Revised 2/02 6:59 am

It is my intention to unequivocally praise the Cardinals’ effort tonight.

I’m still from Missouri as for their post season chances. They need to show me they can beat somebody better than them. That’s not UConn. But no more negativitude.

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Peyton Siva, Samardo Samuels, Jared Swopshire and Reginald Delk continue to impress me with their improvement. Samuels didn’t get a lot of boards tonight, but it was battleground in the paint and he gave no quarter. Love that little jump hook he’s developed. Siva is getting calmer by the game. It’s a good thing. Swop had nine boards. Delk is hitting his treys and sneaking in the back side for some key rebounds.

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When you hit 10/22 from beyond the arc, it overcomes a lot of flaws. Though tonight U of L didn’t display any fatal flaws at all. Making baskets is always a plus. Duh.

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Some other random observations. With Dyson playing only 9 minutes in the first half, I thought U of L’s 14 point lead at the break was a false positive. I was wrong.

UConn really misses Jim Calhoun. The Huskies are playing a disheveled game. Walker and Dyson dribble drive a lot and the others kind of stand around. Calhoun has missed a stunning 25 games as Huskie coach. Assistant George Blaney has coached a dozen of those absences and now stands 6-6.

U of L outblocked the blockingest D in the Land since forever. Cards garnered 8 rejections to only three from the visitors. That, despite the Huskies appreciable length advantage.

Down 68-51 with 13:10 to play, UConn outscored the Cards 14-4 in the next three minutes. It was Season Ticket Insurance time for Cardinal fans. U of L showed, at least for tonight, they can hold a lead. The good guys hung tough.

Even The Rick coached a bit better tonight. I thought starting Swopshire for Samuels at the beginning of the second half was a clever move. On the other hand, I don’t agree with his assessment of Stephan Van Treese. I think the Hoosier is ready for college ball and can give the Cards solid minutes in short bursts. He certainly held his own tonight.

I’ve got to wonder why UConn isn’t better????????? Their win total away from home still stands as 0. As in none.

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Before the game, Tim Higgins came over to chat up Knick scout Steve Yoder, who was sitting next to me. A fan behind us yelled, “Let’s get it right tonight, Higgins.” To which the ubiquitous zebra responded with a little smile, “Why should tonight be any different than any other?”

At which point, Yoder confirmed that its’ the same at every venue. “I’m going to UK tomorrow and it will be the same thing. At Vandy on Wednesday.”

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A quick shout out to the two ball boys sitting on the floor in front of my press row spot. Unlike most of the kids who get this privilege, this duo was really into the game. Jumping up and high fiving at every Cardinal trey and steal and good play. Of course, being a cranky old guy, it got a little bothersome when they blocked my view. Until I realized that I was 10 once and sitting on the floor for a U of L game would have been the coolest thing on earth to do. Stay true to your school, dudes.

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Dennis Frogman, Harry Canary, Mackerel Jordan and the rest of the Zooperstar crew are far and away my favorite halftime entertainment. Those dudes are funny.

– Seedy K