Award Watch List

The Bob Cousy Award
The Villanova Athletic Department and the Los Angeles Athletic Club made simultaneous announcements this afternoon that junior point guard Maalik Wayns had been named to the 2011 Preseason Wooden Award Watch List. Maalik follows in the footsteps of Corey Fisher, Scottie Reynolds and Randy Foye, Villanova guards who have been named to the Watch List in previous preseasons. A total of 10 players (two each from Connecticut and Syracuse) were named to the list released earlier this afternoon. They include...

Player	Pos	Class	School
Jeremy Lamb	F	So	Connecticut
Alex Oriakhi	F/C	Jr	Connecticut
Peyton Siva	PG	Jr	Louisville
Darius Johnson-Odom	G	Sr	Marquette
Tim Abromaitis	F	GS	Notre Dame
Ashton Gibbs	PG	Sr	Pittsburgh
Scoop Jardine	G	Sr	Syracuse
Kris Joseph	F	Jr	Syracuse
Maalik Wayns	PG	Sr	Villanova
Kevin Jones	F	Sr	West Virginia

The Big East contingent is, as usual, contains a large portion of senior & 5th year nominees. Abromaitis, along with DJO, Gibbs, Jardine, Jones, Siva and Joseph have all been named to conference teams (or honorable mentions) in 2011. Jeremy Lamb, named to the conference Rookie Team, played on the U19 team that competed for the U19 World Championship last summer in Latvia.

Other Nominees of Interest
From the Atlantic-10 Conference, Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure) and Tu Holloway (Xavier) were also recognized.

Congratulations Maalik
& all of the nominees

On Second Thought -- Plotting Trendlines for Big East Teams (pt 3)

Are Slumps Inevitable?
While even Top 5/10 teams seem to hit a point in the season where their performance seems to be below their usual level, will that slump produce a noticible "dip" in their offensive efficiency or a "rise" in their defensive efficiency (signs of a regession in their efficiency)? For Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, the answer in 2011 remarkably was no...neither appeared to register a detectable (per a third order polynomial trendline) regression in their efficiencies. The key is that while each lost multiple games (seven between in total between them), only Notre Dame managed to lose two consecutive games -- to Marquette (79-57) on 1/10 and to St. John's (72-54) on 1/16. Those two, double-digit losses account for neither lost The conference standings/seeds for the Big East Tournament:

	W	L	Pct.
Pittsburgh	15	3	0.833
Notre Dame	14	4	0.776
Syracuse	12	6	0.667
Louisville	12	6	0.667
St. John's	12	6	0.667
Cincinnati	11	7	0.611
West Virginia	11	7	0.611
Georgetown	10	8	0.556
Connecticut	9	9	0.500
Villanova	9	9	0.500
Marquette	9	9	0.500
Seton Hall	7	11	0.389
Rutgers	5	13	0.278
Providence	4	14	0.222
South Florida	3	15	0.167
DePaul	1	17	0.056

(3T #4) Louisville

They worked though the slump early...

The roster Coach Rick Pitino started the 2011 season with could not have been the one he envisioned the preceding April/May. If the Cardinals struggled with an uncertain roster and freshmen playing crucial roles in the offense, the offensive surge through the last half of conference play, coupled with the nearly season-long improvement in defense suggested they were poised for another deep post season run. Louisville finished with a 12-6 conference record and a bye seed. They used the bye to run to the BET Championship Game, losing by three, 69-66, to Connecticut. Their opening round loss to Morehead State, 62-61, six days later was shock and had to be, to the Cardinal Nation, an especially disappointing end to their season. Attributing that faltering finish to Rakeem Buckles' season-ending ACL injury in the Pittsburgh game (#16 on the chart above) maybe be tempting, but inconsistent offensive production from Peyton Siva, Preston Knowles and Kyle Kuric (those three combined for 21 points on 7-23 shooting in Louisville's loss to Morehead State) and freshmen "burnout" of Gorgui Dieng, coupled with season-long uneven contributions from the front court returning contingent is probably a more accurate assessment.

(2 #2) Notre Dame

The offense steadily improved?!

Though the Irish lost four conference games, including three (to Syracuse and two in a row to Marquette and St. John's) in the first third of the season, they were one of two teams -- conference regular season champion Pittsburgh was the other -- whose offensive efficiency trendline never dipped below their defensive efficiency trendline. Despite the three early losses (double-digits, all three) Notre Dame's offensive efficiency improved at a rate sufficient (and a glance at the trendline suggests a constant rate as well) to keep their offensive trendline above their (at that point...) regressing defensive trendline. That offensive caught my eye because it appears to be a nearly continuous rate of improvement (a kind of season-long opposite of Villanova's season-long offensive decline) through the entire conference season. The range of improvement is truly unusual, rising from a 101/102 range at the start of the conference season to finish above 120 (122/123?) by the end. And that rate was adjusted for the competition. If Coach Mike Brey's offensive efficiency is impressive, the rising defensive efficiency through the last third of the conference season may well have provided a hint of the problems that ended Notre Dame's season. Drawing a #2 seed in the Big East Tournament, the Irish could not stop Louisville in the semi-finals, falling by six points after an overtime period on Friday night. A #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament should have given them an easier path to the Swee Sixteen, but a cold shooting night versus Florida State (coupled with an 114.2 defensive efficiency in that 62 possession game...) 71-56, in the second round.

(1 #1) Pittsburgh

The gap between defensive efficiency and offensive efficiency was promising...

Coach Jamie Dixon's squad also registered an offensive trendline that stayed above the defensive trendline all season long, despite losing three games on their way to a #1 seed in the Big East Tournament. Strong, consistent defense managed to help the Panthers weather a mid season offensive slump that bottomed out with Ashton Gibb's injury (and absence through games #11 through #13). Talib Zanna's season-ending injury (he missed the last four games of the regular season and Pittsburgh's three post season games) was not the cause of Pittsburgh's early exit from the BET and NCAAs, but for a squad that played the maximum 31 games in the regular season, Zanna's 10+ minutes in the rotation were crucial to keep McGhee and Robinson fresh. With a combination of experienced players and a deep squad, this was the season seemed to favor Pittsburgh taking a deep NCAA run, with the Final Four a realistic possibility. The Panthers earned a #1 seed (West Region), but ran into a hot Butler squad in the second round, and suffered a one point loss, 71-70, in the second round.

(3T #5) St. John's

The double intersection...but in the wrong direction

Unlike Connecticut, Coach Steve Lavin's Johnnies' "double helix" trendline was curved in the wrong directions through the season. Stumbling into the Big East season with several unexpected out of conference losses, the veteran St. John's squad appeared to "get it" after hitting the bottom in the first half of the conference season (they were 4-5 through the first nine conference games). A strong run through the second half of the conference slate (a single loss Seton Hall in game #17 capped an 8-1 run through the last nine conference games). Though DJ Kennedy had not yet ended his career with an injury, the Johnnies were already showing signs of a late season slump. Dwight Hardy, a wing complement to Kennedy, was already having problems scoring efficiently, relying more on volume shooting to meet his quota for points in the St. John's system. Kennedy's injury hastened the Red Storm's exit from the Big East Tournament (a semi-final loss to Syracuse after eliminating Rutgers in the quarter-final round), and set the stage for a bookend loss to a West Coast Conference team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. St. John's opened the early season ESPN-sponsored television marathon in November with a televised loss Gonzaga's conference mate, St. Mary's.

(3T #3) Syracuse

Evidence of a mid-season slump...

Few expected the Orange to have a season like 2010, but Coach Beoheim's squad managed to exceed the consensus predictions for their conference record. After a solid 12-6 conference record and pull down a double-bye (a #3 seed) for the Big East Tournament. Having weathered a mid-season slump (their record in games #6 through #14 was 3-6), the Orange seemed to be poised for a deep post season run in the Big East Tournament, if not the NCAAs. Syracuse was eliminated in the semi-final round at Madison Square Garden by a streaking Connecticut team (76-71). The Selection Committee did them no favors in the NCAAs when they matched them with conference mate Marquette in the second round. Despite being favored, the Orange lost by four to Buzz Williams' Golden Eagles, 66-62.

Louisville Post Game: Rebounds

Ranked Teams, Part 2
#18 Louisville was the second consecutive Top 25 ranked opponent to visit Villanova this week and the third this season. Unlike Temple and Cincinnati, Villanova hosted the 'Ville at the Wells Fargo Center, the Wildcats' home away from home, in Philadelphia. A Different location but same result, as Villanova won going away 88-74 before nearly 13,200 fans who braved the bone chilling 20 degree temperatures and mid-week work schedule to catch the game.

Freshman Gorgui Dieng won the opening tip, and that was the last contested ball versus Villanova's sophomore center Mouphtaou Yarou, that the freshman won. Though it took a half to bring the Louisville back court under control -- collectively Peyton Siva, (especially both) Chris Smith and Preston Knowles torched the 'Cats for 36 of Louisville's points on 14-26 (8-12 3FGs, 6-10 2FGS) shooting in the first half -- Villanova began to connect consistently from the outside during the second half, which in turn opened up low post where Yarou and senior Antonio Pena delivered a series of body blows in the form of dunks from entry passes and put backs from offensive rebounds. Villanova's diversified offensive approach helped to build a double digit lead the Cardinals could only nibble at, but not erase.

The Nova Blog posted their recap -- "post game: Villanova 88 vs. Louisville 74", while VUHoops.com recapped the game with player stats, a poll for player grades and a Live Blog. From the other side of the ball, Card Chronicle has a post/recap with a red perspective. From the ink media, Louisville beat writer, Rick Bozich, posted a game recap with a Cardinal perspective. The Athletic Department website posted the official boxscore and the AP wire story, "Wildcats Rip Off Another Win...", led off with the balanced, inside - outside attack Villanova used to break down Louisville. The breakdown by halves...

Opponent:			University of Louisville
	1st	2nd	Game
Pace	37.4	35.8	73.1
	Offense				Defense
	1st	2nd	Game		1st	2nd	Game
Rating	112.4	128.7	120.3		109.7	92.3	101.2
eFG%	55.0	66.1	60.3		64.5	45.2	54.8
TORate	29.4	19.6	24.6		24.1	19.6	21.9
OR%	50.0	40.0	45.2		20.0	25.0	22.9
FTA/FGA	30.0	50.0	39.7		3.2	19.4	11.3
FTM/FGA	30.0	32.1	31.0		3.2	16.1	9.7
ARate	57.1	70.6	64.5		68.8	58.3	64.3
Blk%	6.7	7.1	6.9		3.2	0.0	1.6
Stl%	16.1	14.0	15.1		16.0	13.9	15.0
PPWS	1.23	1.33	1.28		1.30	0.97	1.13
2FG%	40.9	60.9	51.1		50.0	38.1	43.2
3FG%	62.5	60.0	61.5		53.3	40.0	48.0
FT%	100.0	64.3	78.3		100.0	83.3	85.7
%2FG	42.9	60.9	52.3		39.0	48.5	43.2
%3FG	35.7	19.6	27.3		58.5	36.4	48.6
%FT	21.4	19.6	20.5		2.4	15.2	8.1

Green highlighting identifies the good elements of Villanova's game yesterday, while red highlighting identifies elements the are below the levels the team has played to to date. Pace was slightly (one possession) higher than projected by Ken Pomeroy, and the margin was higher, but within each team's comfort zone...

Note the yellow highlighted (in table above) scoring distribution for Louisville. Hitting 50% of their 2s and 53% of their 3s the Cardinals got most of their points (58%) from beyond the arc but scored a point less than Villanova in the first half. When the Cards cooled off, hit only 40% of their 3s (still a very strong number) and 38.1% of their 2s, the point distribution shifted (note the yellow highlight under the 2nd half), and the Cardinals were outscored by 13. Rebounding was the difference.

Three Things Villanova Fans Are Smiling About Today...
1. Did I mention rebounding? -- This was a crucial element for the win over Louisville. Normally the Wildcats dominate. In this matchup Pomeroy's gameplan suggested it would be key to beating Louisville. And three Wildcats -- Yarou (11), Corey Fisher (8 -- not a typo, it was Fish) and Isaiah Armwood (7) -- worked to insure that if the Cardinals missed they would not get a second chance. Those three combined to outrebound the Louisville squad.
2. Shot and scoring distribution -- Four designated front court players, James Bell, Isaiah Armwood, Antonio Pena and Mouphtaou Yarou (and Maurice Sutton who logged no minutes in this game) took about 95% of the allocated "front court" minutes and 41.4% of the available shots. That is 41% of the shots allocated to 40% of the minutes. In reality, the four front court players logged 95% of the available time (the staff was running a bit of four guard again...), so the time/shot allocation was very close, which suggests a close-to-even distribution of the offense between the front and back court players. Four Villanova players scored double digit point, led by senior wing Corey Stokes whose 23 points came on a very efficient 5-9 shooting from the field and 9-9 from the line. Stokes' eFG% was 77.8% and measured with his free throws, his PPWS, 1.73 suggests he did more than run off screens in a catch and shoot system, but also took it to the rim when the opportunities presented. The shooting/scoring balance was evident in the second half when on more than a few possessions, Louisville left the low post naked and Nova bigs Armwood and Yarou were able to score virtually uncontested when the guards hit them with entry passes.
3. Louisville turnovers -- The first half pace was pretty frenetic, had 37.4 held for the second half, the two teams would have had 74 possessions apiece. As it was it "settled" down to about 73 possessions. While "shootout" might be the best adjective to describe that half ("They sliced us..." -- Coach Wright on the Cardinal 1st half attack), the Wildcats did force a 24% turnover rate on the Cardinals, higher than their season-long 19% rate. The 'Cats lost an appalling 29.4% of their possessions in that half, they did manage to keep the Cards' turnover rate above their season-long rate for the second half as well.

Three Grains of Salt...
1. Are We There Yet? -- when reminded for the 4th consecutive post game presser that he had said the team was "not yet" playing like a top 10 team (overrated...), and then prompted to assess the progress, Villanova's Coach opined that the team "...can better -- and I mean that in a good way...". He liked much of what he saw and thought they played . Coach Pitino characterized Villanova as "one of the better teams" in the country.
2. The Louisville Front Court is...not good. Accolades to the Villanova front court should be tempered with the reality that the Cardinals' front court is largely a patchwork of bigs whose best days lie either before or behind them, anytime but the present. Pitino used George Goode and Terrence Jennings in a rotation with starters Gorgui Dieng and Stephan Van Tresse, the four played 74 of the 80 front court minutes, scoring 13 points (collectively) on 5-13 shooting from the field and 3-3 from the line. They collected 11 (6-5-11) rebounds, three assists, five turnovers, four blocks and five steals. Injuries to Rakeem Buckles and Jarred Swopshire, coupled with late clearance of Dieng, left the door wide open for Jennings and Goode, yet Pitino passed over the juniors to tab the sophomore rotation player and the late-arriving freshman. Coach Pitino's reputation for candor (and a history of laying into underperforming members of his squad) seemed at odds with his response to a question about his front court's inexperience -- "I don't think that's the problem...we are a good team...that ran into one of the better teams in the country". The Louisville mentor seemed to reach for the carrot rather than the stick as the motivator for this front court contingent. Villanova's good showing was very encouragining, but Louisville's contingent is not comparable to the front courts of Rutgers, USF or Cincinnati. Or some of those they will face going forward -- Pitt, Syracuse, Connecticut or St. John's for example.
3. Corey Stokes strained his left hamstring in Sunday's game against Cincinnati. He received treatment and has continued to play. Hopefully Villanova's leading scorer who has emerged as one of the senior leaders the staff has relied on heavily this season will have time going forward for it to heal completely.

Records...
Villanova runs its record to 15-1, 4-0 in conference play. Louisville's record is 13-3 overall, and 2-1 in conference play.

Preview 2009-10 -- Louisville Cardinals

Too Busy for the Details?
Steady or down? Losing both Terrence Williams and Earl Clark in one NBA draft is a blow no matter how much talent the roster boasts. Coach Pitino returns a talented (if headstrong and inconsistent) point guard and center (more consistent and amenable to coaching), along with veteran wings. The cupboard is not exactly bare, but important parts of the offense have to be replaced, and someone has to step up. Another talented class is coming in and should be able to contribute early and often. If the Cardinals will be able to concentrate on basketball this season, all should be go well. Maybe. Prognosis -- A 1st quartile finish.

3 Years At a Glance
Coach Pitino has had the Cardinals operating at a very high level over the past 3 seasons. This is the lowest starting point since 2006, their first season in the Big East, the year after their last Final Four run.

	Returning...
	2010	2009	2008
%Min	54.8	73.8	82.4
%Pts	55.2	69.6	89.4
%FGM	55.0	67.8	90.3
%3FGM	51.5	93.4	86.4
%OReb	60.0	55.3	93.0
%DReb	38.7	71.3	86.8
%TReb	45.5	66.5	89.0

It is tempting to conclude the Cardinals will struggle next season, just as they did in 2006, but consider that 2006 squad suffered injuries to David Padgett and Juan Palacios just before the beginning of fall practice. Both were hobbled and marginally effective through much of the season (Padgett took surgery in February, virtually conceding the season was a washout).

	According to Pomeroy...
	2008-09		2007-08		2006-07
	#	Rank	#	Rank	#	Rank
Overall ORtg	113.4	31	115.2	32	116.0	29
Overall DRtg	84.2	2	84.1	5	88.4	16
Big East ORtg	106.3	7	105.9	6	107.0	2
Big East DRtg	92.4	1	91.4	1	94.7	2
Four Factors -- Overall
All Off. eFG%	52.7	49	53.1	45	49.9	176
All Off. TOv%	19.7	138	20.2	126	19.2	66
All Off. OReb%	34.6	102	33.5	145	37.1	53
All Off. FTA/FGA	31.4	294	36.5	175	37.2	150
All Def. eFG%	44.3	12	44.0	7	45.5	23
All Def. TOv%	23.0	43	21.2	155	22.5	86
All Def. OReb%	31.7	124	30.6	79	33.8	185
All Def. FTA/FGA	30.2	40	33.4	105	45.5	302
Four Factors -- Big East
BE Off. eFG%	52.9	3	52.7	1	50.2	7
BE Off. TOv%	19.7	12	18.9	8	16.4	2
BE Off. OReb%	33.8	10	30.2	15	33.0	8
BE Off. FTA/FGA	31.2	9	38.2	6	22.1	11
BE Def. eFG%	44.8	2	44.3	2	46.3	4
BE Def. TOv%	21.8	1	20.5	5	22.4	1
BE Def. OReb%	33.7	9	29.1	2	34.9	12
BE Def. FTA/FGA	31.3	6	32.1	6	40.7	13
Miscellanious
All Gms Cons	23.7	300	18.6	104	18.5	84
All Gms Luck	+.061	23	-.065	297	-.054	278

Valuing quick, lighter-weight but athletic, prototypic wing guard-type forwards may be a reason why the Cardinals consistently rank higher in the conference for generating defensive turnovers and shot defense. The preference has it's weaknesses -- ranking in the conference for offensive rebounding, for example, is relatively low. The key to improve an already top of the conference ranking in defense (beyond bringing back long time friend and defensive guru Ralph Willard) may be to improve (even more) an average defensive rebounding rate. And couple that with a better offensive rebounding rate. Samuels and Jennings should have the tools to do that in 2010.

	For the Record...
	2008-09			2007-08			2006-07
	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.
Overall	31	6	0.838	27	9	0.750	24	10	0.706
Big East	16	2	0.889	16	2	0.889	13	3	0.813
Post Season?	NCAA/Rnd 4			NCAA/Rnd 4			NCAA/Rnd 2

The Cardinals have, along with Pitt put together a terrific 3 year run, consistently competing for a bye seed (like Pitt, often the top seed) in the Big East Tournament. The previews are mixed, Jay Bilas sees a second quartile finish. Maybe, but how big a step back?

The Cardinal's Nucleus
Louisville may have lost nearly ½ of their minutes (and points, over ½ of their rebounds, etc.), but they bring back a point guard and their center, two places to start rebuilding.

On Offense
Player	Min%	ORtg	Poss%	Shot%	eFG%	PPWS	OR%	FTR%
Samuels	62.6	107.8	23.5	20.6	57.8	1.21	11.4	58.5
Smith	52.9	118.8	15.8	16.9	63.1	1.28	3.0	33.3
Sosa	49.4	97.5	22.0	21.3	48.1	1.03	1.4	27.7
Knowles	41.7	112.9	16.9	21.0	56.3	1.12	5.3	9.9
Jennings	26.5	111.8	18.0	16.5	59.4	1.17	15.1	51.0
Swopshire	13.5	80.8	18.8	16.9	41.0	0.88	7.8	34.0
Goode	10.8	109.5	13.1	13.1	48.4	1.03	9.8	25.8
Delk	10.3	114.7	14.7	16.8	51.3	1.04	3.7	23.7

Given that senior Jerry Smith has not grown beyond the 3rd/4th option on offense (though flying under the radar, he has been extremely efficient when he does take that shot), it is very unlikely his role, even with the vacuum created by Clark's and William's exits, will expand much this season. Though he logged few minutes, Terrence Jennings' Poss% & Shot%, coupled with his ORtg, suggest a larger role. Even with a little degradation to his shooting/ORtg, Jennings would be on the high side for offensive efficiency (ie he would "pull the offense up"). Swopshire, like Jennings, hovers at the edge of "regular player" status in the offense, but unlike Jennings, has not been able to translate his opportunities efficiently into points.

On Defense
Player	Min%	DR%	Ast%	TO%	Stl%	Blk%
Samardo Samuels	62.6	10.1	7.6	20.9	5.4	1.4
Jerry Smith	52.9	8.0	11.1	16.8	0.4	3.0
Edgar Sosa	49.4	6.2	21.8	23.6	0.4	2.2
Preston Knowles	41.7	8.2	10.8	13.8	0.5	3.3
Terrence Jennings	26.5	11.6	3.8	16.3	13.7	2.3
Jared Swopshire	13.5	15.1	6.0	27.5	1.5	1.7
George Goode	10.8	14.1	7.5	16.4	12.7	2.5
Reginald Delk	10.3	7.8	14.9	10.3	4.0	1.5

Significant Additions
The scouting services really like Peyton Siva, a 5-11 pg out of Seattle, Washington & 6-9, 205 lb Rakeem Buckles, a pf from Florida. Siva is ranked in a few Top 25, while Buckles comes in somewhere between 50 and 100. Siva will be a talent upgrade over departed Andre McGee, a good (not great) pg who took direction well (better than Sosa). Siva will definitely make the practices more intense and push senior Edgar Sosa, a sometime flashy New York City point who has landed in Coach Pitino's dog house a few times in the past 3 seasons, to either get with the program or sit on the bench. Buckles has a power forward's game in a small forward's body and is especially effective in transition. With a good handle and an inclination to take defenders off the dribble, he may remind Louisville fans of Earl Clark. The Cardinals also bring in 6-3 off guard Mike Marra and a 6-9 220 lb power forward, Stephan Van Treese, will add depth.


Explode If...
Despite a "down year piece" by ESPN's Mike Hume (you need a subscription), the Cardinals have enormous depth, particularly on the wing and en the front court. You can't blame Hume, teams that lose two NBA 1st round picks always suffer a hangover season, but how many have returned with as much in the tank at the Cardinals?
1. Coach Rick Pitino identified #4/#5 Terrence Jennings as the one who had to make progress for the Cardinals to succeed. Jennings is a monster offensive rebounder and if he can duplicate the effort under the opponent's basket the Cardinals will move a long way towards replacing Williams' and Clark's defense.
2. Peyton Silva provides good support to a newly focused (and "coachable"?) Edgar Sosa. The Cardinals will not need Sosa's shot as much as his ability to distribute and involve the wings and low post playes in the offense.

Implode If...
The potential for distraction can be measured by the noise surrounding the program. Louisville players have been challenged to focus through player tantrums, injuries and player-staff feuds (all with accompanying commentary by fans...). But the noise generated by the "Karen Sypher Incident" (in addition to the usual drama) may be the loudest in the Pitino Era. With a trial still to come (best case -- have it over and done before the middle of October), the worst days may yet come. Count on the road being brutal this season.
1. The Cards have to replace the defensive rebounding that departed with Clark and Williams. Samuels and Jennings were surprisingly light (defensive) rebounders last season. They will have to improve. A lot -- but others (whoever takes the #3 and #2) should pick up some of that responsibility -- as Williams did -- if Louisville is to maintain their defense.

Crucial Run/Bellweather Games
The Cardinals typically put together a decent, though not killer OOC slate, and this season they will face traditional (but resurgent?) foe Kentucky, SEC middling power Arkansas (Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase on a neutral court in St. Louis, MO), a road trip to Las Vegas to face the Runnin Rebs and a rematch with the Hilltoppers from Western Kentucky. Rebuilding has been the off season theme, but running the table, a possibility, would suggest the Cardinals will again dominate the conference again this season.

The seven conference games that follow Louisville's annual tilt with Kentucky should be interesting. The Cards travel to Providence to take on a rebuilding Friar team, then return home to host St. John's and Villanova. A two game road trip with stops at a possibly down Pittsburgh and resurgant Seton Hall is followed by a three game home-away-home sequence with Cincinnati, West Virginia (don't the 'Eers get all the luck?) and Connecticut. Standing 6-2 or better (the Cards open the season by hosting the Bulls -- a game they will no doubt be favored to win) would be very good news for the Cardinal Nation. 4-4 on the other hand, would suggest Louisville will have a lot of work to do in the latter part of the season.