Yes, you had seen that Louisville team before …

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 | 1:46 a.m.

From the perspective of a spectator, Rick Pitino's Louisville club was flat-out amazing Friday night in a 103-64 embarrassment of Arizona in Indianapolis.

However, the Louisville that showed up Sunday and laid an egg in a 64-52 loss to Michigan State with a Final Four berth on the line?

Well, can't honestly say I hadn't seen that before.

A thought passed through my mind up in section 241 as the Cardinals threw in the towel with roughly 4 minutes to play: This is exactly how U of L played against UNLV back on Dec. 31.

If you'll remember, the Rebels won an ugly affair at Freedom Hall, 56-55, as Louisville played a game completely unbecoming of a nationally-ranked squad (No. 18 at the time). On Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium (I was there with some friends to watch my alma mater -- Kansas), they played a game completely unbecoming of the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed.

Lets compare the Dec. 31 and March 29 showings ...

*Against UNLV, the Cards shot a miserable 29.6 percent from the floor, including a 6-of-26 performance in the first half. Their first two-point field goal in that game didn't come until the 7:27 mark in the first half. On Sunday, UL was 38.3 percent from the field, saving its best for last, going 8-of-23 after the break.

*Star power outage? Well, UL boasts 3 future NBA players on its roster -- senior do-it-all Terrence Williams, freshman big man Samardo Samuels and versatile junior forward Earl Clark. Williams, who was just 2-of-15 from the floor against the Rebels, went just 1-of-7 in 35 minutes in the regional final. Samuels, 2-of-6 against UNLV, was 0-for-6 against MSU. Clark was the only one to put up decent numbers, but they were a struggle both times. Against UNLV, he had 10 points on 4-of-11 efficiency, and led the Cards with 19 points against the Spartans. But he was only 8-of-17 from the field, and his shot selection was questionable at best. Almost as if he was auditioning for some scouts on-hand.

*In the New Year's Eve loss, the Cards had 7 assists to 12 turnovers. They then had 12 and 12, respectively, in their final game of the season.

So, what does this say for UNLV? Well, not much, really. I just love comparisons. But it also shows that the Rebels -- who played outstanding defense for the most part in Louisville -- may have also caught the Cards on a bad day.

A quick glance at the Cards' season stats shows that they shot, on average, 45.7 percent as a team this season, Samuels shot 57.8 percent and Williams 43.1 percent.

Take it for what you will. Sure, Louisville didn't look like the tourney's top seed on Sunday. But it wasn't the first time.

--Apparently there's this guy who plays for the Indianapolis Colts, wears No. 18, and looks like he throws the ball a lot? Well, whoever he is, he seems to be a pretty popular guy, since you can't walk 14 inches in that stadium without seeing his face somewhere.

Then again, I'm a Bears fan, so I'm more than allowed to be bitter about other teams' dandy quarterback situations.

--Indianapolis proved why it's one of the top host sites for the Final Four.

The new stadium is spacious, sparkling and comfortable. It's located blocks from a downtown where you can find just about everything you want.

Only snag? Dealing with snow, cold and wind in late March.

--Spotted in Indianapolis ...

*Jared from Subway. Honestly. At Champp's in downtown Indy. Saw him on his way to the restroom, but couldn't catch a clean glimpse of his plate. Did he bring a sweet onion chicken teriyaki in with him? We will just never know.

*Former UL quarterback Brian Brohm was seen at (can't remember the name of it) Irish Pub down the street from Conseco Fieldhouse on Friday night. Also sitting in our section at Lucas Oil were his current Green Bay Packers teammates, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Jordy Nelson.

*Did I already say Jared from Subway?

*Magic Johnson -- but only via videoboard. But in the same arena. Still counts.

--Now for this week's final tid-bits ...

*San Diego State -- who plays Baylor Tuesday night in NYC in the NIT semifinals -- isn't the only UNLV foe still alive. UTEP (remember them?) fell at Oregon State tonight in the first game of a best-of-three series to decide the winner of the second CBI tourney.

Yes, a best-of-three. Oregon State, the lower seed, will host game one, while UTEP, who UNLV defeated 80-67 back in November, will host game two and, if necessary, game three.

I actually admire the CBI for this. A best-two-out-of-three makes the tiny tournament unique. Imagine if it were hosted in a neutral destination site (i.e. Vegas's Orleans Arena?). Just a thought.

*First there was the Kobe-Phelps-ARod-Hawk commercial for Guitar Hero World Tour. Now, Guitar Hero Metallica has gone, in my eyes, one step above.

Sure, the star power of the first commercial may have been greater, but something tells me it cost the company more to get this set of guys into their skivvies than it did with the current guys.

Compare the two. Which do you prefer?

*Calipari to Kentucky? Sounds about right.

How about this one, though, if it doesn't happen? And I can't take credit for this idea, either. It was that of a buddy of mine.

If Calipari decides no grass is greener than that of Conference USA, Travis Ford -- the former UK guard and current Oklahoma State coach -- would be a nice choice. Why? Because then the ousted Billy Gillispie would fit in just fine at OSU. He already ruled the Big 12 South once.

And there, an NIT berth here and there doesn't get you escorted to the door ... at least not after Year Two.

Talk to you next week.