By Josh Abner

This season’s University of Louisville men’s basketball team is laden with home and national television appearances. The schedule features 20 home games in Freedom Hall and 12 network television dates, with eight opponents that reached post-season play last year.

“This schedule presents a big challenge to a rebuilding program,” said U of L Men’s Basketball coach Rick Pitino. “It will take a supreme effort on everyone’s part for us to be competitive. We believe the players are up to the task.”

Pitino’s initial U of L team will face the California All-Stars in an exhibition game on Oct. 31, the first of 20 home dates in Freedom Hall. U of L will open the 2001-02 season against South Alabama on Nov. 18, a game nationally televised on ESPN2.Nine of the first 10 games will be played at home in Freedom Hall. The first road game of the season will be at Oregon on Nov. 24. Television plans and tipoff time for that game have not been finalized.

U of L will serve as host for the inaugural Jim Thorpe Classic Dec. 7-8, an exempted tournament which will benefit the nation’s most prominent foundation that supports Native American youth. The Cards play Wisconsin-Milwaukee in then first round on Dec. 7, followed by Virginia Tech against Murray State. Winners from the two games will play in the championship on Dec. 8, preceded by a consolation game.

The Cardinals have a pair of nationally televised contests in December, facing Tennessee in Freedom Hall on Dec. 21 (ESPN) and Kentucky in Lexington on Dec. 29 (CBS).

U of L begins Conference USA play at UAB on Jan. 5 in a game televised by ESPN2. Aside from the Tennessee game, three additional home games will be televised to national audiences: Jan. 26 vs. Depaul (ABC), Feb. 1 vs. South Florida (ESPN) and Feb. 27 vs. Cincinnati (ESPN2).

The Cardinals will be featured in five additional network telecasts, including Jan. 19 at Cincinnati (CBS), Jan. 30 at Memphis (ESPN2), Feb. 9 at Indiana (CBS), Feb. 16 at Marquette (ABC) and Feb. 22 at St. Louis (ESPN). At least one of the Cards’ games will be televised on network television during 10 of the last 11 weeks of the season.

WDRB-TV (Channel 41) or WFTE-TV (Channel 58) will televise 17 U of L games locally. All U of L games will be broadcast on WHAS Radio (840 AM) in Louisville and other affiliates throughout the region.