February 27, 2013

Matt Willinger
CardinalSports.com

Louisville vs. DePaul Wednesday, Feb. 27 9:05 p.m. ET (8:05 pm CT local) Allstate Arena (18,500) Rosemont, Ill. Television: ESPNU Radio: WKRD (790) Game Look Louisville plays its first of two straight on the road as the Cardinals face the DePaul Blue Demons on Wednesday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. Louisville won for the sixth time in seven games and third straight in beating Seton Hall 79-61 as Gorgui Dieng scored a career-high 23 points for the Cardinals. DePaul (11-16, 2-12 BIG EAST Conference) broke a nine-game losing skid in beating Rutgers 75-69 on Feb. 16, but dropped their last two games, including a 69-81 decision to Connecticut at home on Feb. 23. University of Louisville (22-5, 10-4) No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Pts. Rb. 21 Chane Behanan F 6-6 250 So. 11.0 7.4 20 Wayne Blackshear F 6-5 230 So. 8.8 3.5 10 Gorgui Dieng C 6-11 235 Jr. 9.8 10.2 2 Russ Smith G 6-0 165 Jr. 18.4 3.8 2 Peyton Siva G 6-0 185 Sr. 9.9 2.2 RESERVES:Luke Hancock, G, 6-4, Jr.; Montrezl Harrell, F, 6-9, Fr.; Zach Price, C, 6-10, So.; Kevin Ware, G, 6-5, So.; Tim Henderson, G, 6-2, Jr.; Michael Baffour, G, 6-2, Fr.; Stephan Van Treese, C, 6-8, Sr. HEAD COACH: Rick Pitino (Massachusetts '74) 297-111 in 12th season at UofL and 651-239 in 28th season as collegiate coach. DePaul (11-16, 2-12) No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Pts. Rb. 12 Cleveland Melvin F 6-8 208 So. 16.3 7.4 23 Donovan Kirk F 6-9 223 Jr. 7.0 3.9 0 Worrell Clahar G 5-11 186 Sr. 7.2 3.6 20 Brandon Young G 6-3 195 So. 16.5 3.6 32 Charles McKinney G 6-3 183 So. 5.4 2.4 RESERVES: Edwind McGhee, G, 6-3, Jr.; Jodan Price, G/F, 6-7, Fr.; Derrell Robertson Jr., C, 6-10, So.; Cory Dolins, G, 6-0, Fr.; Moses Morgan, F, 6-6, Jr.; Jamee Crockett, G/F, 6-4, So.; Durrell McDonald, G, 6-1, Fr.; Peter Ryckbosch, F, 6-9, Fr.; Stuart Pirri, F, 6-8, Sr.; Montray Clemons, F, 6-7, Fr. HEAD COACH: Oliver Purnell (Old Dominion '75) 30-59 in 3rd yr. at DU; 424-348 in 25th yr. overall Series vs. DePaul U of L holds a 37-21 advantage over DePaul in the series which dates back to 1957. The Cards are 22-2 against the Blue Demons since the two teams have been in the same conference (1995-2005 in Conference USA, 2006-current in the BIG EAST). Louisville has won nine straight. Louisville won both meetings last season. In Allstate Arena, Louisville overcame a 17-point, first-half deficit to prevail 90-82 in overtime (2/12/12). Kyle Kuric scored 26 points and Chris Smith 20 as the Cardinals hit a season-high 12 three-point goals in the game. Charles McKinney had hit a last second layup to send the game into overtime at 77-77 on a pass from Brandon Young. Young totaled 27 points, five assists and four steals to lead the Blue Demons. Russ Smith and Chris Smith scored 25 and 20 points, respectively, as Louisville prevailed 76-59 over DePaul in the KFC Yum! Center (1/14/12). Gorgui Dieng added 13 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Cardinals, which shot 50.9 percent from the field. Brandon Young scored 16 points to lead the Blue Demons, which made 10-of-23 three-point goals in the game. The Blue Demons' last victory in the series came nine years ago in Freedom Hall as Quemont Greer scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead DePaul to a 60-58 victory over Louisville (2/25/04). Greer made 1-of-2 free throws with two seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, then scored five of the Blue Demons' six points in overtime. Francisco Garcia led the Cardinals with 19 points. DePaul beat Louisville 90-89 in double overtime in the NCAA Midwest Region semifinals in Lawrence, Kansas (3-17-78) in their only meeting in NCAA Tournament competition. UofL Coach Rick Pitino has a 12-2 record against DePaul, with all of the meetings occuring while he has been the head coach at Louisville. Both losses were in overtime. Cards By Numbers 2 - Louisville is third nationally in turnover margin (+6.3). The Cards have forced an average of 18.8 turnovers a game, scoring 622 of their 2003 points off turnovers (31%). 2 - Louisville and Notre Dame are the only schools in the nation with each of its football and men's and women's basketball teams in the top 25 in the AP poll. (Louisville rankings: MBB 10, WBB 16, FB 13). 3 - National rank for UofL in steals, averaging 10.7 per game. UofL has collected double digit steals in 20 of its 27 games. Two Cards rank among the national leaders: Russ Smith (2.1/game, 35th nationally) and Peyton Siva (2.1, 42nd). 15 - Points needed by Russ Smith to become the Cardinals' 65th career 1,000 point scorer. Peyton Siva reached that career milestone last month. Louisville's total is second in the nation to North Carolina (67). Smith can become the 37th UofL player to reach that mark in his first three seasons. 23 - Career-high points scored by Gorgui Dieng vs. Seton Hall, adding eight rebounds and three blocked shots. He has blocked a shot in 80 of 89 career games. For league games only, he leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (11.2) and is second in blocks (3.0). 100 - Career starts for Peyton Siva in his last game vs. Seton Hall. Siva is third in the BIG EAST in assists (6.0, 20th nationally) and steals (2.1). His 220 career steals are just 10 short of the UofL record About DePaul Louisville will play its first of two straight on the road and close out the month of February as the Cardinals face the DePaul Blue Demons on Wednesday (Feb. 27, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU). DePaul (11-16, 2-12 BIG EAST Conference) broke a nine-game losing skid in beating Rutgers 75-69 on Feb. 16, but dropped their last two including a 69-81 decision to Connecticut at home on Feb. 23. Three of its last seven losses have come in overtime. Brandon Young (16.5 ppg, 7th in BIG EAST) and Cleveland Melvin (16.3 ppg, 8th) are the top scoring duo on one team in the BIG EAST. The Blue Demons are third in the league in steals, averaging 8.4 per game (37th in the nation). DePaul is No. 182 in the ratings percentage index and No. 135 in the Sagarin Ratings through games of Feb. 24. Louisville has an 37-21 series advantage over DePaul, winning the last nine matchups. UofL prevailed in both matchups last season: 76-59 in Louisville (1/14/12) and 90-82 in overtime at DePaul (2/18/12). 22-5 Start For Cards Louisville's 22-5 record marks the fifth time the Cardinals have won at least 22 of their first 27 games under UofL Coach Rick Pitino, with the best start in the 2004-05 season when U of L started 23-4. All four of Pitino's previous four UofL teams that also started with at least a 21-6 record reached the Elite Eight and two were Final Four teams. The Cardinals were also 21-6 through 27 games last season. This season, UofL began 5-0 for the third consecutive year, the first time it has had three straight 5-0 starts since the 1949-52 seasons when the Cardinals won their first five in each of those years. UofL won its first 11 games last season and its initial eight games in 2010-11. Louisville's earlier three-game skid was the first time it lost three straight since Jan. 11-21, 2010. Louisville has lost back-to-back games just 10 times over the last five seasons Career Milestones Peyton Siva moved up to second in career assists at UofL with four at Connecticut (612 total now) and is 101 behind all-time leader LaBradford Smith (1987-91, 713 assists). Siva is just the fourth player in Uof L history with 500 career assists and became just the second with 600 when he handed out six against St. John's. Siva's 211 assists in 2011-12 were the second most ever in a UofL single season and his 163 this year already rank seventh. With two steals against Seton Hall, Siva moved up to third in career steals (220 now) and is just 10 short of the career record of 230 by Darrell Griffith. Siva's 17 points vs. USF made him the 64th 1,000 point scorer for UofL (1,081 now, No. 54 at UofL). Russ Smith has 157 steals for his career. His 87 steals last season set a new UofL record and his 57 this year is 10 short of the top 10. Smith is 15 points short of 1,000 career points. Gorgui Dieng needs five rebounds for 700 in his career. He passed 700 career points at USF. Dieng blocked his 200th career shot against Providence when he had four rejections. Chane Behanan needs 34 points for 700 in his career; and needs nine rebounds for 500. Cards Lead in BIG EAST Wins Louisville is tied for the most BIG EAST Conference victories over the last seven years during the regular season, since the 2005-06 season when the Cardinals first joined the BIG EAST. Louisville has a 91-45 BIG EAST record, tied with Syracuse (91-44) in league victories during the regular season, with both schools ahead of next-in-line Pittsburgh (89-48). UofL has won or finished second in the BIG EAST on three occasions. Fab February, Free Throws UofL has a 35-9 record (.795) during the month of February over the last six years, dating back to the 2007-08 season (5-1 this season, 5-2 each of the last two years) ... Russ Smith made all 10 of his free throws against Seton Hall last Saturday, giving him 146 on the season and tying him for ninth in most free throws in a single season at UofL with Pervis Ellison (1987-88) and Felton Spencer (1989-90). Smith is fifth in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (.830). Pitino Wins 650th Louisville coach Rick Pitino gained his 650th career collegiate coaching victory with the Cardinals' victory at USF. Pitino has a 651-239 record in his 28th collegiate season. He has led the Cardinals to 20 wins for the 11th straight season and his 21st overall, sixth among active coaches Cards Have 11 Straight 20-Win Seasons Louisville is one of seven Division I schools in the nation which have won 20 or more games in each of the past 11 seasons. Kansas tops the list with 24 consecutive years, followed by Duke (17), Syracuse (16), Gonzaga (16), Florida (15), Pittsburgh (12) and Louisville (11); two more can keep their current 20-game win streak alive in Texas (13 straight, 12 wins now), and Utah State (12 straight, 18 wins now). UofL Coach Rick Pitino has won at least 20 games in a season on 21 occasions, ranking him sixth among active coaches in 20-win seasons and 16th overall. Pitino won 30 in a single season for the sixth time last year. UofL has won at least 20 games in 40 of the last 44 years. Special Red Event For March 9 University of Louisville men's basketball fans can participate in another "color" event later this season. The annual "Wear Red for the Seniors" game is set for March 9 when the Cardinals face Notre Dame in the final home game of the season. Cardinal fans are encouraged to wear red attire at that game. The team will wear special adidas uniforms as well. Fans participated in a "White Out" for the Feb. 3 game against Marquette in the KFC Yum! Center. ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial

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