No real surprises in St. Louis tonight, as Rick Pitino and Louisville cruised to an easy victory over the Razorbacks. Arkansas played very well for the first 10 minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half, which the Hogs opened with an impressive 14-0 run. Unfortunately, there were 25 other minutes in the game and that was enough time for the Cardinals to fashion a 30-point margin of victory.
As the second half dragged on, I found myself begging for the game to end, but overall, it's hard to get too upset up about the outcome. The Hogs played hard, but they are severely short-handed right now, and Louisville is a Top 20 team. Anybody who didn't think the game had a strong likelihood of playing out this way is living with a healthy dose of denial.
It's early. Much basketball to be played. I'm not ready to give up on my dreams of an NIT bid just yet.