The 2000–01

Louisville Cardinals men's basketball The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville (U of L) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA cham ...

team represented the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the university's 87th season of intercollegiate competition. The head coach was

Denny Crum Denzel Edwin Crum (March 2, 1937 – May 9, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Fi ...

and the team finished the season with an overall record of 12–19. It was Crum's last season as head coach of Louisville, ending the longest tenure of any Louisville head basketball coach. Crum also became the winningest coach of the Louisville basketball team during his 30-year coaching career, with 675 wins.

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

replaced Crum after the season ended.

Regular season

The Cardinals began their regular season on November 17 with an 86–71 win over

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. However, the Cardinals went on a five-game losing streak from November 22 until an 86–70 win over Loyola (Chicago) ended the streak on December 18. They won again on December 21 by a score of 89–86 over Murray State but lost the next four games between December 23 and January 10, 2001. The Cardinals never won more than two games in a row, with their largest losses coming against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

by a score of 100–71 on November 30, and against Charlotte by a score of 106–72 on February 11.

Postseason

On Wednesday March 7, 2001, the Cardinals played UAB for the first round of the Conference USA tournament. Led by

Murry Bartow Murry Linn Bartow (born August 18, 1961) is an American former college basketball coach. As the head coach of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball, East Tennessee State Buccaneers, he was twice named the conference coach of the y ...

, the Blazers defeated the Cardinals 71–64, leaving the Cardinals with a final record of 12–19 The Cardinals did not play in the NCAA Tournament.

Schedule and Results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=9 style=, Conference USA Tournament

Awards

Louisville distributed the following awards at the end of the season: ;Peck Hickman Most Valuable Player Award :Marques Maybin ;Most Improved Player :Rashad Brooks ;Most Three Points Awards :Reece Gaines ;Most Assists Awards :Reece Gaines ;Best Defensive Player :Joseph N'Sima ;Best First-Year Player :Joseph N'Sima ;Rebound Award :Joseph N'Sima ;Best Field Goal Percentage Award :Hajj Turner ;Best Free-Throw Percentage :Erik Brown ;Scholar-Athlete Award :Muhammed Lasege ;Most Inspirational Player Award :Bryant Northern ;Coaches' Award :Simeon Naydenov

Coaching change

At the end of the season, coach

retired from coaching the Cardinals, with the original announcement coming on March 2, 2001. The soon-to-be coach

visited the campus on March 14, 2001. He held his first press conference on March 23, 2001, at 6:30 PM EDT. On April 17, a rally was held commemorating the new head coach. Two days later, Pitino completed the basketball staff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team Louisville Cardinals men's basketball seasons

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Louisville Cardinals men's basketball, 2000-01 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball, 2000-01 2000s in Louisville, Kentucky