Louisville Set to Make History

Louisville fans across the nation have been dancing the night away lately, both literally and figuratively. The Cardinals have reached the title game in both men's and women's basketball which has given the program that has always been in the shadow of Kentucky something to brag about. With all of the pandemonium surrounding these two Louisville teams, however, comes two very special, and in one case horrific, reasons for their inspiration.

 Griner struggled against Louisville's physicality

The women's team at Louisville began the tournament as a disregarded five seed who finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Big East. With a 29-8 record at the end of the regular season, the Cardinals were pitted against Middle Tennessee. After disposing of the Blue Raiders by 25 points, Louisville moved to the second round where they took down the fourth-seeded Boilermakers of Purdue. The Cardinals now faced the biggest challenge of anyone in the tournament and that was to take on the powerhouse Baylor team from Waco, Texas. Led by national standout and dominating force Brittney Griner, the Lady Bears were riding on a 32-game win streak and the hopes of what was sure to be another national championship. Yet after a gritty and very physical performance from the underdog Cardinals, the Lady Bears found themselves on the losing side of an 82-81 final, snapping their winning streak and their title hopes.

So Louisville's magical run was now in full swing; they had taken down two teams that were higher seeds than they were and one of which was equipped with quite possibly the greatest women's college basketball player of all time. March Madness at it's finest, right? What more inspiration and encouragement could you want after taking down the top ranked team? But the Cardinals weren't done. While some teams, in any sport that is, tend to have "big game hangovers" Louisville took down two number two seeds in a row to advance to the national championship. With those two wins over Tennessee and Cal, the Cardinals are looking at possibly capping off what has been an unbelievable tournament run.

Pitino is one of the best in the Sweet 16

And with all that has been going on in the women's game, the same excitement has been present in the men's game. Louisville came into the tournament as the number one overall seed and was playing unbelievable basketball. The Big East champions cruised through the first two rounds, taking down the sixteenth-seeded Aggies of North Carolina A&T which was followed by a 26-point routing of the Colorado State Rams. That brought the Cardinals into the round that Rick Pitino might as well call home: the Sweet 16. Pitino boasted an unbelievable 10-0 record in the Sweet 16 and had won those ten games by an average of 22 points, a stat that didn't bode well for the twelfth-seeded Oregon Ducks. However, Oregon came out and gave the Cardinals everything they wanted before eventually falling short 77-69, sending Louisville dancing into the Elite 8 to face Mike Kryzewski's Duke Blue Devils.

As if being the number one overall seed and being ousted in the Final Four last season wasn't enough inspiration, this particular Elite 8 game provided Louisville with more reason to win than any team in the tournament. It doesn't need to be relived or explained, we all saw it. Kevin Ware's gruesome and horrific leg injury is one that will go down as one of the worst injuries in sports history and will be a defining tournament memory whether the replay is shown or not. The image of the Louisville players falling to the floor and crying showed just how close this team is and how sincere these athletes are toward each other. With Ware being taken to the hospital, Louisville came out with a tenacity and an urgency that Duke, quite simply, had no chance against. The Blue Devils fell 85-63 which left Louisville just two games away from completing their season with a championship.

Fans have adopted the slogan "Win For Ware"

Peyton Siva and Co. would then face the pesky Shockers from Wichita State in the Final Four just this past Saturday. Trailing much of the game, the title hopes for Louisville seemed to be dwindling. Yet with the help of their famed aggressive full court pressure, the Cardinals came roaring back to beat the Shockers by four, placing them in the championship against the red hot Michigan Wolverines. The championship game is to take place tonight in Atlanta.

There has been a lot to cheer about if you're a Louisville fan. Nothing short of good basketball has been played this March and if the Cardinals can come out on top these next two nights they will be the first program to win both a men's and women's NCAA division one basketball championship since Emeka Okafor and Diana Turasi led the UConn Huskies to the same achievement in 2004. Ironically enough, the Louisville women's team will have to beat the Huskies this year to take the crown. On the other hand, Louisville has its hands full with the tenacious inside game of Mitch McGary and the outstanding shooting Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Nik Stauskas bring to the table. A chance at history is just hours away, best of luck to both Louisville squads.