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No. 7 Men's Basketball Set to Play Long Beach State Monday on ESPNU
Nov. 27, 2011
Louisville vs. Long Beach State Game Notes LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team will square off with Long Beach State for the first time in program history on Monday, Nov. 28, at the KFC Yum! Center. The game is set for a 7:02 p.m. start and will be televised on ESPNU, with Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (color) calling the action. The Cardinals, seventh in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press' rankings, improved to 5-0 following a 59-54 victory over Ohio on Nov. 25. With the win, Louisville claimed the Global Sports Invitational title and delivered head coach Rick Pitino his 250th win at the helm of the program. Pitino now is the eighth coach in NCAA Division I history to reach at least 250 wins at one school and capture 200+ at another (he had 219 wins at Kentucky). Senior Kyle Kuric led the Cardinals with 16 points and four steals in the victory over Ohio. Sophomore Gorgui Dieng added a double-double with 10 points and 16 boards - 10 on the offensive end, the most since Ellis Myles had 10 in 2002 - and freshman Chane Behanan chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. The Cardinals won the rebounding battle, 42-34, including 21 offensive boards for 22 second-chance points. Overall, the contest featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Long Beach State, currently 3-2, is best known this season for upsetting ninth-ranked Pittsburgh, 86-76, on Nov. 16. Most recently, though, the 49ers fell to Montana, 73-71 on Nov. 26. The team's leading scorer, T.J. Robinson, had 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting and an 11-for-12 stint from the charity stripe. Two other players - Casper Ware (15) and Larry Anderson (13) - had double-digit scoring totals in the loss. Despite making 36 trips to the free-throw line as a team and knocking down 28 shots, Long Beach State managed to hit just 34.8 (8-of-23) percent of its shots from the field and 16.7 (1-of-6) percent from beyond the arc in the second half. The 49ers, who are receiving votes in both major polls, are under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Dan Monson. After winning just six games his first year, the Big West Conference Coach of the Year 49ers recorded a 22-12 overall mark last year, won the Big West Conference regular-season title and earned a bid to the NIT. The team returned four of its starters, including Ware, who was named to the John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List. He leads the team in scoring per game (18.8 points) and assists (4.0). Robinson has a team-best 11.6 boards per game average. GAME FACTS - Long Beach State at Louisville
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