The University of Louisville's 2010-11 men's basketball season in the BIG EAST Conference will include another challenging slate of 18 games, including two games each against Connecticut, Providence and West Virginia.
Louisville's home conference opponents will include Connecticut, DePaul, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse and West Virginia. The Cardinals' nine league road games will be at Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Villanova and West Virginia. BIG EAST foes Villanova, Pittsburgh and Syracuse have been included in early preseason top 25 rankings by most outlets.
"Expect the unexpected this year," said U of L men's basketball coach Rick Pitino. "I couldn't begin to think who should be picked on top or who's close to the bottom of the BIG EAST. Many of our teams in the league will be reloading or rebuilding. I'm very excited about the prospects of our own basketball team and the new arena we will be opening."
U of L will return nine lettermen next season from its most recent team which won at least 20 games for the eighth straight season (20-13 record) against the nation's 11th toughest schedule. Louisville earned its 36th NCAA Tournament appearance last season and the Cardinals have reached the NCAA Elite Eight three of the last four years. The men's basketball team earned a collective 3.021 grade point average for the 2010 spring semester, its fourth straight semester with a 3.0 GPA.
U of L's non-conference schedule is incomplete. The Cardinals will open the 2010-11 season against NCAA runner-up Butler on Nov. 16 in the first game to be played in the new 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center. A completed schedule, including dates and times for the BIG EAST games, is expected in early September.
