Louisville vs Purdue

Getting win #500 at the Wooden Tradition would have been of great symbolic value for Pitino as he continues to reflect on what "could have been" had he stayed in place instead of chasing the NBA rings.

But that didn't happen in this reality. Once again it was evident that the big guys are not the only reason Louisville is struggling as of late. It's the guards! In my opinion having one of Caracter, Padgett or Palacios healthy could have been enough for an NCAA-caliber team, assuming the guards were playing up to their talent level and potential.

But they are not! So if you are a point guard with 2008-2009 eligibility, send your resume to Rick Pitino at the U of Louisville. He should be "looking" for point guards right about now.

The boringly ugly game was turned upside down when Pitino went to his trademark frentic press, spearheaded by Preston "Energizer Bunny" Knowles, but the Purdue diaper dandies showed poise and were lucky that the barrage of three pointers the Cardinals were hoisting did not connect.

Purdue no doubt has a lot of raw talent, but not a whole lot of experience. Matt Painter has a challenge in balancing two those and getting the team ready for the Big 10 conference and the post-season. They certainly have something a variety of "power guards" which bodes well for the tough Big 10 and for not closely-called games in the post-season.

Billy Packer went into Dick Vitale mode when he kept singing the praises of Purdue freshman Robbie Hummel throughout the broadcast. The same way Vitale keeps singing the praises of Duke and Mike Shoe-Chef-Ski.

Meanwhile Tim Brando needs to be smacked in the mouth for calling Nebraska's home win over Oregon in overtime an "upset". Will someone please teach all these clueless announcers and studio hosts that an "upset" is not determined by looking at the polls, but at the gap in talent, size and history between the two teams playing, as well as where the game is played.

More on this game at Brian Bennett's blog, Brightcover, Purdue Rivals, Big Ten Network, News Channel 5, and Schan's blog.

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