Louisville Basketball Announces “White & Red Outs”

Mark BlankenbakerJanuary 22, 2018

Honoring two past University of Louisville accomplished teams on their anniversaries and two “color” events are among upcoming special events at three of the remaining six UofL men’s basketball home games in the KFC Yum! Center.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of UofL’s 1948 NAIB National Championship and the 35th anniversary of UofL’s 1982-83 NCAA Final Four team. The Cardinals will honor both great teams by wearing adidas throwback uniforms with features similar to the 1983 team when UofL plays Syracuse on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

UofL captured the 1948 NAIB National Championship in its early years in the national organization which was the forerunner to what is now the NAIA. Bernard “Peck” Hickman’s Louisville team beat a John Wooden coached Indiana State team 82-70 in the title game played in Kansas City. The Cardinals posted a 29-6 record that season and were led by junior center Jack Coleman (12.1 ppg), who scored 1,114 points in his three seasons at UofL. Louisville is the only school in the nation to have won national championships in the NCAA, NIT and NAIB (now NAIA).

The Cardinals’ 1982-83 NCAA Final Four team posted a 32-4 record, won the Metro Conference title with a perfect 12-0 mark, and won its last 16 straight games before falling to Houston in the NCAA national semifinals. Guided by Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum, the team featured four future 1,000-point career scorers in guard Milt Wagner, the team’s leading scorer (14.4 ppg) and the Cards’ No. 6 all-time scorer (1,836 pts.); guard Lancaster Gordon, who is No. 15 among career scorers at UofL (1,614 pts.) and is fourth in career steals (192); center Charles Jones (1,124 career points), who is third in career blocked shots at UofL (208); and Rodney McCray, one of only five Cardinals with both 1,000 career points (1,247) and rebounds (1,029), who earned Metro Conference Player of the Year honors in 1983.

UofL will play its final home game in February with its annual “White Out” game when the Cardinals face North Carolina in the KFC Yum! Center on Feb. 17. Fans are encouraged to wear white attire for the 8 p.m.game. Louisville has won seven of its previous 11 games with “White Out” promotions, including knocking off four ranked opponents in those games when the arena was a bright white.

The annual “Wear Red for the Seniors” game is set for March 1 at 8 p.m. when the Cardinals face Virginia in the final home game of the season. Cardinal fans are encouraged to wear red attire for that Senior Day event. Louisville has won 15 of its last 16 Senior Day games, including last year’s 71-64 victory over No. 19 Notre Dame as Donovan Mitchell led the Cardinals with 20 points.