I know these stats and efficiency ratings don't come close to explaining a great deal of this team or its problems, but they're something to consider. Congrats to Russ Smith for giving this team a better season than anyone thought he was capable (except Ralph Willard). Enjoy.

GO CARDS. BEAT THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT.

This is a public service announcement from Rick Pitino*:

Injury to a basketball player is a serious condition. Any player can have an injury; trust me, I know. I am planning to run the Big East gauntlet with a hobbled team. If you see a basketball player with an injury, do not laugh. Take it seriously. Basketball players with injuries lasting longer than four hours should see a doctor. May experience side effects: less-than-stellar rebounding, awful fouling, scoring drought, turnover, getting blown out by Providence, and poor shot selection. If you or a basketball player you know has an injury, let them know that the Louisville fans are here for them.

Not to Mention

George Goode

Terrence Jennings

Seriously, we have seven players on our roster who cannot play right now. Wow.

Who plays where?

Do we still have a back up for every player?

What's your starting five?

Can't wait for Kyle and Wayne come back!

Go Cards. Beat Injuries.

It's not over until you're down to four.

*Rick Pitino did not actually provide this message.

A few times in the past (maybe the 2009-2010 season) I wrote up a stats posts after games. I am not a coach, and I do not know how to beat Pittsburgh. These stats never tell the whole story, but it is at least something that is fun to examine. My overly simplified efficiency formula is Points + Rebounds + Blocks + Steals - Turnovers / Minutes = Efficiency Rating. The higher, the better. I am open to suggestions on changing this formula. It does not include fouls, shot attempts, or free throw attempts. Those are harder to figure into the grand scheme; I'll leave that to Kenpom.

The stats and ratings are listed below, here are my takeaways:

- Good game Chane Behanan. He transformed into a scoring machine for a few minutes. I hope there's more where that came from.

- Rakeem Buckles had a very solid minute of play before his injury.

- Kevin Ware was a great boost from the bench.

- Peyton Siva's assists to turnover is good; however, he still desperately needs to get his shot back. Outside of these stats, I actually think it looked better today on a few shots-- near misses.

- Angel Nunez also had some near misses, which killed him from a stats standpoint. The way the rating comes out for him does not make sense because it is in the negative. You can see Pitino's concern with him though, he basically came in and did nothing but hurt the team with a turnover in his few minutes. He has got to grab a rebound, steal a ball, or block a shot. On the other hand, his rating dramatically increases if he makes one of his three shot attempts.

- No wonder this team did not press. Look how many minutes everyone played. I really want to see the results of getting more of these guys off the bench and implementing the full court press throughout the entire game. Really, what do we have to lose? The offense is rarely successful after setting, Pitino ball requires the press, steal, fast break, etc. Get back to your roots, Coach P. At least give it a shot when nothing else is working well.

- This was not Louisville's best game. But hey, it could be a lot worse. This team still has tremendous potential. Take three players that average a total of 55.5 minutes a game (Kyle Kuric, Mike Marra, and Stephan Van Treese) and a star freshman recruit (Wayne Blackshear) away from any team in the nation, have another player who averages 14.8 minutes a game (Rakeem Buckles) go down after one minute of play, and then tell me how many teams in the nation can go into Marquette and come out with a win? A loss of only 11 points? Probably none. This season is a series of unfortunate events. Lemony Snicket is cruel, but it is not over until the fat lady sings. Don't stop believin'.

GO CARDS! BEAT PITT!

Stats Source: ESPN

Sometimes you just feel like going Mike Rutherford style and making a list of statements about a game. Here's my list for the Louisville/Kentucky game on Saturday. Some are Why Louisville Beats Kentucky. Others are just for fun. Please enjoy.

Reasons why Louisville beats Kentucky:

1. God should not reward people like Casual Gamer.

2. In 343 minutes of play this season, Peyton Siva has racked up 70 assists. In 402 minutes, Siva's Kentucky Counterpart has only racked up 58 assists. Add 105 points for Siva and 142 points for Teague along with 39 Turnovers for Siva and 41 Turnovers for Teague, and Louisville easily wins the statistical point guard match up position. This considering the facts that Siva has already suffered, missed time, and played through a concussion and ankle injury makes me very happy. No doubt, Teague is good, Teague is a freshman, and Teague will get better. Still, this is one match-up we should win on Saturday.

3. This woman's comments make me sick. Yes, it is a disgrace that a fan would be pushed down by an opposing fan base at the end of a game. People should be more careful. However, the notion that "What happened up there would never happen at Kentucky. They were so distasteful and not very sportsmanlike," is simply not true. Kentucky fans are in the top 5 for having bad fans and ridiculous celebrations. Remember when they acted like they won a National Championship after beating Drexel by 30. Sure, it's no big deal to take down a number one team, who just happens to be a hated rival with a very unlikeable coach, at home whenever your team has not made the NCAA tournament since 2008 when it went down in the first round. I mean, if there's ever a time to rush the court... Not to mention their distasteful chants involving Sypher, their awful fans who carve UK Wins into poor college students' vehicles after games, and every horror story I have ever heard from every Louisville fan I have ever spoken to after a visit to Kentucky for a game.

4. I hate to speculate. Just kidding, I love to speculate. I think Rick Pitino might have something up his sleeve. Something to unveil, a new offensive play, something. I hope. Our offense has been lacking, and I know new plays are generally introduced over the course of the season as the players learn and perfect them. I hope we break out something new and better on Saturday. We could also use some lock down on three point defense.

5. Indiana did it.

6. In 243 minutes, Russ Smith has 130 points. Comparable in scoring on the season: in 310 minutes, Terrence Jones has scored 133 points. In 337 minutes, Darius Miller has scored 137 points. Russ Smith should get more minutes. I think Russ Smith will get more minutes.

7. The past two years against Kentucky have been bull shit. We all remember 2009 and the drama on the floor. A nine point loss. Do you also remember the drama off the floor? I believe Siva had the flu a day or so before. I could tell he was sick during the game. He played five minutes and only contributed a steal, a turnover, and a foul. In a nine point game with those kinds of theatrics, I maintain that we have a much better chance to win with a healthy back-up point guard. Last year, Rakeem Buckles went down a day or so before the game. Buckles was a crucial part of our game (leading rebounder) then and likely a crucial part of our game plan against Kentucky for that game. Again, this season, we are riddled with injuries. Hopefully, though, this time, there has been enough time for planning around injuries to prevent a loss. Kentucky, on the other hand, I believe has had only a finger injury a few cramps in the past few years. Seriously, how do they stay so healthy?

8. Pitino has got to be fed up with losing to Calipari. I hope he channels such frustration into an attacking offense and relentless defense. My fear: Calipari has Pitino's number like Pitino has Boeheim's number. The match-ups have been disastrous these past two years. Has Calipari actually studies and imitated Pitino so much that he knows his game plans and how to beat him? It's possible, but I doubt it. I think the actual reason is as listed above combined with some very talented Kentucky players. John Thompson may, however, have Pitino's number.

9. Defense. It's not often that a team holds another team to only 27 points. It's also not often that a team makes as many miraculous comebacks as our team has. Defense is the reason for this. The Louisville Cardinals can lock it down when focused on doing so. I know there have been some lapses around the three point line, but simply knowing that this team is capable of holding another team scoreless for minutes as a time gives me hope.

GO CARDS! BEAT KENTUCKY!

Kyle Kuric's jam over Scott Martin that resulted in a technical made it to the dunk of the year finals. Go here, and vote for it.  

Louisville's Kyle Kuric throws down the monster jam over Scott Martin of Notre Dame.

Go here to hear Peyton Siva's description of the dunk.  He could not say it better.

Watch below to relive the magic with Bob Knight and Digger Phelps.

Hope we get to play Notre Dame again in tournament.  GO CARDS!