“In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon, and we took a little beans.
And we caught the bloody British in the town of new Orleans.”
Kentucky (36-2/16-0) vs. Louisville (30-9/10-8)
Kentucky owns a 29-14 record in the all-time series and has won six of the last eight against Louisville including three straight. This is the sixth post-season meeting between the teams and the first since the 1984 NCAA Tournament.
The series began in 1913 with UK winning seven of the first nine contests. The teams then met three times in the NCAA Tournament between 1948-59. After a 24-year absence, the series was renewed at the 1983 NCAA Mideast Region title game in Knoxville, with Louisville winning the “Dream Game,” 80-68 in overtime to advance to the Final Four.
UK coach John Calipari is 9-5 versus Louisville. UofL head coach Rick Pitino is 4-7 against the Cats. Pitino was 6-2 against the Cards while coaching at Kentucky.
Current UK assistant coach Kenny Payne played his college ball at Louisville. A four-year letterwinner at UL from 1985-89, he helped lead the Cardinals to the 1986 national championship. He finished his career scoring 1,083 points and shooting 40 pct. from 3-point range.
UofL head coach Rick Pitino spent eight seasons (1990-97) as head coach of the Wildcats, leading UK to a 219-50 record, two SEC championships, five SEC Tournament titles, three Final Fours and the 1996 National Championship.
UofL executive assistant Vince Tatum served as a UK student manager under former UK equipment manager Bill Keightley from 1990-93.
UK is 17-7 in the Final Four and has been to two straight Final Fours, the only team in the country to achieve that feat. The Wildcats are 170-73 against the Big East overall. Since 1992, UK is 103-27 (.792) in postseason play (SEC, NIT and NCAA). UK is 35-13 all-time in the New Orleans metro area, and 5-2 in NCAA Tournament games played in New Orleans.
Louisville has 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 have 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 seasons.
Louisville is making its 38th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinals have reached the NCAA Tournament 29 of the last 36 years (six straight, nine of the last 11, 11 of the last 14 years, 17 of last 21). The Cards have reached the Sweet 16 on 18 occasions, including advancing to the Elite Eight three of the last five seasons. Louisville is sixth in tournament victories (64) and is fifth in NCAA Tournament appearances (38). U of L has a 64-39 overall
NCAA Tournament record, reaching the Final Four nine times. Only four teams — Kentucky (52), North Carolina (43),
UCLA (42), and Kansas (41) — have more NCAA Tournament appearances than Louisville’s 38.
TEAM STATISTICS UK OPP
SCORING 2959…. 2303
Points per game 77.9….. 60.6
Scoring margin +17.3 –
FIELD GOALS-ATT 1045-2143 ……….843-2248
Field goal pct . 4 8 8……. . 3 7 5
3 POINT FG-ATT 217-574……. 210-667
3-point FG pct . 3 7 8……. . 3 1 5
3-pt FG made per game 5.7…… 5.5
FREE THROWS-ATT 652-897……. 407-586
Free throw pct . 7 2 7………. . 6 9 5
F-Throws made per game 17.2…… 10.7
REBOUNDS 1480………… 1211
Rebounds per game 38.9………. 31.9
Rebounding margin +7.1 –
ASSISTS 510……… 404
Assists per game 13.4…….. 10.6
TURNOVERS 428…….. 445
Turnovers per game 11.3……… 11.7
Turnover margin +0.4 –
Assist/turnover ratio 1.2…….. 0.9
STEALS 231……….. 207
Steals per game 6.1……. 5.4
BLOCKS 326………. 124
Blocks per game 8.6…. 3.3
TEAM STATISTICS LOU OPP
SCORING 2666 ..2371
Points per game 68.4 ..60.8
Scoring margin +7.6 –
FIELD GOALS-ATT 939-2212.. 829-2184
Field goal pct . 4 2 5.. . 3 8 0
3 POINT FG-ATT 229-722… 216-713
3-point FG pct . 3 1 7… . 3 0 3
3-pt FG made per game 5.9… 5.5
FREE THROWS-ATT 559-813…. 497-746
Free throw pct . 6 8 8…. . 6 6 6
F-Throws made per game 14.3…. 12.7
REBOUNDS 1472…. 1411
Rebounds per game 37.7…. 36.2
Rebounding margin +1.6 –
ASSISTS 525 ……444
Assists per game 13.5….. 11.4
TURNOVERS 550…… 607
Turnovers per game 14.1 ……15.6
Turnover margin +1.5 –
Assist/turnover ratio 1.0……. 0.7
STEALS 348 ……….277
Steals per game 8.9……. 7.1
BLOCKS 189…… 137
Blocks per game 4.8…….. 3.5
Ohio State Buckeyes (31-7, 13-5 Big 10) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (31-6, 16-2 Big 12)
Kansas leads the all-time series with Ohio State 6-3, including a Kansas 78-67 win on Dec. 10, 2011, in Allen Fieldhouse. The previous meeting was during the 2000-01 season, a Kansas 69-68 win in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 23, 2000. The Jayhawks have won four straight in the series which dates back to 1965 when the Jayhawks won the first two meetings – 81-68 on Dec. 23, 1965, in Columbus and 94-70 on Dec. 5, 1966, in Lawrence. The two teams played twice in 1983, to start a three-game OSU victory run against Kansas. The Buckeyes won 64-61 on Jan. 2, 1983, in Kansas City, Mo., and 79-74 on Dec. 22, 1983, in Columbus. In 1986, OSU edged KU 79-78 in overtime in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. The two schools’ next meeting was 1997 in the Rainbow Classic, a Kansas 69-56 win. Before the Kansas win in 2000, the Jayhawks defeated the Buckeyes 80-67 on Dec. 16, 1999, in Lawrence.
Earlier this season, Kansas junior Thomas Robinson scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Kansas to a 78-67 victory over Ohio State. Junior Kevin Young scored a season-high 14 points in the game, while Jayhawks Elijah Johnson (15 points) and Travis Releford (10 points) also reached double figures scoring. Ohio State was led by William Buford who scored 21 points, while Deshaun Thomas added 19. OSU played without All-American Jared Sullinger who was out due to an injury.
2012 marks Kansas’ 41st NCAA Tournament appearance. Kansas’ 23-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, from 1990-2012, is the nation’s longest active streak and ranks second-best all time. North Carolina had 27 straight from 1975-2001. KU is a number two seed for the fifth time since seeding began in 1979. The Jayhawks have been a two seed in 1990-93-96-2003-12.
Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas is 22-7 (75.8 percent) in the NCAA Tournament, with six Sweet 16s (2004-07-08-09-11-12), five Elite Eights (2004-07-08-11-12), two Final Fours (2008-12) and one NCAA National Championship (2008). In the last 10 NCAA Tournaments prior to 2012, Kansas has a 27-9 (75.0 percent) record with one NCAA National Championship (2008), three Final Four (2002-03-08) and six Elite Eight (2002-03-04-07-08-11) appearances. The Jayhawks’ 41 NCAA Tournament appearances are fourth nationally behind only Kentucky (51), North Carolina (42) and UCLA (42). Kansas sports an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 92-39 and the Jayhawks’ 92 wins rank fifth behind North Carolina (109), Kentucky (109), Duke (97) and UCLA (96).
This is Ohio State’s 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament. Overall, Ohio State has a 45-22 record all-time in NCAA tournament play. The Buckeyes have advanced to play in 10 Final Fours, have finished as the runner up four times (1939, 1961, 1962, 2007) and own one title (1960). Ohio State has finished third four times (1944, 1945, 1946, 1968). The Buckeyes have played in three-consecutive NCAA “Sweet 16s,” a feat last accomplished from 1960-62. Ohio State has made 14 “Sweet 16” appearances in NCAA Tournament play and has 11 “Elite Eight” appearances.
TEAM STATISTICS… OSU… KU
SCORING ………………………..2851….. 2742
Points per game …………..75.0…… 74.1
Scoring margin ……………+15.3… – 12.5
FIELD GOALS-ATT …………….1037-2160….. 976-2051
Field goal pct……………… . 4 8 0……. . 4 7 6
3 POINT FG-ATT……………….. 191-574…….. 214-621
3-point FG pct……….. . 3 3 3….. . 3 4 5
3-pt FG made per game …….5.0 …………..5.8
FREE THROWS-ATT …………586-831……. 576-834
Free throw pct………….. . 7 0 5……. . 6 9 1
F-Throws made per game……. 15.4………… 15.6
REBOUNDS……………………… 1410……… 1393
Rebounds per game……… 37.1……. 37.6
Rebounding margin……… +7.7……….. – 5.7
ASSISTS……………………. 557……. 564
Assists per game…………… 14.7…….. 15.2
TURNOVERS……………… 447……. 481
Turnovers per game……. 11.8……. 13.0
Turnover margin……. +3.0…….. – +0.8
Assist/turnover ratio…. 1.2…………….. 0.8
STEALS……………… 274… 274
Steals per game………. 7.2……….. 7.4
BLOCKS……….. 118 ………..209
Blocks per game……… 3.1…………….. 5.6
Oh boy. The Cardinals will be in more need of a towel AFTER this timeout than before – Pitino is going to be spitting bullets.
That is the exact start the Cardinals didn’t want. Kentucky imposing their will and the pace of the game on them.
Running the high pick-and-roll nearly inside the arc. Wonder if they’ll try and stretch Kentucky out more.
Taller kids watch Anthony Davis and see the dunks and blocks. Wish they’d notice how he just brought those two dribbles through transition and passed. Long and tall does not mean you have to dribble standing straight up.
Davis was 19′ from the basket for the first :28 of that possession.
“Wish they’d notice how he just brought those two dribbles through transition and passed. ”
I was thinking the same thing.
Yeah – I felt like Kentucky has settled into shooting jumpers after that timeout. Ironically Louisville came out with a little push to their game.
I really hope Louisville isn’t planning on not sending help all night if Davis catches on the low block.
On the other end, Kentucky is really sagging and now switching screens. Hello Cardinals! Time to take advantage but you have to run an offense!
Terrence Jones may not be 40, but he’s a man!
Louisville looked good when they forced Davis to defend the high pick-and-roll. They took him out of position for blocks.
The Cards are shooting 25%. They’ve missed 2 free throws. They five turnovers, and they are only 8. Could be worse. Much worse.
“Terrence Jones may not be 40, but he’s a man!”
Ha!
You know you’re a bad offensive team when you’re 1-3 on dunks.
Hahahaha
Good point, but now they are getting the ball down low to Dieng who is begin guarded by Wiltjer. I like that match up for the Cardinals.
Wow! Lou-vul just scored back-to-back baskets in the paint over the defense.
That 2-1-2 is really bothering Kentucky on both ends. They just picked thinking the middle would come trap, and Louisville sent the other guard up top who picked his pocket. When they do bust it, they aren’t in good positions on the baseline to receive a past and the guard in the middle is just kind of lobbing a pass to them for a contested jumper.
Ooh. What was the adjustment? UK slipped right through the press on that possession.
Had to rewind it. They hit the sideline early and then the passer ran straight up the middle of the floor for a little give-an-go action. No one picked him up.
Cards are still in it!! Bad couple sequences at the end but as powerful as Kentucky looked they’re only up by seven!! Kuric gonna have to score big for them to win.
That half has to please Louisville. Like Cal said – Kentucky should have put them away. Cardinals have some of Kentucky in foul trouble. They have some converted turnovers into easy baskets and appear to be out-rebounding the ‘Cats right now.
UK shooting 60%(15-25), Lou-vul is 37% (12-32). Only down 7? Yeah the Cards have to be happy.
Siva can’t play any worse: 12 minutes, 0-for-2 from the floor, two fouls, three turnovers and one assist.
That is way too easy for Miller to shoot over Silva. Way too easy.
SIXTEEN OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS?
Siva starts hitting but then Kidd-Gilcrist starts. We have ourselves a ball game.
Did Kerr just refer to the Cardinals as Syracuse?
Not the pace Lou-vul wants.
Any surprise that a senior is making the difference for Kentucky right now? Go figure, Coach Cal. Seniors always step up this time of year.
Louisville’s back line of defense is great. Whether breaking the press or in transition, Kentucky has not had easy baskets. Plus the Cardinals have taken a few charges on that back line as well. They just step out a little bit and hold their ground.
From Twitter: 2008 Memphis had a 9-point lead with 2:12 to go
Why is Kentucky’s defense extended?
My poor Louisville couldn’t do it. They had a great effort though. Not enough firepower.
But 2008 Memphis was playing a team that had people who could score.
No one on Louisville On the All Big East team 1,2, or 3? That’s impressive with the season they had.
Callamari is a bum. I heard he lives out of suitcases just in case the recruitment police are looking for him
Siva nice second half to redeem himself(except for the airball)
A lot of things are obvious after this game to me:
1) Anthony Davis is that good. More than a shot blocker and “dunker.” He had a nice turn around hook he used twice. He dribbled in transition and passed well. The last possession for Kentucky he attacked the sideline and made a timely pass to middle after drawing defender. The kid is 6″10″.
2) Terrence Jones will also make a quality NBA player. I can’t believe he is 6’9″ and plays as smooth as he does. He’d be an unreal NFL tight end!
3) You can still press and play defense these days and be successful without an offensive juggernaut. That is nice to see. Louisville just did not have an offensive guy who could come up with a big basket. Siva isn’t that guy.
4) Unibrows are apparently hereditary.
Rey, good point no.3. Kuric never came through and Chris Smith didn’t do much either. One hot outside shooter today I think they could have won. Behanon was kind of quiet too. Blackshire had probably the best game of his short career so far.
6 total three-pointers made in that game. It comes as no surprise, but considering the number of teams I have seen this year that fell for the fool’s gold, it is note-worthy.
Way things are today, Blackshear might have earned himself a first-round pick in this year’s draft.
From Cece G on Twitter: “If you type “Anthony Davis” into google the third thing that pops up is “Anthony Davis unibrow”‘
I HATE those locker room look ins.
While I am thinking of it, it was announced this week that Butler’s Ronald Nored was hired as the head coach of Brownsburg High School.
“Cece G” sounds like a rapper’s name.
If Callamari doesn’t win it this year he’s going to recruit current NBA players!!
Kentucky pays better
Joe – what are your ties to Louisville? Just curious.
Jeremy Lin out six weeks. That poor son-of-a -“gun.” Well’ he had a good run
None really. I always like them. Been to the Kentucky Derby 3 times. Actually I originally liked Notre Dame with those great games against UCLA. Austin Carr days Yeahhhh
More than half of Ohio State’s shots have come from outside the three-point arc? Geez. Color me surprised.
Kansas is paying at Buckeyes’ speed right now. That’s not good. Grat find from Sullinger on Ohio State’s first bucket of game. Skip pass out of the double team and over a 7-footer.