CardinalSports.com - Cards play Bellarmine in final exhibition

November 4, 2009

Matt Willinger
CardinalSports.com Staff Writer

Bellarmine v. Louisville
Wednesday, November 4
7:07 p.m. ET
Crum Court / Freedom Hall (18,865)
Louisville, Ky. (669-137 all-time in FH)
TV: WHAS/Cardinal TV
Radio: WKRD (790 AM, 101.7 FM)

Tonight's Game
Louisville will play its second exhibition game of the season as the Cardinals face Bellarmine on Wednesday. Coached by former U of L assistant Scott Davenport, the Knights are the preseason No. 1 choice in the nation in Division II by The Sporting News and Basketball Times. U of L won its first exhibition, beating Georgetown College 80-68 last Wednesday.

About Bellarmine
Louisville will play its second exhibition game of the season as the Cardinals face Bellarmine on Wednesday. Coached by former U of L assistant Scott Davenport, the Knights are the preseason No. 1 choice in the nation in Division II by The Sporting News and Basketball Times (also: No. 2 nationally by NABC, No. 5 by the Division II Bulletin). Bellarmine returns four starters from its 2008-09 team that produced a school record 26 victories (26-7) and made their first appearance in the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 since 1989. U of L has a 13-0 all-time record against Bellarmine including a 2005 exhibition game, last facing the Knights during the regular season on Dec. 10, 2006 as the Cardinals prevailed 76-64.

Card Ties With Bellarmine
Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport spent nine seasons on the U of L men's basketball staff, the last four as administrative assistant to U of L Coach Rick Pitino. A 1978 U of L graduate, Davenport coached former U of L guard DeJuan Wheat - the Cards No. 2 career scorer - at the prep level as head coach at Ballard High School. U of L Director of Basketball Operations Eric Scott served as an assistant coach at Bellarmine under Davenport for two years. U of L assistant sports information director Lori Korte is a Bellarmine graduate.

On Today's Ticket
In honor of the 54th and final season for the Cardinals in Freedom Hall this year, U of L's season tickets feature a different individual in Freedom Hall history. The Nov. 4 ticket features Lancaster Gordon, an All-America selection by The Sporting News as a senior. Gordon (1980-84) is among the top U of L career
scorers (1,614, 14th at U of L) and his 192 career steals rank fourth all-time. A native of Jackson, Miss, the 6-3 guard helped U of L to a combined 102-34 record and two NCAA Final Four appearances in his four seasons. A two-time All Metro Conference selection, Gordon was selected as the 1983 NCAA Mideast Region Most Outstanding Player, scoring 24 points in the regional championship game against Kentucky in the original "Dream Game." He was a first-round NBA draft pick (eighth overall) who played four years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers. He currently works with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in Louisville. Gordon is expected to be present at Wednesday's game.

Card File
Samardo Samuels was named to the FoxSports.com preseason All-America fifth team, ranking him among the nation's top 25 players ... In a pair of intrasquad scrimmage and one exhibition game, Samuels scored at least 20 points and was a double figure rebounder in each outing, averaging a collective 22 points and 12.7 rebounds. Samuels switched from No. 24 to No. 15 this season because he wore that number in high school ... The game time for the Cardinals' Nov. 21 home opener against East Tennessee State will be set after U of L's football game at USF on that same date is scheduled. ESPN will make its selection for the football game 6-13 days prior to Nov. 21, and the men's basketball game time will be played at 1 or 4 p.m. to not
conflict with the football game ... In a pair of intrasquad scrimmage and one exhibition game, Kyle Kuric has averaged 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds. He played a total of 93 minutes in 17 games as a freshman ... Freshman forward Rakeem Buckles' 19th birthday is on Nov. 15 ... The Cardinals' have 18 national television appearances this season, including its last eight regular season games and 12 of its last 14 ... U of L plays its exhibition games earlier than many schools because of the limited availability of Freedom Hall during the month of November.

Tickets Available for Cards' Opener
U of L will open its season on Nov. 17 against Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The doubleheader, televised by ESPN2, will also include Memphis facing Kansas
in the second game of the evening. The event matches Pitino's team against John Pelphrey's, the Razorbacks' coach who played under Pitino at Kentucky. The Showcase is an annual benefit for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Tickets are priced at $27.50 for upper endzone seats, $42.50 for upper level side, $57.50 for lower endzone, $77.50 for lower sideline and $127.50 for midcourt sideline tickets. Information on purchasing tickets may be obtained through the U of L Ticket Office at (502) 852-5151, 852-5863 or 1-800-633-7105.

Tough Schedule
Nineteen of the Cardinals' 31 games will be played against teams that reached post-season competition last season, including a dozen in the NCAA Tournament. Six of the Cardinals' 13 non-conference opponents competed in post-season tournaments last season and the group collectively won an average of nearly 20 games (254-190 combined record, .572 winning percentage). Six BIG EAST teams have been included among the nation's top 25 teams in early rankings.

Arkansas Up Next for Cards
Louisville will open its 2009-10 season on Nov. 17 as the Cardinals face Arkansas in the first game of the Hall of Fame Showcase at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The Razorbacks return all five starters from last season's team that produced upset victories over No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas en route to a 14-16 record. Senior Michael Washington was the SEC's leading rebounder a year ago with 9.8 rebounds per game while sophomore guard Rotnei Clarke was the nation's top freshman three-point shooter in 2008-09 as he hit 39.3 percent of treys. Sophomore Courtney Fortson led the Razorbacks in assists (5.9).

Series vs. Bellarmine

Louisville has won all 12 previous meetings against Bellarmine University, with the last 11 games being played in Freedom Hall. That figure is not inclusive of an exhibition game the teams played in 2005.

In the last meeting between the two teams, Terrence Williams and Juan Palacios each scored 16 points as Louisville posted a 76-64 victory in Freedom Hall (12/10/06). Williams added 12 rebounds and three steals as the Cardinals committed just eight turnovers. Dzaflo Larkai and Matt Otte scored 14 apiece to lead the Knights.

In the last exhibition game the teams played, Taquan Dean scored 28 points to lead U of L to a 70-63 exhibition victory over Bellarmine (11/2/05). Matt Miller led the Knights with 18 points.

Louisville won the first meeting 79-52 at Bellarmine on Dec. 6, 1960, a year in which John Turner lead the Cardinals to a 21-8 record and U of L's third NCAA Tournament appearance.

Cards Among Nation's Best in Pitino Era
Louisville is among 19 programs in the nation that have won at least 70 percent of their games over the last eight years. Louisville has a .733 winning percentage since U of L Coach Rick Pitino took over the reins of the Cardinal program, 11th best in the nation. Four additional BIG EAST schools are among that group, including Pitt, Connecticut, Syracuse and Marquette.

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