Cup O' Jones : Ash Wednesday Edition

Coincidence....I think not


Hope everyone had a gluttonous Fat Tuesday filled with beads, creole food, and all that good stuff. Lent starts today for Catholics with Ash Wednesday - the time of year when you're forced to give something up until Easter as a sign of respect. I am giving up fast food for sure and maybe cursing. For those of you that know me, fast food is easy for a skinny guy to give up - the cursing on the other hand will be pretty difficult. Enough about me, let's talk about something I could never give up - those Louisville Cardinals.

- Providence took care of PITT last night in what should give the Cards and inside track on an overall #1 seed come tourney time if we take care of business. I think 2 teams will get #1 seeds from the BIG EAST and it will come from 3 (maybe 4) teams. Right now, if we somehow get past the Panthers in New York, there is no question we are that second team. The team we play Sunday - Marquette - also has an outside shot of a #1 if they can run the table. Those damn Memphis Tigers are the only team I see with a possibility of spoiling the BIG EAST party. I remember when we played in a tougher C-USA and didn't get as much credit as the Tigers have the lat 3 years. Remember, when we played in the C-USA so did Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis, and So. Florida. Now the Tigers get to feast on UAB, Tulsa and UTEP and a reaping the benefits.

- Marquette might be the most underrated team in the nation. Their top three guards - Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal and Dominic James - have more experience combined than any back-court in the country. James seems like he's been there as long as Clarence Weatherspoon was at So. Miss or Elliot Perry at Memphis. The problem people have with the Eagles is their lack of size. As most BIG EAST fans know, a smallish team can have a great deal of success in the conference. A couple years back Villanova took a team with no size to the Elite 8 -taking a great UNC team to the brink. That team was set around guards - Mike Nardi, Kyle Lowry, Allen Ray and Randy Foye. All but one were first round picks and all had at least 2 years of playing time under their belt. Not saying the Marquette trio is at the same talent level, but it's close. Even with that being said, the Cards should pound the ball down low early and often.

- The way I see it, if the Cards win on Sunday and take care of the final two games against Seton Hall and WestVirginia we are staring the regular season title right in the face. PITT and UCONN face off in the last game of the season and - if everything plays out like it should - if UCONN wins they win the title and if PITT wins UL wins the title. The only thing that could hurt the Cards is if PITT sneaks up and steals our dance seed because of their two wins against the Huskies. All the Cards need to worry about is their own games and taking care of their own business.

- Here's game-winning shot #2 for the Cards against Marquette. Enjoy...



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