By Andrew Hornback

Coming off a Big East regular season and tournament championship, as well as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the University of Louisville men’s basketball team will look to repeat their success of last year, with a slightly different cast.
The Cardinals lost their top two scorers to the NBA Draft, in Earl Clark and Terrence Williams, who combined for 27.4 points, as well as 17.3 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game.
The Cards will open the season Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis, Mo. against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. Sophomore forward Samardo Samuels will face senior forward Michael Washington, who averaged 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds as a junior. The Cardinal guards will have the responsibility of defending sophomore guards Rotnei Clarke and Courtney Fortson, who averaged 12.2 and 11.5, respectively, last season.
The first true road game of the season will be at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 28. UNLV beat U of L last year in Freedom Hall, 56-55, on New Year’s Eve, and were 13-3 at home last season. 
Eight straight home games will await the Cards after UNLV, highlighted by Western Kentucky University on Saturday, Dec. 19. The Cards lost to Western last season, 68-54, in Nashville, Tenn. The University of South Florida, on Wednesday, Dec. 30, will be the Cards’ first Big East opponent of the season.
On Saturday, Jan. 2, the Cards will go on the road to face in-state rival, the University of Kentucky. U of L has won the last two games against the Wildcats, but will most likely enter the game as the lower-ranked team, as Kentucky is No. 5 in preseason polls, with the Cards at No. 23.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding John Calipari’s team, with the return of junior forward Patrick Patterson and a highly-ranked freshman class, led by the No. 1 player in the high school class of 2009, guard John Wall. The rivalry game will give Cardinal players a chance to play against some of the best competition in the country. While Samuels and Patterson will provide a match-up of two All-Conference forwards, Cardinal point guards, senior Edgar Sosa and freshman Peyton Siva, will get the opportunity to guard Wall.
First-year head coach Calipari has added another element to the already bitter rivalry. Calipari and U of L head coach Rick Pitino have faced off in major match-ups before. Pitino, then coach of Kentucky, defeated Calipari’s University of Massachusetts team in the 1996 Final Four. With state bragging rights on the line, the plot may be thicker than ever this season.
St. John’s University and University of Villanova will travel to Freedom Hall to face the Cards early in conference play. Villanova, who is ranked sixth in the preseason polls, is returning senior guard Scottie Reynolds, who averaged 15.2 points per game last season and was named to the preseason All-Big East First Team. The Villanova Wildcats are favored to win the Big East this season.
Former high school teammates Edgar Sosa and Kemba Walker will match-up at the point guard position, when the Cards host the University of Connecticut Huskies on Monday, Feb. 1. The Huskies are the only Big East team the Cards faced last season that they did not defeat at least once. UConn has been picked by the Big East coaches to finish right above the Cards in the Big East standings.
The final six games of the season for the Cards will be split between home and the road. The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish visit Freedom Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Samuels and sophomore forward Terrence Jennings will be responsible for defending preseason Big East player of the year, senior forward Luke Harangody.
The final two road games of the regular season will be at the University of Connecticut and Marquette University. Louisville lost by two points in their last trip to UConn. The Cards defeated the Golden Eagles, 71-57, the last time they visited Marquette. The Golden Eagles lost two first team All-Big East performers in Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews last season, and are picked to finish low in the Big East standings.
The regular season will conclude with a game that Cardinal fans will always remember, regardless of the outcome, at home against Syracuse University on Saturday, March 6. The game will be the last the Cards play at Freedom Hall, the place they have called home for 49 years. Festivities for the closing of the arena have been planned, and the Cards will have the chance to end an era with a win over a conference opponent.
Postseason play for the Cards will begin on Tuesday, March 2 at the Big East tournament in New York City. U of L will have to defend its title against an expanded field, as all 16 Big East teams will be competing in the tournament this year, as opposed to 12 in previous seasons. NCAA tournament seeding will also be on the line in the tournament, as the Cards will be looking to solidify a spot in the big dance.