My name is Seedy K and I am a hoopaholic.

I’ve had a major relapse this week.

But I am jonesin’ no more for a win, a definitive win, a no questions about it domination over That Team. (Whatever mysterious pregame “distraction” Mark Pope might have been alluding to on Thursday that he may or may not have been using as an excuse.)

I am far from alone.

How do I know the town’s still buzzin’ about the Cards W on Tuesday night?

Other than all the red clad shoppers at my grocery stops, and not the usual number in blue?

The morning after, on really short rest — I couldn’t sleep very well from the emotions — I took my normal pre-dawn walk on Frankort Avenue.

Where a woman in a Cardinal jacket waiting at the bus stop, notices my Cardinal knit cap, and calls out “Go Cards!” Followed a block later by the same greeting from a fellow in Denver Broncos garb.

“Go Cards.”

I’ve been adorned mostly in red since the W over Arch Rival, and the shoutout has repeated itself several times. Often I’m the instigator. It’s been the singular conversation where I work out.

So, yeah, this one does mean more.

Being a rock & roller, the lyrics that comes to mind: Jim Morrison raging in “Roadhouse Blues”.

Save Our City/ Save our City/ Right Now.

I know Coach is a what’s the next right thing kind of guy.

Can’t do it.

Still more than a bit sleep-deprived, I watched a DVR of the game the next afternoon, to catch nuances I missed during the emotions of the actual battle.

Like how confidant the Cards were in the most intense of environments.

How they didn’t waver. Even down the stretch after the Cats had cut the margin to four, when they couldn’t convert at the charity stripe. How Mikel Brown, rookie that he is, took charge and tallied U of L’s next five points. How Sanny Fru kept a possession alive after a missed trey with an offensive board. How  J’Vonne Hadley and that German kid again kept another possession alive with ORBs.

How the Cards D forced a driving Wildcat so far underneath, he stepped on the baseline for a turnover.

How U of L, running on fumes, wobbled but didn’t wither.

 * * * * *

How nice is it to hear ESPN’s A-Team, Schulman and Bilas, singing Louisville and Pat Kelsey’s praises?

Answer: Very nice.

 * * * * *

Cards had 20 assists (on 31 makes). PG Brown had five of those, a couple incredible dimes, like the one when he and Fru were going to the hoop on parallel paths on each side of the lane, and MB dropped it off when it looked like he was still dribbling.

A really really cool takeaway is that 50% of those assists came from guys underneath. Aly Khalifa with four. Hadley with three. Fru with three.

Remember how we lamented the loss of James Scott? Cards now got big uns who do more than dunk.

There’s a great article in theathletic.com in which Brendan Marks breaks down the brilliance of a few Cardinal possessions. Spacing that left Cats’ defenders in no man’s land. Passing to a spot before a Cardinal leaves for it.

My fellow hoopaholics, it is so fun writing about this team.

 * * * * *

Keep your eyes on the road/ Your hand upon the wheel/ Keep your eyes on the road/Your hand upon the wheel

So here’s what the Cards have ahead.

Ohio, NJIT, Eastern Michigan. A tough one against Cincy in the Queen City on the 21st.

Then a 13 day gauntlet beginning December 3. At Arkansas. Indiana in Indy, when the city will be overrun with Hoosier fans in town for that night’s Big 10 title game. Memphis State. At Tennessee.

The descriptor “draconian” comes immediately to mind.

But, my fellow hoopaholics, I believe in this team and in this coach.

I’ve slept like a baby the last two nights.

— c d kaplan