| Game Preview: Houston | Date: Mar. 4, 2000 |
| Site: Houston, TX | Records: U of L: 18-10, 9-6 Houston: 8-20, 2-13 |
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| It's the Cards' final regular season game of the year, and there is much to gain--and lose--in this contest vs. Clyde Drexler's Houston Cougars. A win for U of L will wrap up a 2 seed in the conference tournament, avoiding a match-up with Cincinnati until the tournament finals. It will also keep U of L's season-ending tear alive, as well as give them one more road win to help offset their already poor road record. But the Cougars have struggled everywhere this season. They have only two conference wins, and have lost 11 in a row coming into today's game. And there have been some tough losses for Houston as well: six of those 11 losses have been by four points or less. |
Pacing the Cougars on the offensive end is sophomore guard Gee Gervin, cousin of U of L forward Caleb Gervin. Gee Gervin is averaging 18.5 points a game, while other top scorers for Houston include George Williams, who averages 14.5 ppg and 8.7 rpg, and Kenny Younger, who shoots 42% from three-point range and scores 13.1 points a game. Houston is third in the league in scoring at 77.0, but their quick-paced style may play into U of L's advantage. Interestingly, entering the game U of L is last in the conference in total rebounds, picking up 32.0 a game. Their defensive effort in the second half of the season has nullified their rebounding disadvantages, as they have held opponents to 65.8 points a game. Houston, on the other hand, is last in team defense and is letting their opponents score 80.4 ppg. Marques Maybin's late scoring rush has him as the team leader at 14.4 ppg, while Tony Williams is close behind at 14.1. Nate Johnson has averages of 13.5 points a game, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and is the team leader in steals with 53 (Reece Gaines has 52).  |
| Game Summary: Houston | Score: Louisville 88, Houston 74 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Nate Johnson (35) Houston: Chad Hendrick (19) |
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| Nate Johnson wrapped up his Freedom Hall career with a stellar 26 point, 10 rebound performance last Tuesday vs. South Floria. In his final regular season game as a Cardinal, he put on an even more brilliant performance. He finished with a career-high 35 points (surpassing the 31 he scored against North Carolina earlier this year) on an amazing 14-17 shooting from the field, including 3-3 from three-point range. He also collected nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. It was a game that was more similar to the USF game than in just the senior forward's performance. U of L ran out to an early lead, saw it disappear, then regrouped for a strong second half to put the game away. The start was so good that you knew it was going to have to end harshly. Marques Maybin, who finished with 14 points, and Johnson combined for the first 14 points of the game as U of L led 14-0. The lead maxed out at with a 24-5 Cardinal lead at the 13:35 mark. But like USF, Houston went into a 1-3-1 zone trap, picking up U of L's offense at midcourt. The trap led to turnover after turnover (the Cards finished with 21), and the Cards scored eight points in the next ten minutes as Houston scored layup after layup. The Cougars, who actually led at the half 44-40, shot a blazing 59% in the first half. |
| In the second half, however, U of L adusted to Houston's defense, and was able to wear down the Cougars, who expended too much energy in the comeback. The Cards scored the first 10 points of the second half, and it was U of L hitting on layups as they shot 62% in the second half once UH's defense lost its muster. Tony Williams hit a three-pointer with 6:49 left to give U of L a 70-62 lead; the Cards then went on a 9-1 run to seal the victory. Nate Johnson's 35 points was the most scored in a game by a U of L player since DeJuan Wheat had 35 against UAB on Jan. 17, 1996. Also scoring a career-high for Louisville was reserve guard Rashad Brooks, who finished with 11 points on 4-7 shooting, 2-5 from three-point range. Tony Williams also finished in double-figures for the Cards, scoring 11 points and getting seven rebounds. Reece Gaines finished with six points, six assists and five steals. Chad Hendrick led Houston with 19 points, while George Williams had 15, Kenny Younger 14 and Gee Gervin 12. |
| Game Preview: UNC-Charlotte | Date: Mar. 9, 2000 |
| Site: Memphis, TN | Records: U of L: 19-10 UNCC: 16-14 |
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| In their first game of the 2000 Conference USA Tournament, U of L will play the team they played last in the 1999 Conference USA Tournament, the UNC-Charlotte 49ers, who knocked off the Cards in the tournament finals last year. UNCC advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating UAB 76-73. The aspect of UNCC's game that makes them so dangerous is their three-point shooting. In fact, when UNCC beat U of L on Jan. 22, the 49ers tied a conference record by making 14 three-pointers. In the game against UAB, Diego Guevara hit an amazing 8-11 from three-point range to lead his team with 28 points. In the second meeting this year, U of L did a much better job defending the perimeter, and the Cards held UNCC to only 51 points for the game. |
| The winner of the contest will face the winner of DePaul vs. Memphis. The talk in the papers hase been of U of L wanting to have a solid performance in Memphis this week to both improve their seeding in the NCAA tournament and to get a true sense of accomplishment for the season. The Cards know they can beat this team, and really want to come out, play their game and show what they can do. The U of L players haven't forgotten the loss in last year's C-USA tournament championship, and would like nothing better to get even with this imposing nemesis. |
| Game Summary: UNC-Charlotte | Score: UNCC 57, Louisville 52 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Marques Maybin (15) UNCC: Jobey Thomas (16) |
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| It was an absolute clunker by the U of L Cardinals in their opening game of the C-USA tournament. Even after the Cards apparently received a break when Cincinnati lost in the tournament, the Cards did not show up to play, played without emotion, lacked any intensity and essentially sleepwalked through Louisville's first opening round conference tournament loss in recent memory. U of L's seaon-ending streak of winning eight of its last nine games was wasted when they lost to a UNC-Charlotte team that simply outhustled the Cards. The Cards have now lost two straight C-USA tournament games to UNCC, which has now defeated U of L three times in the C-USA tourney. |
| The Cards seem uninterested from the start. They committed 21 turnovers against a defense that wasn't pressing or trapping, and shot only 40.5%, including 19% in the second half. In one seven-minute stretch in the second half, U of L scored only field goal and committed five turnovers. During that span, UNCC went on a 14-3 run that built a 50-41 lead with less than six minutes to play. Tony Williams, who finished with only seven points and two rebounds, then scored five in a row to cut the lead to 50-46. An alley-oop from Williams to Marques Maybin, who scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting, cut the lead to two, then the Cards completed the comeback to tie the game on two free throws by Dion Edward, who wound up with nine points and five rebounds. But the Cards would not score again. UNCC scored a three-point play with about twenty seconds left after a Marques Maybin turnover, then Tony Williams threw the ball away on an inbounds play with six seconds left, leading to a UNCC dunk and the final score. The Cards never got a final shot off. |
| Instead of relying on three-pointers, UNCC drove the ball inside for most of the game. They also used several different zone defenses, including box and ones and chasers. Nate Johnson, who had averaged 26 points in his last three games, scored five points on 2-8 shooting and committed six turnovers. |
| Game Preview: Gonzaga | Date: Mar. 16, 2000 |
| Site: Tucson, AZ | Records: U of L: 19-11, Gonzaga: 24-8 |
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| The Cards now have to put the disappointment of the conference tournament behind them, as they drew the 7 seed in the West Region and will face the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first round. If the Cards advance, they are likely to face St. John's in the second round. Gonzaga made it to the tournament by winning the West Coast Conference tournament by beating Pepperdine 69-65 in OT. Gonzaga, of course, knocked off Minnesota, Stanford and Florida in last year's tournament to advance to the Elite Eight. They lost to eventual champion UConn in the Regional Final. |
| The Bulldogs are led by a starting five of all seniors, including leading scorer Richie Frahm, who averages 16.8 points and led the team in three-pointers with 84. Forward Casey Calvary scores 13.4 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 rpg, while Matt Santangelo scores 12.9 points a game and leads the team in assists with an impressive 6.5 a game. One drawback for Gonzaga is the absence of Mike Nilson, a guard who was injured for the year during the WCC tournament. His loss gives Gonzaga a little less depth at guard, but they still have a strong backcourt. Gonzaga creates a challenge for U of L because they will not be adverse to running and playing an up-tempo game. |
| Of course, the real issue here is the Cardinals. Will they snap out of the doldrums from the UNCC loss, or continue to wallow in misery and wilt under adversity? They talk a good game, but blew a chance to win the conference tournament with an uninspired performance. Considering their history in big games away from Freedom Hall in the last two years, a repeat of last year's Creighton game would not surprise anyone. |
| Game Summary: Gonzaga | Score: Gonzaga 77, Louisville 66 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Marques Maybin (21) Gonzaga: Richie Frahm (31) |
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| The Cards end their 1999-2000 season with their second straight lackluster effort, and their second consecutive first-round NCAA Tournament loss. Apparently the lessons of last year's Creighton loss were never learned, and the Cards are once again upset as a 7 seed. They were the only higher-seeded team to lose on Thursday. U of L let Gonzaga shoot an amazing 57% from the field, only the fifth time all year an opponent shot more than 50%. Their shooting included 8-16 from three-point range, including 4-8 from Richie Frahm, who led all scorers with 31. U of L, on the other hand, shot only 38% from the field after averaging 46% all season. It was their second-worst three-point shooting effort of the season, making only 2-17. In the second half, U of L shot only 28%. |
| The Cards led by one at halftime. 39-38, after having as much as a seven-point lead at 32-25. With the Cards trailing 49-45, Marques Maybin hit a three-pointer, then stole the ball and fed it to Quintin Bailey, who was wide open uder the hoop. Frahm came out of nowhere to block the shot, fed the ball back to Gonzaga's side where he eventually drilled one of his four three-pointers. After a Matt Santangelo jumper, the Cards trailed 60-52 at the 5:50 mark, and never got closer than six the rest of the way. Tony Williams went 0-7 from three-point range to end his career on a slump, and the Cards were once again confused by the zone defense. Although U of L forced 24 turnovers to only 14 of their own, and getting 22 more field goal attempts than their opponent, the Cards found yet another way to lose without any heart or inspiration. |
