Feb. 22, 2010
Hoyas v. Cardinals: You Know It Don't Come Easy!
Fresh off back-to-back losses to Rutgers and Syracuse, the Hoyas (18-7, 8-6) travel to Freedom Hall in Louisville on Tuesday to face the Cardinals. The Cardinals have won five of their last six games, including a 66-60 road victory over Syracuse. The Cardinals (18-9, 9-5) currently occupy fifth place in the Big East standings, one game ahead of the sixth place Hoyas and Marquette Golden Eagles and one-half game behind West Virginia for the fourth and final double-bye spot. This will be the Hoyas last visit to Freedom Hall, as the Cardinals will move to Louisville's new Downtown Arena next season. Freedom Hall is a very difficult place to play for visiting teams as the Hoyas learned two years ago when the Cardinals thumped the Hoyas 59-51 in a "white-out" game featuring Coach Rick Pitino's white suit for the first half.
What a difference two weeks makes! Two weeks ago, the Hoyas were coming off consecutive Saturday televised routs of Duke and Villanova (sandwiched around a bad home loss to South Florida). The Hoyas looked as good as a team can in those victories. A Big East double-bye seemed to be a distinct possibility. Unfortunately, they were not able to stand their good fortune when, following a nine-point road victory over Providence, the Hoyas stumbled to Rutgers at the RAC and then fell short after a rally from 23 points down against Syracuse at Verizon. Now, with the recent improvement in fortunes by Louisville and Pitt, the Hoyas seem consigned to be playing in one of the Wednesday games at the Big East Tournament. Pitt may be the league's hottest team as they have knocked off West Virginia, Marquette, and Villanova in succession to move ahead of the Mountaineers for the third spot in the Big East. Following last night's loss to UConn, which is also experiencing a resurgency, the Mountaineers, whom the Hoyas play next Monday night in Morgantown, are one-half game ahead of the Cardinals for the final top four bye position.
To beat Louisville, the Hoyas' will have to fend off the Cardinals' intense defensive pressure, size, and depth. The Cardinals are paced by sophomore big man Samardo Samuels (from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, New Jersey, where my generational namesake, Mike Laughna, C '72, once played) and their backcourt tandem of Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith. At the same time, the Cardinals' play has been at times inconsistent as they have lost to both Seton Hall and St. John's and did not overwhelm DePaul last Saturday. Notwithstanding the Cardinals' inconsistency, the Hoyas cannot afford to fall behind by a substantial margin at Freedom Hall, where the crowd provides a strong sixth-man presence! The Hoyas will definitely have to bring their "A" game in all respects if they hope to secure a victory! The entire starting team, and not just the big three of Austin Freeman, Greg Monroe, and Chris Wright, will have to contribute in a significant manner for the Hoyas to put themselves in a position to secure a victory. And the key reserves, freshmen Hollis Thompson and Jerelle Benimon, perhaps joined by sophomore Henry Sims, will need to contribute when called upon at both ends of the floor. The Hoyas have shown a tendency to get up for games this season when they absolutely have to. With a two-game losing streak and Big East (and NCAA) seeding on the line, this is one of those games. I believe that the team will recognize its challenge and put it all together against the Cardinals! But this is the Big East, so you know it don't come easy!
WE ARE GEORGETOWN!!
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Karam, F'72, L'76, L'82
Proud Member of Generation Laughna
