Last year not a whole lot was expected of Rick Pitino’s
Louisville Cardinals. After all, the 2010-11 Cards didn’t bring a
single starter back, didn’t get a single vote in the preseason AP poll and were
picked to finish eighth in the Big East. But the Cards overachieved, finishing
25-10 for their ninth straight 20-win season. They reached the Big East
Tournament title game but were ousted in their first NCAA Tournament game by No.
13 seed Morehead State. Can Pitino’s bunch cut down the next come April?
Louisville opened at 12/1 on Bodog’s NCAA basketball futures odds. The Cardinals do lose leading scorer
Preston Knowles but welcome back three starters and 11 players
overall, led by Kyle Kuric. He was third in the Big East last
season in 3-point shooting. Also back are guards Peyton Siva
and Chris Smith. Kuric is an athletic shooter who
should assume Knowles' role, and Siva is a very good penetrating point guard who
is explosive in transition. If Rakeem Buckles can return from a
2011 late-season ACL injury, Louisville will have enough of an interior presence
to unleash a potentially explosive perimeter. Before the injury, the 6-foot-7
Buckles averaged 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds while providing the Cardinals with
their most athletic big man. But what really has Cards backers excited is a stellar incoming freshman
class. Shooting guard Wayne Blackshear and power forward
Chase Behanan were both McDonald’s All-Americans and were set
to lead a group that features four Top-100 ranked players. However, recently
Blackshear hurt his shoulder and is done before the season even started. The Cardinals open their season Friday against Tennessee-Martin. The annual
Kentucky game, which essentially shuts down the entire state, is on New Year’s
Eve afternoon in Lexington. The stars of tomorrow PLAY TODAY. Bet on college basketball at Bodog.
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