Pitino says Louisville fans deserved better

Special, Wire Reports

Rick Pitino says his team owes fans an apology after the Cardinals were blown out by Western Kentucky on Sunday.

Pitino blamed Louisville's 68-54 loss on poor practice habits and his team's inability to match Western Kentucky's intensity. In a note published on his Web site www.rickpitino.com on Monday, Pitino said his team's lethargic performance in practice translated into an uninspired game against the Hilltoppers.

Louisville shot just 27 percent from the field and was dominated in the lane, getting outrebounded 58-46 and outscored 24-18. The loss dropped the Cardinals from No. 3 to No. 11 in this week's Associated Press poll.

Louisville hosts Indiana State, Ohio and Lamar in the inaugural Marques Maybin Classic at Freedom Hall this weekend.

Nation highlights

Wisconsin 74, Virginia Tech 72: Trevon Hughes hit a leaning floater in the lane with 0.9 seconds left, and visiting Wisconsin survived a furious rally by Virginia Tech in the opener of the 10th Annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The Badgers (6-1) led throughout until A.D. Vassallo's sixth three-pointer capped a 14-5 run that pulled the Hokies (4-3) even with 7 seconds to play. But with Cassell Coliseum erupting, Hughes hit an off-balance shot in the lane that silenced the crowd as it dropped.

Marcus Landry scored 18 points and Jon Leuer had 17 for the Badgers, who finished 12-for-18 from three-point range. Hughes added 12 and Jason Bohannon 11, all in the second half.

Vassallo led the Hokies with 30 points, getting 24 in the second half, and Victor Davila had 13. Jeff Allen, the Hokies' leading scorer, fouled out after scoring just two points.

No. 16 Syracuse 86, Colgate 51: Paul Harris had 22 points and host Syracuse celebrated its first appearance in the national rankings in more than a year with a victory over Colgate (2-3).

Jonny Flynn added 12 points and a season-high seven assists for the Orange (7-0), who have won 43 straight in the series and improved to 116-45 against their longtime upstate New York foe.

Harris and Flynn combined to score the Orange's first 15 points in the first 4:31 of play — two more than the Raiders managed the entire first half.

With his team playing its fifth game in 10 days and well ahead early, Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim did some experimenting as 13 players got into the win.

No. 2 Connecticut 79, Delaware State 49: Reserve forward Gavin Edwards scored 17 points to lead a balanced offense for host Connecticut.

Jerome Dyson had 15 points for the Huskies (7-0), while Hasheem Thabeet added 10 points and tied his career high with 17 rebounds.

Donald Johnson led Delaware State (1-9) with 25 points, including 16 in the first half, when his teammates had just two.

Delaware State tried to shorten the game by running down the shot clock on most second-half possessions.

Around the nation

Arizona: Athletic director Jim Livengood said he has at least a dozen candidates to succeed Lute Olson. By next spring, the Wildcats will likely name a permanent coach to replace Olson.

"It's a fairly large pool right now," said Livengood, who won't identify candidates.

Villanova: Center Casiem Drummond told the coaching staff on Monday that he will transfer. The 6-foot-10 junior played in two games for the No. 17 Wildcats (6-0) and averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds.