Say it ain't So-sa!

03.08.2007

The Cards just survived again. Its hard to kill them. Like Michael Corleone in the Godfather they just survived. Their coach, Rick Pitino is known for surviving in the tournament and he did it once again tonight. It's like he's the Godfather of College Basketball and its always good to be a part of the family.

They didn't make it look easy, but Pitino's kids pulled out a win against West Virginia 82-71 in double overtime of their first game of the 2007 Big East Tournament. As predicted the young Cardinals struggled with West Virginia's akward 1-3-1 zone defense, seriously slumping in the second half after a big lead early. On the other hand, the kids were strong defensively, giving up only 7 three pointers to a Mountaineer team that sunk 17 last night.

If, like most of the crew watching the game tonight, you were expecting a replay of the OT 3-point shootout these two teams played in the Elite Eight of the NCAAs two years ago, you were probably let down. But if you're a fan of traditional "grind-it-out" Big East basketball like my little homie Sooper Cooper Bolton, who was visiting the 'Ville for th first time after growing up in Philly, then you just witnessed a classic. When his babygirlfriend, Jane tooKute, was so bored she slept through the entire second half, Coop stayed up late with his parentals and cheered us on into overtime. Or maybe his "cheering" was actually just "crying" because Jane's momma wouldn't let her babysdaddy T-Dog hookemupwit sumadat Bud Select they waz sippin on. (And you know this...Man!)

This game didn't necessarily go as planned, though. U of L jumped out to a big lead in the first half, going to the break with an 8 point lead. The lead then stretched to 17 points just a few minutes into the second half...then the 'Eers decided to start playing some ball. WVU ramped up its pressure on the perimeter and completely denied the entry passes to David Padgett in the low post. This defensive combination and a complete lack of outside shooting ability led to the Cards going on an 8 minute scoring drought. They lost their commanding lead and actually fell behind late in regulation.

Cooper's Mom ( yUK fan) and Pop (uber Card fan) also watched the game with us and were glad that TWill only jacked up 5 three balls (and actually made 2 of them). Terrence showed his maturity with plenty of strong drives to the hole. He played under control and helped keep the youngsters in line. TWill led the Cards with 21 points and 9 boards. His sidekick for most of the night was E5, Earl Clark. Starting for the first time in his career, and infront of tons of family and friends, Earl had the best performance ever with 17 points and 9 rebounds. His athleticism and toughness was very impressive tonight.

Meanwhile, Megan stuck Bailey in the dog house all night to protect her from the babies. This was much like Derrick Caracter who was in Pitino's doghouse to protect him from being a baby. He played only 7 minutes due to a complete lack of defensive skills. Coack Rick decided that an immobile David Padgett was a better option against the back door cuts. I guess he's not quick enough to jump out on the up-screen so he's always in position to defend the back cut. Still, Padgett stepped up when needed and finished with 16 points, 6 boards and a team leading 5 assists. His ability to pass out of the double team made the difference tonight.

The play of the game was again made by a U of L freshman. At the end of regulation, WVU hit a layup with just 4.3 seconds left on the clock. With no hesitation, TWill inbounded to Edgar "Say hello to my little friend" Sosa who took off up the sideline. He cut to the middle of the court and was stopped by 3 Mountaineers at the free throw line, or so it seemed. Out of nowhere, with less than a second left on the clock, the little guy squirted through all three defenders and glided down the lane for a left handed scoop shot at the buzzer.

Although it didn't win the game, it signaled that these Cardinals won't go down quietly. They stuck to their guns, ran off 9 straight points to start the second OT and sent the 'eers packing. Great win, our first in Madison Square Garden in 20+ years. One more win and we've got a streak going...who knows what that could lead to!

The good...the bad...Senior Day

So the Cards continued their winning ways on Senior Day. They took a good shot in the mouth early when Seton Hall came out swinging, literally. Jamar Nutter, a senior playing the last game of his career shoved Terrance Williams in the back while he was walking to the bench during an early timeout. TWill's response was to get in his face and let him know who he was dealing with. Both players received technicals and they both went on their merry ways...kind of.

TWill poured in 15 points and grabbed 11 boards for his 7th double-double of the season while being named player of he game. On the other hand, the crowd hounded Nutter with barrages of Boos every single time the jackass touched the ball. He looked completely flustered and got rid of the rock immediately to avoid the embarassment...Good Stuff.

"Cheaton" Hall was shooting off the charts hot in the first half, though. They hit well over 50% from the field and knocked down 8 of 9 three pointers. I mean really, who comes out and nails 89% from behind the arc. The good sign from the Cards was that even though they were hit in the mouth time and time again, they never stepped down.

The young Cards, led by Edgar Sosa's 18 points, stayed in the lead throughout most of the game. Padgett and Caracter were monstrous, combing for 28 points and 14 rebounds. The team never looked rattled and passed the ball well (20 assists on 32 buckets) while also playing solid defense. When Seton hall tried to get tough, the Cards looked tougher with 6 steals, 7 blocks and a +10 rebounding margin.

The Cards earned the 2nd seed in the Big East Tourney and look like a team that other just won't want to play in the Big Dance...Great Stuff.

The 2007 Cardentals' Senior day went down in the wrong direction. They fell in the first round of the intramural tournament. Playing without the services of two regular starters (Benihan Taylor and Nate Cotton) and their reliable sixthman (Jace Hansen) , the Dentals were forced to bring in some outsiders, Gus Ramirez and Fatt Matt Bently, to fill the roster.

Without much of their offensive production, the Cards fell behind early 14-4 and then fell subject to the lamest gameplan in the history of intramurals. With a full 14 minutes left in the first half, a mere 6 minutes into the ball game, the Wombats began their stall tactics. The floppy haired point guard proceeded to stand/dribble for 60-75 seconds per posession.

Although the Cardentals fought back, their comeback effort was stymied by the retards they were palying. Will the thrill Whiteside looked solid on both ends of the floor while I contributed 8 points and 4 assists in my final game of my U of L intramural career.

The season ended too early, but screw it. That intramural program was one of the most poorly run organizations I have ever had the displeasure of being involved with. I'm glad to be done with them and moving on to bigger and better things...bad stuff.