Pennell
No. 1 seed Louisville not making it to the Final Four wasn’t a surprise to outgoing University of Arizona interim coach Russ Pennell.
Louisville lost to Michigan State 64-52 in the Elite Eight last weekend.
“Not after the way Louisville acted (against UA); I thought they were very arrogant,” Pennell said Tuesday in his postseason interview with the media.
Louisville ended Arizona’s season last week in the Sweet 16, defeating the Wildcats 103-64 for UA’s worst NCAA defeat in tournament history.
Did the last-second dunk by Louisville’s Kyle Kuric have something to do with Pennell’s sentiment?
“Not just that,” he said.
Although, Pennell said, Louisville coach Rick Pitino apologized for that after the game.
“It was their whole approach,” Pennell said. “They were ripe for what was going to happen in the next game. That was the take I had watching the way they carried themselves.”
Pennell said his feeling is not sour grapes because of the loss. “They got their ship right, so to speak, against us and I think they got the sense that, ‘We’re back.’ ”
But Michigan State put an end to the Cardinals’ season.
“It was almost like they accomplished something,” Pennell said of the Cardinals’ actions after beating UA. “And all they did was get a step closer to the Final Four.”