College Cardinals Clipped in Comeback

The Arizona Cardinals weren’t the only team to go down Saturday. Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals were clipped in an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers at Petersen Events Center. The Big East battle went to the Panthers 82-77, despite the confident Cardinals racking up points throughout the contest. Pittsburgh trailed most of the second half but benefited from a few lucky breaks. The Cardinals watched the Panthers chip away at their fourth quarter lead and caved at the charity stripe. Louisville missed four of five free throws during the game’s final forty seconds as the home team forced overtime.
The Panthers’ Brad Wanamaker made a 3-pointer with sixteen seconds remaining to cut the Cardinals’ lead one point. The edgy junior guard notched a pair of free throws to tie the game with two seconds left. Wanamaker and Jermaine Dixon combined for 13 of Pitt’s 20 assists. The Panthers grabbed the lead on Ashton Gibb’s basket from the arc 53 seconds into the extra session. Gibbs gunned down just one shot in the first half, but Pitt’s top scorer finished with 15 points. He made 3 of 4 from three point range and was perfect from the line in the home overtime win. Nasir Robinson bucketed a career high 26 points and snatched 11 rebounds for 15-2 Pitt. The 6’5” sophomore kept Pitt in the game long enough for the Panthers to take advantage of Louisville’s missed opportunities. Pittsburgh drilled 50% of their 3-point shots and was 80% from the line. The Panthers maintained their undefeated Big East status and won their 31st straight game at home. Only Kansas has a longer streak in all of college basketball. Pitt remains on the top of the conference standings with Villanova.
For Pitino and Louisville, it was a tough loss to take. The visiting 12-6 Cardinals drew a 30-27 lead into the halftime locker room. The Cardinals were less than two seconds from defeating Pittsburgh and snapping their snazzy streak at home. Louisville was the last team to win in Pittsburgh. The victory occurred in 2008, when Jamie Dixon’s Panthers were arguably a more physical and talented team. The Cardinals watched a win whiter away in the winter Pittsburgh afternoon Saturday. The 16th ranked Panthers were down by six points in all four quarters before tying the game. The Cardinals squandered the lead when they needed it most after controlling the road game throughout regulation. Samardo Samuels and Preston Knowles carried their struggling Louisville teammates. Samuels posted 25 points while dominating Pitt’s big men, Dante Taylor and Gary McGhee. Knowles hit his first four shots on route to a 21 point barrage. The battle was all but over when the Cardinals held a comfortable lead and sent their 68% free throw shooter, Edgar Sosa, to the line. Sosa secured 13 points, but was only three of seven from the line during the second half. The clanking and clanging Cardinal free throws were the difference between a win and a loss yesterday. The prominent Panthers were a stellar 24 of 30 from the free throw line and were able to thwart off the Cardinals’ upset bid by overtaking overtime.

Parting Points: A few notable scores from college hoops---Syracuse survived West Virginia 72-71 in another Big East clash. The Big 10 saw Ohio State top 13th ranked Wisconsin 60-51.

Album of the week- “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” by the Foo Fighters