Alabama Series History: In the 1999 meeting, both head coaches were former assistants at UCLA: Denny Crum of course under John Wooden, and Mark Gottfried under Jim Harrick when the Bruins won the NCAA title in 1995.

Series History

All-Time Record: Louisville 6, Alabama 3

Game Preview: Alabama	Date: Dec. 11, 1999
Site: Freedom Hall	Records: U of L: 3-2, Alabama: 4-3
Both teams heading into tonight's match-up in Freedom Hall find themselves one game above five hundred, U of L at 3-2 and Alabama at 4-3. The Tide have suffered losses this season at Northern Arizona and St. Louis, and is also coming off a home loss to Samford. The Cards, who are playing only their second game in two weeks, look to extend their current three-game winning streak. A win tonight would set them up well with Central Florida on Wednesday before the really big match-up in Lexington next Saturday.
After five games of action, Louisville is led in scoring by Tony Williams, who is pouring in a blazing 20.2 points a game. From the boards, the Cards are led by starting center Dion Edward with an impressive 9.2 a game. Nate Johnson has continued his consistent play by being second on the team in scoring with 16.4 a game, while also averaging 4.6 rebounds and nearly four assists. Furthermore, after 15 turnovers in his first two games, point guard Reece Gaines has only four in the last three games.

Game Summary: Alabama	Score: Louisville 87, Alabama 72
Leading Scorers: U of L: Nate Johnson (22) Alabama: Schea Cotton (21)
It was a magnificent 20-2 run midway through the second half that propelled the Cards to victory over the Crimson Tide, a run that turned a 51-45 lead into a 71-47 bulge that for all intents and purposes sealed the game. After a sloppy first half that featured 18 turnovers by Alabama and 37.5 % field goal shooting by the Cards, U of L was able to pull together probably their most remarkable run of the season so far.
Despite the ugly first half, the Cards led by 11 at 39-28. The Tide closed the gap to six before Nate Johnson hit two free throws and the ice on Louisville's long range shooting finally melted. Caleb Gervin hit two three-pointers and Tony Williams and Reece Gaines each had a three that sent the Freedom Hall crowd into a frenzy. At the 9:45 mark, the Cards held their biggest lead of the game, a dunk by Gaines had capped the run and the crowd stood and cheered as the U of L players embraced at half-court after a foul call. It was a moment of pure energy from the fans and an awesome demonstration from the players.
Nate Johnson had seven rebounds to go with his game-high 22 points, while Marques Maybin went 10-11 from the line in scoring 18 points. Schea Cotton made his first start of the season for Alabama, and scored a slick 21 points to go along with his nine rebounds although he was only 11-18 from the line. Alabama finished the game with a season-high 31 turnovers, 14 of which were Louisville steals.

Game Preview: Alabama	Date: Nov. 30, 2000
Site: Tuscaloosa, AL	Records: U of L: 2-2, Alabama: 2-0
The Cards return to action after over a week off, having returned from Hawaii to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and study the tape from their three games in the Maui Invitational. U of L will have to wait a few more days before the regular season home opener, as they travel to take on SEC opponent Alabama. The Tide are 2-0 so far this year, with their most recent game being a 110-53 thrashing of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Tide are led by 6-2 sophomore guard Terrance Meade and highly-touted freshman, 6-7 forward Gerald Wallace.
The Cards are led by Marques Maybin, who is averaging a fine 20 points. Reece Gaines is scoring 16 ppg, and Ellis Myles has been a pleasant surprise averaging 9.6 ppg and a team-high 6.3 rpg.

Game Summary: Alabama	Score: Alabama 100, Louisville 71
Leading Scorers: U of L: Marques Maybin (20) Alabama: Rod Grizzard (25)
The Cards' match-up vs. Alabama was a complete disaster. Maybe the Cards were still suffering from jet lag, maybe Alabama has a better team than they did last year (freshman Gerald Wallace leads much credance to that theory). Whatever the theory, the Crimson Tide handled the Cards their lunch in the worst way. Wallace predicted earlier in the week that the Tide would win by 20-30 points. A prediction that should have lit a fire under U of L only proved to be even more embarrassing when it turned out to be true.
It didn't even take a full game for the Tide to meet Wallace's prediction. By the time the game was 13 minutes old, Alabama had already opened up a 30-point lead. For only the sixth time in Denny Crum's career, an opponent scored at least 100 points. It was U of L's worst loss since last year's 76-46 debacle at UK. Although not even starting, Wallace had 17 points in the first half, finishing with 22. Alabama set a school record with 18 steals, leading to 25 Cardinal turnovers. U of L managed only three field goals in the first 16 minutes of the first half, and trailed 41-11 with seven minutes until halftime. The Cards had four turnovers in their first six possessions.
U of L then moved into a zone defense, which helped stop the bleeding. U of L gave up only field goal in the final 4:38 of the first half, going on an 8-2 run to trail 51-31 at the break. The Cards cut the lead to 60-45 at the 14:17 mark in the second half, but Alabama made seven three-pointers in the second half to keep the margin near 20 for the bulk of the second half. A 10-4 run in the final minutes led to the final margin. Center Erwin Dudley had 17 points on 8-12 shooting for Alabama, while Marques Maybin led U of L with 20, though he shot only 4-12 from the field. Reece Gaines was the only other Card in double figures, finishing with 18 points. The Cards shot only 37% from the field, but somehow outrebounded the Tide 39-32.