Turn your head south and you can hear a collective group of cardinals screaming. No, not actual cardinals and not the St. Louis Cardinals (they only crow at bloated sluggers), but the Louisville Cardinals. They're beak-deep in February, and past Februarys have been about as much of a thrill as finding out your Valentine is a cross-dresser.

Yeah, I know head coach Tom Crean is 7-2 versus Louisville since Rick Pitino took over. Thanks for the help, I did see that the Cardinals pulled out a squeaker versus South Florida last Saturday and prior to that a loss to Memphis at home. I think it's most important to look at what month we're in, a month that has plagued Louisville during the Pitino Era.

Since Pitino took over as Louisville's coach on March 21, 2001, he has restored the program to basketball significance, but February has been a bird of a different color.

During his first season in 2001-'02, Pitino finished a respectable 19-13 but went 4-4 in February including a loss to Marquette at the Bradley Center.

The Cardinals finished their 2002-'03 season with a 25-7 record under Pitino, but four of those losses came in February. In that February, Louisville split with the Golden Eagles, winning at the Bradley Center but losing at home at the end of the month.

Last season's team was 16-2 entering February but fell off the map completely after a tough month. The Cardinals went 2-5 in February and never seemed to gather any momentum after that. They went on to lose their first NCAA tournament game against Xavier.

Granted last year's team had to battle through injuries — Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean and Luke Whitehead all missed games for the Cardinals. February has been unkind to say the least. I don't have a reason for it.

Now what does this say for Marquette? Not too much, to tell you the truth. My glass isn't even half-empty, I consider it half-way to dying of thirst the way things have gone this season.

Louisville hasn't been horrible in February so far, going a respectable 3-1 in the little month. Ranked 12th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, the Cardinals are in a different boat this season because they were able to build some early February wins, something that they were unable to accomplish in two of their first three seasons under Pitino.

Sure, this isn't the Marquette team of your brother who graduated two years ago. I know that. However, a win over the Golden Eagles would mean a lot to Louisville, more than most people think, building towards what their fans hope will be a strong March.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 17 2005.