Getting to know the 2013 Final Four: Louisville
This week, The Dagger takes a deeper look at each of the four schools participating in the 2013 Final Four. We continue with the No. 1 overall seed. Louisville
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Enrollment: 22,293
Team Mascot: Cardinals
Must Follow on Twitter: Forward Kevin Ware
Find them here: Official team site or Facebook
[Getting to know the Final Four: Michigan | Syracuse | Wichita State]
How they got to Atlanta: d. No. 16 North Carolina A&T (79-48), d. No. 8 Colorado State (82-56), d. No. 12 Oregon (77-69), d. No.2 Duke (85-63).
Greatest basketball moment: Darrell Griffith scored 28 points off the bench to lead the Cardinals to their first national title in 1980, beating UCLA 59-54. Griffith was born and raised in Louisville and left the school as its all-time leading scorer.
Reason to root for them: The Cardinals had plenty of support prior to Kevin Ware's gruesome leg injury last week in the Elite Eight win over Duke. But that injury and the way the Cardinals and coach Rick Pitino responded to it have made the sentimental favorite for many.
Reason to root against them: It would be the second straight season the championship has been won by a team from the state of Kentucky, which just might make basketball fans from the state unbearable for awhile.
Famous alumni: Bill Samuels Sr. Who? You might be asking. He's just the guy who created the Maker's Mark recipe for Kentucky's most famous bourbon.
Noteworthy: Coach Rick Pitino has guided 18 teams at three schools to the NCAA tournament and is third among active coaches in winning percentage in the tournament with a 46-16 career record (.742).
Best player: Guard Russ Smith. A play-making product of Brooklyn, N.Y. He is making a case for the MVP award for the tournament, having scored at least 23 points in his first four games and leading the Cardinal's in scoring in every game in the tournament thus far.
Must see video: Former Louisville star Darrell Griffith earned the nickname 'Dr. Dunkenstein' during his career for dunks like this one he pulled off against LSU en route to Louisville's first national title in 1980
More NCAA tournament content from Yahoo! Sports:
• Kevin Ware's injury not the worst adversity Rick Pitino had to handle
• Kevin Ware hoists regional final trophy from hospital bed
• Band of castoffs leads Wichita State to Final Four
• Final Four has something for everyone
