There are so many words that could encapsulate how badly Louisville played tonight in a 90-57 beat down at the hands of a Notre Dame team that has not won a game in over a month, but the Pinkie is a family-friendly site and would not condone such phrases.

Just Unexplainable

Wait a minute, SCREW THAT!!! In nearly 20 years of watching Cardinal basketball, I have seen some piss-poor performances. The beat down at Cincinnati when Coach Pitino asked the referee if he could be excused in the second half, Darius Washington going off at Freedom Hall the Final Four year, the blur that was the final few years of the Coach Crum era. They’re all right there in my mind.

Tonight’s game moves into that category of Cardinal basketball disasters. Some are quick to call an experience like this The Worst in Cardinal History, but I don’t believe that to be true tonight. It was, however, an absolutely pathetic performance. The St. Stephen Martyr Elementary Cardinals could have put up a better fight than UofL tonight. What can you say?

Let’s look at Bobby E’s breakdown from the other day. His three factors were to improve the 3-point shooting, limit Luke Harangody, and have good shot selection. One by one…

Three-point shooting: Louisville went 5-18 (27.8%), while the starting five of T-Will, Clark, Samuels, Sosa, and Smith went 2-11.

Luke Harangody: 32 pts, 17 reb (6 offensive), 4 ast, 1 to, 14-21 fg, 35 min.

This Man Owns UofL

Shot selection: UofL shot 23-59 for 39% from the floor. This is such a huge number because missed shots (without offensive boards) prevent the press from being run. When the press isn’t run, the Cards struggle mightily. The Cards have shot 26.8% (v. WKU), 37.7% (v. MINN), 29.6% (v. UNLV), and 34.4% (v. UCONN) in their other losses this season.

Now to the realist approach. The Cards are 18-5 and are still 9-2 (tied for 2nd with Pittsburgh and Marquette) in the BIG EAST. DePaul comes in to Freedom Hall on Sunday afternoon. The ship can still be righted. However, it is looking less and less like this Cardinal team has the toughness, shooting ability, and basketball IQ to get to the Final Four.

On to the (dis)honors:

The Good: We’ll just leave this one blank for tonight. Maybe there will be some good on Sunday.

The Bad: Rebounding. Notre Dame out-rebounded Louisville 46-25 tonight (I’ll let that sink in for a minute so you can read that previous sentence). There is no excuse for that stat line and only reflects a lack of hustle and determination by the Cards in tonight’s game.

The Ari Wolfe: I hate doing this, but this honor goes to Coach Pitino, who did not conduct his post game interview this evening on WHAS Radio. Coach, I am fine with you being disappointed and strait ticked at your team (many of your most loyal supporters would be in full agreement with you). I would have been fine if you had decided to get run tonight because you could not take watching any more (many of your most loyal supporters certainly turned the channel to Grey’s Anatomy or The Office). But Coach, sending your son out for the post game interview is WRONG!

Just as the fans expect to hear from the head coach after the biggest wins of the season, fans expect to hear from the head coach after a 33-point beat down. Even if it is for the coach-speak you are known for. Sending out your first-year assistant coach (who happens to be your son) to give us perspective on the game is a disservice to your fans. Hopefully, the team can move on, and maybe this was just an aberration.

Coach Pitino failed to come out for his post game interview

But just know this, when your fans screw up at their job, whether it be the losing the big proposal, getting into an accident at the plant, or whatever it may be, accountability matters. 99.9% of those fans could not even imagine making a fraction of what you make, but accountability is equal opportunity. It’s a reflection on your credibility, and I am afraid you lost a little bit of your own tonight.

Stick with the Pinkie this weekend for the DePaul preview and Rolf’s recapsulation following that contest. To steal from Edward R. Murrow, good night, and in the spirit of the Irish, good luck.