November 22, 2012

Matt Willinger
CardinalSports.com

Northern Iowa vs. Louisville Thursday, Nov. 22 9:30 p.m. ET Imperial Arena (4,500), Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas Television: NBC Sports Network Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Louisville plays its first game of the year away from the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals travel to Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas as the Cardinals face the Northern Iowa Panthers on Thanksgiving night. It is the first game in the prestigious Battle 4 Atlantis, which includes four teams currently ranked in the nation's top 25 and two others receiving votes. Louisville improved to 3-0 with an 80-39 victory over Miami (Ohio) last Sunday as the Cardinals buried a season-best 12-of-26 three-point goals. Northern Iowa, which posted a 20-13 record last season, stands at 3-0 after trouncing North Dakota 72-47 in its last outing on Saturday. Northern Iowa (3-0) No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Pts. Rb. 10 Seth Tuttle F 6-8 221 So. 12.0 7.0 20 Jake Koch F 6-9 255 Sr. 11.9 9.7 1 Deon Mitchell G 6-1 203 So. 17.7 2.0 5 Matt Bohannon G 6-4 210 Fr. 9.7 4.3 23/td> Marc Sonnen G 6-3 190 Sr. 7.7 2.0 RESERVES: Chip Rank, F, 6-6, Jr.; Wes Washpun, G, 6-1, So.; Marvin Singleton, F, 6-6, So.; Nate Buss, F, 6-9, So.; Matt Morrison, G, 6-0, Jr.; Max Martino, G, 6-5, So.; Chris Olivier, F, 6-8, Fr.; Matt MacDougall, G, 6-4, Fr.; Austin Pehl, C, 6-10, Sr.; Tyler Lange, F, 6-6, Jr.; Anthony James, G, 6-0, Sr. HEAD COACH: Ben Jacobson (North Dakota '94) 132-70 in 7th year at Northern Iowa and overall. University of Louisville (3-0) No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Pts. Rb. 20 Chane Behanan F 6-6 250 So. 9.0 11.3 21 Wayne Blackshear F 6-5 230 So. 10.7 4.7 10 Gorgui Dieng C 6-11 245 Jr. 10.0 8.3 2 Russ Smith G 6-0 165 Jr. 21.3 0.3 2 Peyton Siva G 6-0 185 Sr. 7.7 1.3 RESERVES: Kevin Ware, G, 6-5, Fr.; Angel Nunez, F, 6-7, Fr.; Russ Smith, G, 6-0, So.; Zach Price, C, 6-10, Fr.; Tim Henderson, G, 6-2, So.; Jared Swopshire, F, 6-8, Jr.; Elisha Justice, G, 5-10, So.; Wayne Blackshear, G/F, 6-5, Fr. HEAD COACH: Rick Pitino (Massachusetts '74) 278-106 in 12th season at UofL and 632-234 in 28th season as collegiate coach. About Northern Iowa Louisville plays its first game of the year away from the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals travel to Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas as the Cardinals face the Northern Iowa Panthers on Thanksgiving night. It is the first game in the prestigious Battle 4 Atlantis, which includes four teams currently ranked in the nation's top 25 and two others among those receiving votes. Northern Iowa returns four starters from its successful 20-14 team a year ago. The Panthers stand at 3-0 after trouncing North Dakota 72-47 in its last outing on Saturday. Louisville was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1964-75, winning or sharing the league title six years (1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974 and 1975). The Cardinals are 89-39 all-time against current schools in the MVC, having faced all of its 10 league members except Northern Iowa (Bradley 27-9, Creighton 1-2, Drake 19-7, Evansville 12-13, Illinois State 1-0, Indiana State 6-1, Missouri State 1-0, Southern Illinois 3-2, Wichita State 19-5). Louisville last faced a MVC team when the Cards beat Indiana State 83-43 early in the 2008-09 season (12-1-08). The Cardinals will play MVC member Illinois State following the Battle 4 Atlantis on Dec. 1 in the KFC Yum! Center. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Northern Iowa is the alma mater of Creighton men's basketball coach Greg McDermott, Missouri State head football coach Terry Allen (which the Cardinals faced this season), two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner and former Entertainment Tonight co-host Mark Steines. It is the first time the Cardinals have faced a Northern Iowa team. Thieving Cardinals Louisville's defense picked up where it left off with last season's stellar effort as the Cardinals have forced 67 turnovers in its first three games. Manhattan's 27 turnovers were the most for a Louisville opponent since Morehead State had 30 errors on Dec. 27, 2004. The Cardinals collected 16 steals, including five by Russ Smith, and had 11 steals vs. Samford. UofL had double-digit steals on 16 occasions last season and Smith had three or more steals in 14 games in 2011-12 when he produced a UofL single-season record 87 steals. Luke Hancock added four steals and Chane Behanan had three thefts against Manhattan, while Peyton Siva, Gorgui Dieng and Russ Smith gathered three steals each against Samford. Siva added four steals vs. Miami. The Cardinals have scored 84 of its 239 points off turnovers (35 percent). UofL limited Samford to just 13 points in the first half, the lowest since Arkansas State scored 12 in the first half of a 54-27 victory last season on Nov. 22, 2011. By the Numbers 14- Career-high points and rebounds (6) for Wayne Blackshear vs. Miami (Ohio). His 32 points this year are 5 short of his freshman year total. 3- Schools with each of its football and men's and women's basketball teams in the top 25 in the AP poll. UofL (MBB 2, WBB 7, FB 19), UCLA and Oklahoma St. are the only three. 13- Career double-doubles for Gorgui Dieng after his performance against Samford: 10 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. 67- Turnovers forced by UofL in its first three games, scoring 84 of its 239 points off turnovers (35 percent). Manhattan's 27 turnovers were the most for a UofL foe in 8 years. 20- Number of games this season that the Cardinals will play against teams that reached postseason competition in 2012, including at least 13 in the NCAA Tournament. 153- Points needed by Peyton Siva to reach 1,000 for his career. UofL has 63 1,000 point scorers, second highest in the nation to North Carolina. He has matched a career high of 10 assists twice in three games this season and has eight steals this year. 9- Division I schools in the nation, including Louisville, which have won 20 or more games in each of the past 10 seasons. Kansas tops the list with a current string of 23 consecutive years, followed by Duke (16), Gonzaga (15), Syracuse (15), Florida (14), Texas (13), Utah St. (13), Pittsburgh (11) and UofL (10) High Production Returns While the Cardinals will miss departed starters F Kyle Kuric (12.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 76 three pointers) and G Chris Smith (9.7 ppg, 67 threes), a large percentage of their total production will return. Louisville returns 61 percent of its scoring from the 2011-12 squad (1663 of 2727 points), 63 percent of its rebounding (958 of 1512), 70 percent of its assists (370 of 532) and 60 percent of the total minutes played (4825 of 8100). Louisville returns 10 lettermen and three starters. All-America Siva Louisville senior guard Peyton Siva was named to the AllAmerica team by 2012-13 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Siva joins Indiana's Cody Zeller, Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas, Florida State's Michael Snaer and Creighton's Doug McDermott on the publication's All-America first team. All five grace the cover of this year's Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Siva is also a third-team All-America selection by The Sporting News. Cardinals Reach Ninth Final Four Louisville advanced to its ninth NCAA Final Four and its first since 2005. Only four coaches have coached more Final Four teams than Pitino's six, a feat matched by three others. Pitino is the first coach to lead three different teams to the Final Four. Louisville's NCAA Final Four teams: 1959, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 2005, 2012. UofL advanced to its 1986 NCAA Championship by way of the West Region, reached its 2005 Final Four through the West, and has a collective 14-5 record in that region. The Cards have reached the Sweet 16 on 18 occasions and have advanced to the Elite Eight three of the last five years. Cards Have Seven Ranked Teams Louisville, UCLA and Oklahoma State are the only schools in the nation with their football and men's and women's basketball teams all currently ranked among the nation's AP top 25 (MBB 2, WBB 7, FB 19; UCLA rankings: MBB 11, WBB 19, FB 15; Oklahoma St. rankings: MBB 20, WBB 21, FB 22). In addition, the Cardinals' women's volleyball team is ranked 10th in the AVCA poll, men's soccer team is 12th in the NSCAA rankings and UofL men's (12) and women's (16) swimming and diving teams are both ranked in the CSCAA poll to give the Cardinals seven currently nationally ranked teams Highest Preseason Ranking Louisville's No. 2 preseason AP ranking matches its highest ever, also achieved prior to the 1986-87 season. That year also marked the highest the Cardinals have been ranked in the preseason coac hes' poll, when UofL was tabbed No. 1 in the 1986-87 UPI coaches poll. The Cardinals have been ranked the No. 1 team in the nation on two other occasions: in the ESPN/USA Today poll on March 15, 2009, and in the final the Associated Press poll that same 2008-09 season. Cards Lead in BIG EAST Wins Since the 2005-06 season when the Cardinals joined the BIG EAST, Louisville leads in league victories with an 81-41 mark during the regular season, just ahead of Pittsburgh (80-42). Louisville is also the sole leader in league victories over the last six years with a 75-31 record. ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial

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