LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's been a week to exhale on the local college basketball scene.
No weekend game for the University of Louisville men. No mid-week game for the University of Kentucky men.
No rationale for why Mike Woodson is wearing the platinum sombrero (five whiffs in five at-bats) against Northwestern in his sagging career as the Indiana University men's coach.
Dr. Bo's Notebook is here to push us to the weekend.
Topic One: Reyne Smith's Three-Point Shooting
By making 10 shots from distance Tuesday night at SMU, Smith moved ahead of Taquan Dean as the single-game leader at the University of Louisville.
Smith also took the national lead in three-point field goals made with 78. He's eight ahead of the field, which is led by Davion Bailey of Incarnate Word and Abdi Bashir Jr. of Monmouth. The most threes made by another player from a power conference is 69 by Chaz Lanier of Tennessee.
Will Smith set the U of L single-season record?
He should.
The number is 122. That's how many Dean made during the 2004-05 season when the Cards landed in the Final Four before losing to Illinois in St. Louis.
Louisville has 11 remaining regular season games. I'll project the Cards to play three games in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and three more in the NCAA Tournament.
At his current pace with 17 more games, Smith would finish with 144.
Two interesting side-notes:
- The national leader in three-point field goals made last season was Jack Gohlke of Oakland, who made 10 of his 137 shots from distance when the Golden Grizzlies upset Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. So Smith can top Gohlke.
- (Side-note inside the side-note: Gohlke has not given up his NBA dream. He's a reserve for the Wisconsin Herd in the G-League, where he has made 17 of 38 threes [44.7%] in nine games.)
- The national record for three-pointers made in a season is shared by two players. One you will guess — Steph Curry, who made 162 in 2008, his senior season at Davidson. The other is Darius McGhee of Liberty, who tied Curry two seasons ago.
Topic Two: Chucky Hepburn's Assist Totals
With 16 assists Tuesday, Hepburn bumped Francisco Garcia from the top spot as the single game leader with the Cards. Hepburn also improved his season total to 127.
That is the top assist total in the ACC but well behind the national leader: Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga has 194. Hepburn is tied for 11th in that category nationally.
But ... Hepburn has already surpassed the Cards' season leader from last season. That was Ty-Laur Johnson, who had 109. In fact, the only Louisville player with more than 127 assists over the last five seasons was El Ellis, who had 140 two years ago.
The Cardinal assist record belongs to U of L Director of Player Development Peyton Siva, who had 228 during the Cards' 40-game run to the 2013 national title.
If Louisville played 40 games this season, Hepburn would finish with 254 assists. If the Cards played the rest of their regular season schedule, three games in the ACC Tournament and three more in the NCAA Tournament, Hepburn's projected total would be 235.
Stay tuned. It could happen.
P.S. Hepburn moved into fourth place in the race for ACC player of the year at Ken Pomeroy's web site. The three players ahead of him are Duke forward Cooper Flagg (the leader for national player of the year); Pitt guard Jaland Lowe and Stanford center Maxime Raynaud.
Topic Three: The Return of Ty-Laur
The Cards are 2-0 in games against former U of L players this season.
Jae'Lyn Withers scored two points in 16 minutes for North Carolina when the Tar Heels lost to the Cardinals, 83-70, on New Year's Day.
Matt Cross had 18 harmless points for SMU as U of L defeated the Mustangs on Tuesday night in Dallas.
Next up? A visit by Ty-Laur Johnson, who started eight games as a freshman point guard for Louisville last season.
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes moved Johnson into the Demon Deacons' starting lineup on New Year's Eve — and Wake has won six straight ACC games, including three on the road. Wake will visit the KFC Yum! Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. First, Wake hosts Duke on Saturday.
Johnson is not the star of the show at Wake. That is guard Hunter Sallis, who averages 19.2 points, third in the league.
During the six-game stretch, Johnson has averaged 8 points and 3.3 turnovers.
No word on whether he's wearing his signature tights.
Louisville Basketball Coverage:
- BOZICH | 5 numbers to celebrate in Louisville's 9-game winning streak
- BOZICH | Louisville confirms Top 25 status, routing SMU, 98-73
- Louisville (No. 25) returns to men's AP Top 25 for first time in 4 years
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