Louisville has experience, with its top two scorers upperclassmen. The Cardinals also have a talented sophomore in Peyton Siva. They even have an experienced and talented coach in Rick Pitino. What he says the team is missing however, is size and rebounding, and he thinks that could affect their first-round meeting.

Louisville has drawn No. 13-seeded Morehead State, which boasts plenty of experience of its own. I’m not really buying that the Cardinals will struggle in this game, but think they could down the road against the likes of Kansas, but in a year full of parity, I won’t blame anyone for putting Louisville through to the national semifinals.

Rick Pitino joined ESPN Radio with Mike and Mike in the Morning to discuss what the Cardinals will need to do to make a run, the changing times as college basketball continues to move away from having experienced players, what the Cardinals will take with them from their Big East tourney run and his thoughts on Dick Vitale picking Louisville in the Final Four.

How will they be able to make a title run?:

“We’re a team that plays a lot of close games. We’re not an overpowering team. We’re good enough to stay in the game because we shoot the ball well, we pass the ball well, we create a lot of assists. … But we’re small and we have difficulty with big teams that rebound well. We’re going to have a heckuva opener with Morehead State. … They have two players that would be all-Big East.”

On the changing times where having four seniors is now an anomaly:

“It’s created great parity in the game. It’s certainly a reason why Butler can get to a Final Four. Utah State could make a big run in the tournament, Belmont. They have been brought up to the rest of us who sometimes have a one-and-done or two-and-done basketball player. … I also think it enhanced the interest in the game because 12, 14, 15 teams could win a national championship this year.”

What will his team take away from the Big East tournament?:

“The competition is awesome. … We came back a very tired, physically beat up basketball team and I think Connecticut is the same way. … I do think it has got us tournament ready and certainly we are going to gear down in the next few days and get our rest. But it is so competitive and so intense at Madison Square Garden. … It’s the best tournament in the world.”

If it’s good or bad that ESPN’s Dick Vitale has picked Louisville in his Final Four:

“Well, he’s pretty accurate. He’s been pretty good. He’s not like Digger Phelps where he is the kiss of death, so that’s pretty good for us.”

Listen to Rick Pitino on ESPN Radio here (Interview begins at 6:30)

With that said, it’s really time to start thinking about which teams might have a chance, including those that are getting a whole lot of pub. In the following interview, Louisville coach Rick Pitino picks his former player Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators, the top team in the SEC.

He probably could’ve have tossed his own team in that mix. He’s already guided the Cardinals to the Final Four once before, did the same in the past with Providence and won with Kentucky. This year, the publicity has gone to other Big East teams in Pitt, Notre Dame, St. John’s and Syracuse, but Louisville finished tied for third in the league and would have had a chance to win five straight games to end the regular season if not for a boneheaded final few seconds against West Virginia this weekend.

Who’s your darkhorse candidate for national champ?

Rick Pitino joined ESPN Radio with Colin Cowherd to discuss the current rules in place mandating that a player can’t go straight to the NBA, darkhorse candidates to win the national championship, the possibility of 11 Big East teams in the Big Dance and watching LeBron James play in high school.

Is there a good solution for the current rule where players can’t go directly from high school to the NBA?:

“There’s no substitute for disciplined organization, learning obviously the skills to become a college student and a college athlete. I agree with baseball and football. There’s nothing wrong with going right out of high school as far as I’m concerned, but if you do go to college, I think you should stay three years.”

Wouldn’t any kid that was close then automatically go to the NBA?:

“It’s better than what we have now. If you allow people to come in one year … you’re basically going to school for one semester. Second semester you end up dropping out, you don’t go to class, so basically we’re a farm team for the NBA. And we don’t really want that. … As an NBA coach, the last person I wanted to draft was a high school athlete unless it was a LeBron or a Kobe.”

Is there a team out there that nobody is talking about that he believes thinks could win the NCAA tournament?:

“Well, I’m a little biased, but everybody overlooks Florida. Obviously Billy Donovan played for me, but I think Florida’s the type of team with three seniors in the front court with a very quick backcourt. … They’re a team that could beat anyone on a given night. I look at Florida. Although they are ranked 14th in the nation, nobody talks about them as a potential national champion. But they have the experience in their head coach, they have the experience in the frontcourt, the returning backcourt. … Outside of [Ohio State] you could flip a coin.”

Is it a good thing that 11 Big East teams could make the tournament?:

“Well, we have 18 teams and we’re about to become 19. We’re really not a league anymore, we’re a corporation. … Having 11 and all of the teams were ranked at one time in the top 25 and probably eight were ranked in the top 15, you can see it in a given year.”

His impression of LeBron James when he saw him in high school:

“Up close, I couldn’t believe the size of him as a high-school basketball player. When you stand next to LeBron today, you see him on television and think he’s 6-5, but you’re talking about someone 6-foot-8, 6-8’5 and 250 pounds. He’s great at getting other people shots. But what happens to a lot of these great players and the same thing was true with Michael [Jordan] early on, these guys aren’t great shooters.”

Listen to Rick Pitino on ESPN Radio here

Unfortunately for Louisville, and me since I had the Cardinals as my team in my March Madness pool, Terrence turned in easily his worst performance of the year against Michigan State for a shot to get to the Final Four. Terrence was 1 for 7 from the field with 5 points and 6 rebounds. Most feel that Terrence considerably hurt his draft stock that day by not playing better on what was easily his biggest game of his college career.

The New Jersey Nets ended up selecting Terrence 11th overall on draft day, and earlier that day, shipped their biggest box office draw in Vince Carter off to the Orlando Magic for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie. This basically opens up the shooting guard and small forward roles that Carter occupied. Terrence will be expected to play big minutes right away.   His versatility on the court is very similar to Andre Iguodala.

Terrence Williams joined WFAN to talk about being selected by the New Jersey Nets and on if he knew how high they were on taking him.

On if he’s happy that New Jersey selected him:

“Oh yeah, most definitely. I’m happy with Mr. Frank and Mr. Thorn there. I’m happy with the whole trade that happened today. Courtney (Lee) to come there, Rafer (Alston) to come there, I’m most definitely happy.”

Terrence was asked about the Nets shipping off Vince Carter in a way to get Terrence more minutes:

“I think when that deal happened, I saw that they were going to put a lot of pressure on me to come in and play. I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations playing for Coach P (Rick Pitino) so I look forward to that.”

On if he knew how interested the Nets were in selecting him:

“I kind of heard they were. There was a couple of things I needed to work on and honestly I went to Charlotte right after there and I worked on those things and that’s why Charlotte was so high on me I believe. New Jersey they told me when I talked to them on the phone that they see a lot of potential in me and they know what I can do because the game film that they watched and what their scouts told them. At the end, everybody gets what they want.”

Terrence was asked if his final game in the NCAA Tournament hurt his chances on being selected higher:

“I think so, honestly. At the end of the day, I can’t get too hung up on that, what I did at Michigan State. I am human and I had a bad game. I wish I could replay it and relive it but you’ve got to move on. In New Jersey, that number 11, in the lottery to be taken, it means a lot to me so I’m not really worried about if I would have went higher if I would have won that game, I’m worried about the situation I’m in now.”

Listen to Terrence Williams on WFAN in New York with Steve Somers

After an unsuccessful stint with the Boston Celtics, Pitino returned to a Louisville program in 2001 that hadn’t really done much in the final years of the Denny Crum era. After close to a decade to leave his stamp on the Cardinals, Pitino has Louisville rocking and rolling, just two games away from their second Final Four in four years (2005). Getting to the Sweet 16 this year wasn’t a breeze however. The Cardinals had to stave off a pesky Siena team that was senior laden and not at all intimidated by Louisville’s superior athletic prowess. Pitino joined Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio Wednesday to talk about how he was pleased his team got pushed to the limits, and how he thinks that experience will serve them well moving forward beginning Friday against #12 seeded Arizona.

“The one thing I was concerned about more than anything is – I called three timeouts in the span of a couple minutes because I could see the seeds of doubt on my players’ faces. And I spent the three timeouts not talking about strategy or Xs and Os. I just tried to motivate them to make them understand that we were going to win the game. Because…when you’re down to Siena and they start thinking this could be the worst thing in the world – the #1 of the #1 seeds – you’ve got to convince them in those three timeouts that we’re definitely going to win the game.”

Rick Pitino – master motivator. Listen on.

Listen here to Pitino with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio

Watch highlights of Louisville vs. Siena

View Midwest region bracket coverage on CBS Sportsline

Reason why #1 seed doesn’t make it to the Final Four:   If Louisville shoots poorly and doesn’t put up points on the board, they can’t press on defense and their defense is by far their best offense.

Best bet in the first round:   Kansas -10 over North Dakota State

Player I’m most looking forward to playing in the NBA:  Chase Budinger.  Just to see if he can become one of the handful of decent white American swingmen.  This list is short:  Mike Miller and Mike Dunleavy.

Prediction for this bracket:  Louisville.  Since the beginning of 2009, they’ve been the best team in the nation.  Their defense is sublime.  If Michigan State wins this bracket, they basically will be hosting the Final Four.  Sleeper pick would be West Virginia.

Listen to Michigan State (#2) Head Coach Tom Izzo on ESPN Radio with Tirico & Van Pelt

Listen to Kansas (#3) Head Coach Bill Self on WHB in Kansas City with Kevin Kietzman

Listen to Utah (#5) Head Coach Jim Broylen on KFAN 1320 in Salt Lake City with DJ & PK

Listen to West Virginia (#6) Head Coach Bob Huggins on WHB in Kansas City with Soren Petro

Listen to Ohio State (#8) Head Coach Thad Matta on WBNS in Columbus

Listen to Siena (#9) Head Coach Fran McCaffrey on Fox Sports 980 in Albany with Roger Wyland

Listen to USC (#10) Head Coach Tim Floyd on KLAC/Fox Sports Radio with Chris Myers & Steve Hartman

Listen to Dayton (#11) Head Coach Brian Gregory on 1530 the Homer in Cincinnati with Lance McCallister (6:30 into podcast)

Listen to Arizona (#12) Head Coach Russ Pennell on KTAR in Phoenix with Doug & Wolf

Listen to Cleveland State (#13) Head Coach Gary Waters on WFAN in New York with Mike Francesa

Listen to North Dakota (#14) State Coach Head Coach Saul Phillips on the Dan Patrick Show

Listen to Robert Morris (#15) Head Coach Mike Rice on WSCR in Chicago

Listen here to Morehead State (#16 Midwest) head coach Donny Tydnall on KJR in Seattle