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!