2001–02 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

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2001–02 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Louisville Cardinals text logo.svg
ConferenceConference USA
2001–02 record19-13 (8-8 C-USA)
Head coach
Home arenaFreedom Hall
Seasons
2001–02 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
American
No. 5 Cincinnati † 14 – 2   .875 31 – 4   .886
No. 12 Marquette 13 – 3   .813 26 – 7   .788
Charlotte 11 – 5   .688 18 – 12   .600
Saint Louis 9 – 7   .563 15 – 16   .484
Louisville 8 – 8   .500 19 – 13   .594
East Carolina 5 – 11   .313 12 – 18   .400
DePaul 2 – 14   .125 9 – 19   .321
National
Memphis 12 – 4   .750 27 – 9   .750
Houston 9 – 7   .563 18 – 15   .545
South Florida 8 – 8   .500 19 – 13   .594
TCU 6 – 10   .375 16 – 15   .516
UAB 6 – 10   .375 13 – 17   .433
Tulane 5 – 11   .313 14 – 15   .483
Southern Miss 4 – 12   .250 10 – 17   .370
† 2002 Conference USA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]


The 2001–02 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the 88th season of interleague play for the Cardinals. The head coach was Rick Pitino[2] and the team finished the season with an overall record of 19-13.[3] Their longest winning streak was an 8-game streak and the Cardinals never lost more than 3 games in a row.[3]

This was Pitino's first season as Louisville's head coach. Pitino replaced Denny Crum at the end of the 2000-01 season[4] and he made his coaching debut for the Cardinals on October 31, 2001 in an exhibition match against EA Sports with an 81-63 victory.

Preseason[]

September 11 attacks[]

During the September 11 attacks, Pitino lost Bill Minardi, his brother-in-law, who was working on the 105th floor of the North Tower for Cantor Fitzgerald on the morning of the attacks.[5]

EA Sports Exhibition[]

On October 31, 2001, Louisville played the EA Sports All-Stars in an exhibition game at Freedom Hall. The Cardinals won 81-63 and this was the debut for new head coach Rick Pitino.[6]

Regular season[]

The Cardinals finished the regular season with a record of 17-11, including an 8-8 conference record an appearances in two tournaments.[3] Their longest winning streak included an eight-game winning streak and their longest losing streak was a three-game losing streak.[3]

Postseason and Tournaments[]

During the postseason, the Cardinals played in the Conference USA Tournament and the National Invitation Tournament.[3]

In the CUSA tournament, the Cardinals defeated Texas Christian 110-86 on March 5, 2002, but were defeated by Marquette the next day with a score of 84-76.[3]

On March 12, the team starts the NIT Tournament by defeating Princeton 66-65, but were defeated by Temple 65-62 a week later, finishing the Cardinal's season with an overall record of 19-13.[3] Their game against Princeton was won by a banked jumper by Reece Gaines with 5.3 seconds left in the game.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 2001-02 Conference USA Season Summary
  2. ^ "2001-2002 Louisville Cardinals Roster and Stats". Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "2001-2002 Louisville Cardinals Schedule and Results". Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Pitino Visits U of L Campus". Louisville Cardinals. March 14, 2001. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  5. ^ "Pitino Working Again After Losing Brother-In-Law In Attacks". Louisville Cardinals. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  6. ^ "Pitino Makes Louisville Coaching Debut". Louisville Cardinals. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  7. ^ "Late Jumper By Louisville Beats Princeton in N.I.T". New York Times Online. March 13, 2002. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
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