2010 Louisville Cardinals Basketball: Louisville vs Syracuse

Rick Pitino is a close friend of Jim Boeheim, but not because Pitino seems to beat his buddy on so many important occasions. Yet, it has to be said that when these two high-profile coaches compete from opposite benches, Slick Rick usually gains the upper hand. On Sunday at a shocked Carrier Dome, this truth was reaffirmed.

The relationship between Pitino - head basketball coach of the Louisville Cardinals - and Boeheim - a Syracuse icon - goes back to 1976. Boeheim had just been hired as the head coach of the Orange (then the Orangemen), and he was looking to fill out his staff of assistants. Boeheim placed a call to Pitino, who - amazingly enough - was celebrating his honeymoon at the time. Pitino accepted the job while his honeymoon was delayed, and the rest - as they say - is history. That history, however, brought the two men together on a number of important occasions, two of which stand out to even the most casual college basketball observer.

In the 1996 national championship game, Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats topped Boeheim's Syracuse squad, giving Pitino his only NCAA crown and denying Boeheim that same honor until Carmelo Anthony delivered the 2003 title to the Cuse. The second big meeting between these two giants of the coaching profession came just last year, when Pitino's Louisville lineup sprinted past Syracuse to win the 2009 Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Pitino had the better players - by far - in each of those two contests, but the point remains that the man Jim Boeheim called back in 1976 has stood in the way of Syracuse basketball over the past 15 years.

On Valentine's Day of 2010, Pitino beat his former boss once more, and this time, it was Boeheim who had the better players... but still couldn't defeat his younger counterpart.

Syracuse had been skating by over the past few weeks. The Orange have been winning lots of close games, but that's partly a function of living on the edge. Inconsistent rebounding, sluggish ball movement, and the best shots of fired-up opponents who need to improve their NCAA Tournament resumes have all contributed to the Cuse's difficulties. It needs to be said that all teams should have Syracuse's problems; the Orange hadn't lost a game since Jan. 2; it's just that they weren't winning by the margins many observers had expected.

On this Sunday, however, Syracuse fell off the ledge. Louisville's Samardo Samuels might have scored only eight points, but he made a steady stream of big plays down the stretch. A combination of athleticism and poise enabled the Cardinal forward to post all of those eight points in the game's decisive run, an 11-2 spurt that enabled Louisville to take a 59-52 lead with 3:02 remaining in regulation. Syracuse took advantage of Louisville turnovers and missed front ends of one-and-ones to pull within two (62-60) with 29 seconds left, but when UL's Rakeem Buckles blocked a reverse layup by flustered Syracuse star Wesley Johnson (who hit only 5 of 20 field goals), Cardinal guard Jerry Smith was able to corral the ball and hit two free throws that pushed the lead to four points - two possessions - with 17 seconds to go. Syracuse didn't score another basket, and suddenly, Louisville's plummeting NCAA Tournament chances improved markedly. If a terrible Thursday loss to St. John's put UL on life support, this win over the No. 3 Orange will allow the Cardinals to sit on the right side of the bubble, at least for the time being.

Rick Pitino got Jim Boeheim again; as a result, Louisville is still very much in the hunt for an NCAA Dance card.

Louisville vs Syracuse Basketball Recap