freshmen, and sophomore Isaiah Briscoe (15.9). The W

On March 30, 1981, the Indiana Hoosiers earned the coveted title of NCAA champions. Seeded third in the Mideast Region, they routed the North Carolina?Tar Heels (No. 2 in the West) 63-50 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.This past Wednesday, the Hoosiers once again trumped the Tar Heels. And who was in attendance but the 1980-81 IU mens basketball team.Well, most of them.The 81 squad came to watch and cheer on its alma mater as part of a ceremony to commemorate the 35th anniversary of their national title win. The players in attendance were honored at halftime, but one?lesser-known member of that?team wasnt there: Mike LaFave. LaFave played for Indiana his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to Ball State for his final two seasons.?He died?at?age?46 from a sudden heart attack in 2009. Taking LaFaves place during the ceremony on Wednesday was his son, Jeff LaFave, who penned a moving tribute to his father that was posted on Hoosier Sports Report prior to tipoff.As Jeff put it: Indianas 1980-81 mens basketball championship team was studded with legendary players. My father, a backup freshman forward, was not necessarily one of them.Although never the superstar, what Mike LaFave imparted on his son -- and his?teammates -- from his time spent as a Hoosier was that sports can teach you how to treat people with respect, how to overcome adversity, and how to add value to a group, no matter what your role is.Character is what matters most, Jeff LaFave writes, and no championship ring was built to contain that legacy.--Meaghan Latella? Erik Gudbranson Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. 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He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Wednesday nights showdown between No. 6 Kentucky and No. 10 Louisville is sure to produce fireworks.Admiring the Wildcats up-tempo style, Louisville coach Rick Pitino said his Cardinals will play ping-pong with Kentucky Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET in Louisvilles KFC Yum! Center.We dont have the athletes that Kentucky has to play at that kind of pace, Pitino said Monday night. We have athletes. We have enough athletes to play our style. Our front-court doesnt run as fast as their front-court does, but our wings can run, so we will do a lot of running. Thats what the fans want to see so lets go play a ping-pong match.If Louisville (10-1) tries to match Kentuckys speed it could be an advantage for the Wildcats (10-1). The average Kentucky offensive possession lasts just 13.8 seconds and they average 95.2 points per game.We have nobody as fast as (DeAaron) Fox. We have nobody as fast as (Malik) Monk, Pitino said. ... We play fast, but not that fast.That doesnt mean the Wildcats are in for an easy time. Coach John Calipari views the game as a mighty treacherous contest.Playing a top 10 team on the road on their court, where are we on December 21? Calipari asked. Love to win it, but lets really learn about where are we right now.Heres what I said to them and Ill say it this game: You do not have to be perfect, you do not even have to be great, but you gotta play. Because this team plays hard, theyre competitive, theyre physical, theyre not afraid to bang. If you dont play you have no chance of winning.Kentucky owns a 34-15 edge in the series, including an 8-1 mark since coach Calipari took over the program. But Calipari contends none of that matters when rival reunite.I dont think any of the past games have any bearing on this game, Calipari said. When Im coaching against a guy that has won some games against me, Im not worried about the past. Im just saying, How do we win this game? I would say hes thinking the same way.Im happy when its over. Just get it done, Calipari said. Everybody makes it life or death and its not life or death ... its worse than that. Just play the game, lets see what happens and lets go. Weve got our league to deal with, hes got his league to deal with, lets just move on.The Cardinals only average 78.5 points per game and have not allowed more than 71 points to any team this season.ddddddddddddThe pace of Wednesday nights matchup is a chess game both Hall-of-Fame coaches will be monitoring closely.Im not playing zone, Calipari said at his pregame press conference. The he looked into the camera and dead-panned, I might in this game, Rick.Pitino said he didnt have a favorite moment in the series, but hes learning to put the game in better perspective.Pitino said Kentucky will be the most-talented team the Cardinals will face this season.Nobody has the athletes and the talent that Kentucky has, Pitino said. They have great talent. That doesnt mean you cant beat them, but you just have to know what you are going up against. ... It is going to be a great basketball game.The Wildcats won their first seven games, including a 69-48 drubbing of Michigan State, before losing to 97-92 to No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 3. Since then, Kentucky reeled off three more wins including Saturdays impressive 103-100 win over No. 8 North Carolina.Kentucky is led by guards Monk (21.9 points per game) and DeAaron Fox (15.9), both freshmen, and sophomore Isaiah Briscoe (15.9). The Wildcats also get 12.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game from freshman center Bam Adebayo.Monk is coming off a 47-point effort in Kentuckys 103-100 victory over No. 7 North Carolina in Las Vegas.Louisville started the season with five straight wins including a 62-52 win over Wichita State before falling 66-63 to No. 4 Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis final on Nov. 25. The Cardinals rebounded with a 71-64 win over No. 15 Purdue and have since won four straight games.With four players scoring between 9.5 and 11.7 points per game, the Cardinals are a very balanced attack. Sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell leads the way at 11.7 per game with junior point guard Quentin Snider (11.0) the only other Cardinal in double-figures. Louisvilles defense is rated No. 1 in the nation by Ken Pomeroy and the Cardinals only allowing 59.4 points per game.We are going up against a team that is extremely well-coached, a tough team and were playing them in a place where they just dont lose, Calipari said. It is going to be very tough. ' ' '