When  it comes to March Madness, a team’s success is directly linked to the effectiveness of their guard play.  If a team is going to have any kind of push to the third weekend of the NCAA tournament, the point guard specifically must have a major impact, not only in getting his team involved, but also himself.

Look at the past three champions. The 2012-2013 NIT Kentucky Wildcats had incredible production from their  NBA talented guards (Doron Lamb in the regional games and Marquis Teague in the Final Four) last season. Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier took over the UCONN reins as they carried their team late in the season in 2011. Duke’s guards Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer couldn’t miss in their 2010 run to the championship.

Also, look at the teams that are the “favorites” this season. Indiana plays with the three headed mini-monsters of Victor Oladipo, Yogi Ferrell, and Jordan Hulls. Duke has their standard shooters in Seth Curry and slasher Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon. Michigan has their back-court set with player of the year candidate Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.  The blueprint has been laid, and it seems the Cards have the foundation.

A number of people, however, me in particular, have been very critical of senior point guard Peyton Siva’s play the past month. Look at his stats since the ’groundhog day’ overtime game against Notre Dame. Siva is averaging 7.1 points on 19 of 59 from the field (32.2%) in 32 minutes per game (if you take out the 16 point performance from a terrible Depaul team, the numbers are even more staggering). Before the Luke Hancock show began from deep, many people said the Siva was our best three point option. In this stretch, he is shooting 11.1% (2 for 18) from behind the arc. For a team that struggles to score in the half-court, many thought that the Big East pre-season player of the year would be able to fill more of a void than those numbers indicate.

I like Siva…. I really do. But I don’t think there is a coincidence that the Cards went on a big run in last night’s game with Siva on the bench. Kevin Ware is starting to see more minutes, and you can see his confidence rising. I used to be upset when Russ dominated the ball, and didn’t give others a chance to get into the flow of the game, but he seems to have had an abrupt awakening. Russ is still getting his shots/points, but he now has a little better sense of when to dish and when to shoot when he drives into the lane. He had a possession in the Cincy game last night where he curled off a screen, took one dribble, and pulled up in the lane for a very nice mid-range shot. Very impressive, and not the same Russ from a month ago. That ball dominating demon seems now to have transferred to Siva. There was a possession last night with about nine minutes left in the first half where Siva took 18 dribbles (not an exaggeration) only to settle for a contested jump shot just in front of the three point line (then he goes down and commits a shooting foul which is a whole new issue). I know Pitino has had Siva watch a lot of film on Steve Nash, but even Nash will loan the ball to other players for a second before getting it back. Louisville is at its best in the half court when they are moving the ball, attacking through penetration off of one or two dribbles.

In Siva’s case though, March is typically when he cracks out of his slumps.There must be something about those camo Adidas jerseys. It seems to bring out the beast in him. Last year he went wild and took home the Big East tournament MVP as a confidence builder to carry into the NCAA tournament.  Before that everyone had the Cards left for dead (I can’t help but remember Tony Vanetti on the ‘Afternoon Underdogs’). Their resurrection spawned at the right time to turn the season around.

With all the negativity I just threw out there, this team is has still a top 10 team (top five in my eyes) with only five loses on the season, and it looks as though all of those teams are going to make the tournament (if Villanova can pull it off). Louisville is still a strong favorite to win the National Championship, and in the eyes of the faithful, anything less than a Final Four will be a disappointment. In order for the Cards to fly high into that third weekend of play though, Siva must be on point.

Mark Blaudshun of ajerseyguy.com is reporting that the ‘Catholic 7′ is currently negotiating an earlier departure.  And by early, he means July of this year. Nothing is official by any means, but it appears to be trending that these schools could start their own league quicker than anticipated.  Why?  Fox Sports, who will likely own the league’s TV rights, wants them as soon as possible.  If the the C-7 leave early, there would only be 9 schools left to play basketball for 2014.  In that case, you can bank on Notre Dame making their way to the ACC effective July 2013.

The goals for both sides are similar: move towards the future. But according to multiple sources within the Big East, the break away by the Catholic 7 group of schools could start next July and would include the Big East name.

According to sources familiar with the talks, but not authorized to speak about them, the battle for the Catholic 7 schools–Seton Hall, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Villanova, Providence, and St. John’s–to begin their new life together next season is now down to a battle of money.

Big East officials are willing to make this move for 2013 –and sell the Big East name-if enough money is paid to the remaining conference schools.

Negotiations on what that $$ total is are ongoing.

Louisville and any potential early move to the ACC was mentioned as well.

But an early departure by the Catholic 7 could prompt schools such as Louisville and Notre Dame who scheduled to leave for the ACC in 2014 to also break  away a year earlier.

No official agreement has yet been reached, but the intensity of the talks is increasing and if the Catholic 7 can reach a consensus on how much they are willing to pay to leave by July–as well as a way to get their new league up and running quickly–they are likely to make a move which could be announced in the next several days.

“Both sides have a feeling that it is time to move on to the future,” said one Big East source. “Both 2013 and 2014 are being discussed, but  it’s just a matter of how much the group of schools that are leaving are willing to pay (to leave early).

Here’s another blurb from the Chicago Tribune about the Catholic 7′s move.

Ponsetto has told her coaches to plan as if DePaul will be in the Big East one more year, but neither she nor Williams outright rejected the notion of beginning in 2013-14.

“Every school is committed to making it happen, whether that’s on a super-compressed timeline or a little bit less compressed timeline,” Williams said. “Even if it starts next summer, there’s still a lot of work to do. If it’s going to happen this summer? There are going to be some real, real long days. But I think everybody is committed to doing it.

 

Join your all-UofL sports talk show tonight at 6 on ESPN 680 and ESPNLouisville.com before the DePaul game, as we take you back in time when we catch up with former Card Jason Osborne.  We’ll get his take on his experience at UofL and find out what he’s been up recently.  In the second hour, we will talk to future Card Akoy Agau and get his thoughts on coming in town for the Derby Classic.  We’ll also be breaking down the Big East race and detail what the Cards need to do to secure themselves a top 4 seed. As always, we want you to be apart of the show, hit us up at 267-9680 and on twitter @LvilleSprtsLive to share your thoughts on anything UofL.

Join your all-UofL sports talk show tonight at 6:00 on ESPN 680 and ESPNLouisville.com as we discuss everything Cardinal.  We will bring on Chip Cosby of ICN-2 to talk UofL hoops as the #10 Cards head down the home stretch.  We’ll catch-up with former Card Mario Benavides as he prepares for the NFL Draft.  We will also discuss the ACC and the realignment rumors with the ACC Beat Writer for the Hampton Roads Virginia Daily Press David Teel. Call us at 267-9680 and hit us on twitter @LvilleSprtsLive as we want you to be apart of the program.  

Other topics include:

-Who are teams you don’t Louisville to play in the NCAAs?

-What the letter from the NCAA means for Coach Hurtt

When Louisville made the jump from the sinking ship that was the Big East to the ACC, the nightmare of UofL being left out of the big boys club was a thought of the past.  However, there looks like there could be more conference movement in the weeks ahead.  Jeff Ermann, of insideMDSports.com, tweeted out that Virginia was being mentioned often “as likely to join” the Big 10.  While some would blow this off as a Maryland website publisher wanting to stir up hits, this is more than that.  Jeff was first to report the Maryland to Big 10 rumblings several days before that move became official.  Additionally, MrSEC.com reported that they too have heard the rumblings of multiple ACC schools “in talks” with the Big 10.

Multiple sources have told MrSEC.com that Virginia and Georgia Tech have had conversations with the Big Ten, but all parties involved are waiting to see the outcome of the ACC/Maryland battle before deciding to wed.  There have been other reports that the Big Ten has had contact with North Carolina and Duke as well.

Jim Delany’s league and any ACC schools on its wish list could announce plans to wed before Maryland’s case is settled, but at this point that seems unlikely.  So this not-so-unexpected delay in the courts might slow down — for a bit — the inevitable expansion/realignment shuffle to come.

It needs to be stressed that no ACC school has accepted anything nor is anything even remotely official.  The argument, though, now can be made that this is more than some pie in the sky theory created by some hilljack WVU bloggers.  There appears to be more smoke, but here’s some other news dealing with this that you need to keep your eyes on.

-The ACC and Maryland are in the midst of proceedings to see when and where the case – the ACC is planning on forcing Maryland to fork over $52 million in exit fees – will go down.   In a ruling yesterday, a North Carolina judge won’t dismiss the ACC’s lawsuit against Maryland.

Maryland lawyer Alex Barrett argued a North Carolina court has no jurisdiction over Maryland and because the school is an arm of the state, it enjoys sovereign immunity that protects it from lawsuits.

ACC attorney Alan Duncan countered that in North Carolina, sovereign immunity doesn’t exist in contractual claims.

Louisville doesn’t move to the ACC until 2014, but news is finally coming regarding the league’s winter meetings as commissioner John Swofford spoke out recently.

Part 1 of his interview
As you look at future bowl tie-ins, how much thought have you given to adding another bowl because of the additions of Pitt and Syracuse?

John Swofford: We’re discussing that now and we’ll continue to discuss what the right number is in terms of the bowls we will need going forward. I think certainly one change in the future is that you’ve got to find the right sweet spot, so to speak, as to what the correct number is. You don’t want to have too many and not be able to fill them, but at the same time you want to have enough to reward the teams in your league that should be rewarded with a bowl opportunity. I suspect there will be more discussions among the bowls and among conferences in terms of secondary arrangements to fill spots and other bowls that are committed to other conferences, and other conferences can’t fill them. That will work in both directions.

And with Notre Dame playing, too, and possibly taking one of the ACC’s spots, I would imagine that would factor into your decision as well.

JS: It does factor into it. Certainly I think our lineup of potential teams is enhanced with not only the addition of Syracuse and Pitt, but in the future the addition of Notre Dame and Louisville when they come in.

Part 2 continues here
What about the possibility of an ACC TV network? Where do those talks stand right now?

JS: We’re having that conversation. We’re looking at it in a very strategic way to see if it is feasible and is the best route for us to go moving forward. We’re all in with ESPN in our contractual agreements. We’re having discussions on those moving forward with Notre Dame as a part of that, and then Louisville becoming a member of the league. We’re looking at the current structure, as well as the possibility of a channel. And those discussions all involve ESPN. The good news is that in terms of distribution, when you’re with ESPN and their commitment to the new technology that’s there and the ability to show content anywhere, anytime, anyplace, basically, as we look forward from a distribution standpoint, we’re in great shape. From a financial standpoint, we’re by far better off than we’ve ever been before as a league — quite competitive, generally speaking, with other leagues at our level. We’re analyzing that with the help of Wasserman and ESPN. That will take a period of time to thoroughly evaluate and see what the possibilities are and if it’s in our best interest to go that route or not.

Clemson’s AD gave a little insight into the meetings as well.

“It was great. It was one of the better meetings as it relates to conference solidarity to be honest with you,” Radakovich said. “I think everybody left there feeling good about the conference. There are some really good opportunities moving forward as they relate to an ACC television network. The conference is talking with our media partner ESPN about how that all would work. Because of the increased footprint of the ACC we feel like it is the best time to look at something like this.”

Join us tonight at 6:00 on ESPN 680 and ESPNLouisville.com as we give you solutions to Louisville’s evident basketball-IQ deficiencies.  That Notre dame debacle was terrible in every sense of the word, but it’s time to move on and talk about what this team can do to finish out the regular season on a hot streak.  We’ll discuss the impressive ranking UofL has with statistical guru Ken Pomeroy of kenpom.com. Hit us up at 267-9680 and on twitter @LvilleSprtsLive as we ask you to play coach and elaborate on what you would do differently to get this team back on track.

According to Georgia Tech’s acting AD, Paul Griffin, an ACC network is continuing to get a lot of discussion in ACC administrator circles.  During last week’s ACC winter meetings, it was discussed and the league and ESPN agreed to further analyze the possibilities of it.  Additionally, the ACC reps estimated that the conference would see a $3.5 million increase in their TV deal due to the Louisville/Notre Dame addition, Orange Bowl tie-in, and the new BCS Playoff.  The third component that was brought up was moving the ACC basketball tournament to the New York area. 

“I think the members were very excited about the potential, he said.

With the league looking for additional revenue sources that can help member schools compete with the other BCS conferences, a network in partnership with ESPN could provide that aid. Griffin described the conversation as “very preliminary.” Still, he said it’s conceivable it could be running by the 2014-15 academic year, when Notre Dame and Louisville join the league and the four-team football playoff begins.

Even without a network, the ACC is estimating an additional $3.5 million in annual revenues per school in 2014-15 due to a number of factors – the addition of Notre Dame and Louisville, a renegotiated TV contract, the BCS playoff and a new deal with the Orange Bowl that will pair the league champion against a team from the SEC or Big Ten or Notre Dame.

*According to Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, UofL could be rocking these jerseys, er, shirts for an upcoming game.  They will look something like this….(the NBA will be debuting them next week)

*UofL merchandise is available at theACCStore.com

*The Cards are #12 in both major polls

*Heading into today, UofL has RPI and SOS of 7; including a record of 6-4 in the Top 50

Join us tonight at 6:00 on ESPN 680 and ESPNLouisville.com as we give you a rundown of all the National Signing Day activities as the UofL staff welcomes one of the best classes in the history of the program.  We will also get you set for the Louisville-Rutgers tilt as we take you up until the game.  As always, we want you to be a part of the show.  Which signee are you most excited about?  Who will make the biggest impact?  Hit us up at 267-9680 and on twitter @LvilleSprtsLive.