| Game Summary: Memphis | Score: Louisville 65, Memphis 56 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (23) Memphis: Earl Barron (18) |
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| OK, we know it was Denny Crum's last regular season game in Freedom Hall, and that adds to the feel for the game. The crowd was ready, the team was pumped to send the seniors and the coach out in style, the mystical basketball powers deemed that a Cardinal victory would be. Not that excellent defense didn't hurt. The Cards allowed Memphis only one field goal in the first seven minutes, and had Freedom Hall jumping. U of L opened to an early 14-3 lead. It should be noted that Memphis was playing without freshman guard Scooter McFadgon was out with an ankle injury and had been averaging over nine points and three assists a game. Still, the Cards' starting guards outscored those of Memphis 39-4. Reece Gaines led all scorers with 23 points, and Marques Maybin, who finished with 16, will wind up at least 15th all-time in Louisville scoring (he has an outside shot of 14th if the Cards advance a few games in the C-USA tourney). The game marked the 60th meeting between Coach Denny Crum and Memphis, the most of any of Crum's opponents. |
Memphis got no closer than five during the first half, after which the Cards led 28-19. It was the lowest first-half output for Memphis all season. But built on eight straight points from 6-11 center Earl Barron Memphis made a run late in the second half. Barron hit a free throw to pull the Tigers to within 55-51 at the 2:41 mark, but U of L's Gaines helped the cause with two foul shots of his own. For the game, the Cards shot 58% from the line, but still had eight more made free throws than field goals, and outscored Memphis from the line 25-13. Memphis then committed two turnovers, one of which a steal by Maybin that led to a breakaway dunk and a 60-51 lead. The Cards had a season-high 14 steals that led to a total of 24 Memphis turnovers.  |
| Game Preview: UAB | Date: Mar. 7, 2001 |
| Site: Freedom Hall | Records: U of L: 12-18, 8-8; UAB: 16-13, 8-8 |
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| The Cardinals open up the C-USA tourney as the number 9-seed, and face the UAB Blazers in the opening round. If the Cards win, they will advance to play top-seed Cincinnati in the quarterfinals. The Cards will be playing UAB for the second time in three games: the Blazers dumped U of L for its record ninth home loss of the year in a 74-57 decision last Tuesday. Who knows if it was exhaustion from the draining triple-overtime game against Marquette a few days previous to that outing, but the Cards were dismantled pretty much from start to finish, and didn't really put up much of a fight against the Blazers. |
| The Blazers are led by 6-3 senior guard LeAndrew Bass, who topped the team in scoring with a 14.5 ppg average and assists with 4.8 apg. Other double-digit scorers for UAB include 6-5 junior guard George P.J. Arnold, who scores 13.3 ppg, and 6-7 junior forward Eric Batchelor, who scores at an 11.9 ppg clip. 6-8 junior forward Will Campbell scores 8.6 ppg and is the team's leading rebounder with 8.2 rpg. The Blazers finished the season with a 73-48 home loss to St. Louis last Saturday. |
| Game Summary: UAB | Score: UAB 74, Louisville 61 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Rashad Brooks (21) UAB: LeAndrew Bass (16) |
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| It was the last game of the 2000-20001 season, the last game of Coach Denny Crum's 30-year career, U of L's second straight C-USA tourney first round loss, and U of L's fifth consecutive post-season loss. And it was ugly. For the second time in nine days, UAB knocked off the Cards by double-digits in Freedom Hall. UAB advances to play top-seed Cincinnati in the quarterfinal round. With the loss comes an end to one era, and the beginning of the other. That promise and excitement, and the need to show appreciation and gratitude to Coach Crum for all he's done for U of L, helps take off the sting of another disappointing loss. |
| One of the reasons UAB beat U of L by 17 last week was because the Cards shot 30% from the field. This time, it was no different, as the Cards shot 31.4% from the field (22 0f 70). Take into account UAB shot 55% from the field, and there's your ballgame. Even though the Cards shot only 28% in the first half, it took a three at the buzzer to give UAB it's 27-23 halftime lead. UAB built up an eight point lead at 36-28, but the Cards at least tried to make a run. The Cards scored on five straight possessions after the TV timeout at the 15:05 mark of the second half, but the Cards couldn't stop the Blazers from scoring. UAB seemed to answer each time and more, going up 47-36. The Cards pulled to within seven when they trailed 51-44, but a subsequent 7-0 UAB run put the game away. LeAndrew Bass led UAB with 16 points, while four other UAB players scored in double-figures: Will Campbell had 13, while David Walker, Eric Batchelor and P.J. Arnold all had 10. For the Cards, Rashad Brooks finished his U of L career with a career-high 21 points. He was 6-11 from the field, including 4-9 from three-point range, and was 5-5 from the line to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Marques Maybin, on the other hand, ended his career with 12 points on 5-16 shooting. Ellys Myles tried hard again, scoring six points and grabbing eight rebounds in 20 minutes of action, while Muhammed Lasege struggled: Lasege fouled out in only 13 minutes of action, during which he scored two points and had four rebounds. |
| All said, it was a strange scene in Freedom Hall. First of all, it was Crum's last game, but the Cards also sat on the visitor's bench and wore their red uniforms. Crum himself went to the wrong bench by habit. But the season, mercifully, is over. More to come on the job search, plus recruiting. Hopefully, a new chapter will bring some old results. |
