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(16) Butler (1-0) at Louisville (0-0)
A trying 18 months is behind Rick Pitino, and now he can focus on re-energizing Louisville. Bringing his old system to a new facility could give the Cardinals promise, but a season opener versus No. 16 Butler is daunting.
Louisville will attempt to christen the KFC Yum! Center with an upset victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.
Following a difficult year-and-a-half in which he acknowledged a brief sexual encounter in 2003 with a woman later convicted of trying to extort him for millions, Pitino begins his 10th season with the Cardinals.
This time, expectations are low.
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Louisville was picked to finish 10th in the 16-team Big East, and Pitino is calling this a “bridge year,” while banking on an up-tempo style to lead to a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament berth.
The Cardinals are also debuting the $238 million, 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center after 54 seasons at Freedom Hall. The facility, however, may be a bigger draw than the team playing—Louisville lost its top three scorers from a 20-13 season that ended with a first-round loss to California.
Louisville, which plays its first 10 at home, will need the system to pay off, but Pitino has successfully used it in guiding the Cardinals, Kentucky and Providence to the Final Four.
Doing it with the Cardinals in the physical Big East may prove difficult, as the team’s top returning scoring is junior forward Jared Swopshire at 7.5 points per game, and he’s out indefinitely with a groin injury.
“We don’t have enough talent to overcome some of the obstacles we have right now,” Pitino said. “The whole has to be greater than the parts.
“I hope we don’t take our lumps. We’re not thinking that way. On paper you may think that way, but I hope we don’t.”
The returning core is led by senior guard Preston Knowles and sophomore point guard Peyton Siva, who will be tasked with pushing the pace in hopes of wearing the opposition down.
“Coach P is giving us more freedom,” said Siva, who averaged 3.9 points last season. “You can make more decisions on your own. He told us that he’ll take a shot, even if it’s a bad shot, over a turnover. He just wants us to go.”
Center Terrence Jennings is expected to lead the frontcourt, but the junior averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds last season.
Louisville will be tested immediately by visiting Butler (1-0), which went 12-1 on the road last season and is poised to build upon last season’s run to the national championship game.
The Bulldogs celebrated that achievement at home Saturday, and didn’t have many problems in a season-opening 83-54 win over Marian, an NAIA school from Indianapolis.
“I thought there were a lot of positives for a first game, but obviously we’re going to have to do some things better,” coach Brad Stevens told the team’s official website. “There’s lots to build on.”
Butler is known for its strong perimeter shooting, and made 61.3 percent from the field while going 8 of 24 from beyond the arc Saturday. The team committed only six turnovers and forced the Knights into 16.
The Bulldogs’ stingy defensive play could pay dividends again versus Louisville’s high-octane offense.
Guard Shelvin Mack, the team’s second-leading scorer from last season with 14.1 points per game, will likely be key after scoring 20 versus Marian while making 9 of 14 shots from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range. A native of Lexington, Ky., the junior is playing in his home state for the first time.
Butler holds a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Cardinals, winning the most recent matchup 79-71 during the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs last visited Louisville for a loss in 1972.
A trying 18 months is behind Rick Pitino, and now he can focus on re-energizing Louisville. Bringing his old system to a new facility could give the Cardinals promise, but a season opener versus No. 16 Butler is daunting.
Louisville will attempt to christen the KFC Yum! Center with an upset victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.
Following a difficult year-and-a-half in which he acknowledged a brief sexual encounter in 2003 with a woman later convicted of trying to extort him for millions, Pitino begins his 10th season with the Cardinals.
This time, expectations are low.
ADVERTISEMENT
Louisville was picked to finish 10th in the 16-team Big East, and Pitino is calling this a “bridge year,” while banking on an up-tempo style to lead to a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament berth.
The Cardinals are also debuting the $238 million, 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center after 54 seasons at Freedom Hall. The facility, however, may be a bigger draw than the team playing—Louisville lost its top three scorers from a 20-13 season that ended with a first-round loss to California.
Louisville, which plays its first 10 at home, will need the system to pay off, but Pitino has successfully used it in guiding the Cardinals, Kentucky and Providence to the Final Four.
Doing it with the Cardinals in the physical Big East may prove difficult, as the team’s top returning scoring is junior forward Jared Swopshire at 7.5 points per game, and he’s out indefinitely with a groin injury.
“We don’t have enough talent to overcome some of the obstacles we have right now,” Pitino said. “The whole has to be greater than the parts.
“I hope we don’t take our lumps. We’re not thinking that way. On paper you may think that way, but I hope we don’t.”
The returning core is led by senior guard Preston Knowles and sophomore point guard Peyton Siva, who will be tasked with pushing the pace in hopes of wearing the opposition down.
“Coach P is giving us more freedom,” said Siva, who averaged 3.9 points last season. “You can make more decisions on your own. He told us that he’ll take a shot, even if it’s a bad shot, over a turnover. He just wants us to go.”
Center Terrence Jennings is expected to lead the frontcourt, but the junior averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds last season.
Louisville will be tested immediately by visiting Butler (1-0), which went 12-1 on the road last season and is poised to build upon last season’s run to the national championship game.
The Bulldogs celebrated that achievement at home Saturday, and didn’t have many problems in a season-opening 83-54 win over Marian, an NAIA school from Indianapolis.
“I thought there were a lot of positives for a first game, but obviously we’re going to have to do some things better,” coach Brad Stevens told the team’s official website. “There’s lots to build on.”
Butler is known for its strong perimeter shooting, and made 61.3 percent from the field while going 8 of 24 from beyond the arc Saturday. The team committed only six turnovers and forced the Knights into 16.
The Bulldogs’ stingy defensive play could pay dividends again versus Louisville’s high-octane offense.
Guard Shelvin Mack, the team’s second-leading scorer from last season with 14.1 points per game, will likely be key after scoring 20 versus Marian while making 9 of 14 shots from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range. A native of Lexington, Ky., the junior is playing in his home state for the first time.
Butler holds a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Cardinals, winning the most recent matchup 79-71 during the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs last visited Louisville for a loss in 1972.
