Rough Day for both Texas and Louisville

For most of college basketballs top 25 today was just another typical win over easy unranked teams. Too bad for Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Texas coach Rick Barnes this was a day they want to just forget.  Two of the nations top ten teams, Louisville and Texas, were set to play “should win” games today as Louisville went into Kentucky to face Tubby Smith and the #22 Wildcats, and Texas hosted Bruce Pearl and the Tennessee Volunteers.  Both Texas and Louisville were favored in these games and Texas was supposed to be a team on a mission to prove that they are not going to let the Duke massacre affect the rest of their season.

Well unfortunately for both teams today did nothing but make fans second guess just how good they really are.  Texas was highly-favored going into this game seeing that they are one of the countries best teams at home and were currently riding a 33-nonconference home winning streak.  Well, with most basketball fans letting the Duke blowout slide somewhat, since Texas lost to the nation’s number one team, everyone expected them to go out and take down the Vols and get back into rhythm.  Well Tennessee Guards Chris Lofton and C.J Watson just simply embarrassed the Longhorns on their own court.

Lofton lead the team with 21 points and the Vols just simply destroyed the Longhorns 95-78.  It was not something Texas coach Rick Barnes needed as he really needed to get his team back on track after JJ Redick and the Duke Bluedevils made them look like a glorified high school team last week.  Now with the Longhorns suffering two consecutive disappointing losses they have a lot of work to do if their dreams of a final four want to come true.  However, also today one of last years Final Four teams also took a beating from a team they should have probably beaten.

Louisville’s coach Rick Pitino has received some criticism early this year because of the amazingly soft non-conference schedule they play.  Their first six games were absolute jokes because not many people can call teams like Chicago State and Prairie View quality opponents for the #4 ranked team in the country.  Well those cupcake victories caught up to them as they went in to Kentucky and faced #22 Wildcats.  

Tubby Smith and the boys showed Rick Pitino and the Cardinals just why they should actually have some competition on their schedule if they wish to be successful down the road.  The Wildcats took an early eight point lead and never looked back.  They led by double digits for over 25 minutes and completely shutdown the Cardinals’ offense.  For Rick Pitino this was a wake-up call that they have to be better prepared from now on against all quality opponents, especially when the conference games start (the big east is by no means a cupcake of a conference).  

So now how will these losses affect both Texas and Louisville?  Well it will probably result in Louisville falling from their #4 spot and most likely head down to the bottom half of the top ten. Although the fact that the only teams they beat were teams who really can’t be called competition they may even fall to the bottom half of the top 25. For Texas it is pretty much a coin flip. It would not be unrealistic if they fall out of the top 25 completely but it probably won’t happen. Texas will mostly likely fall all the way down somewhere between 20 and 25.

With coach Rick Pitino in charge at Louisville most people expect Louisville to get through this and still be highly favored in the Big East.  However, coach Rick Barnes, Texas’ coach, has his hands full as the pressure will surly be on him, not his players, to get the Longhorn program back on track.  Two consecution blowouts like this is definitely demoralizing for the players and those dreams of the final four may be out of reach unless they get through this mess.