George Goode couldn't quite believe it, so he checked the Internet.
The Louisville senior center clicked through a couple of pages until he found what he was looking for: The unbeaten Cardinals (6-0) were indeed ranked in the Top 25 for the first time this season, checking in at No. 24 on Monday.
The elation lasted all of 5 seconds.
''It doesn't mean anything,'' Goode said. ''We really haven't accomplished anything big.''
Not yet anyway. Save for a season-opening win against Butler, Louisville's early season schedule hasn't exactly been the toughest around. The strength of schedule is 309th in the country, a number that could take a hit Wednesday when the Cardinals host San Francisco (3-4).
Coach Rick Pitino isn't worried about it. He put the schedule together with the purpose of slowly building a team trying to replace five starters. Louisville hasn't been challenged during its last five games, a sign he said of his team's maturity.
''It's helped us in terms of not only getting a new system in, but also prepare the players defensively for what we want,'' Pitino said.
Namely, creating a tempo that forces opponents into mistakes. It's worked so far. The Cardinals are holding opponents to 35 percent shooting while forcing over 19 turnovers a game.
''I thought every single game they have gotten the job done and then some,'' Pitino said. ''They've passed every test, but that doesn't mean they're a great basketball team, that doesn't mean they're a good team, doesn't mean they're mediocre. I have no idea where they are.''
The Cardinals will find out this weekend when No. 20 UNLV visits. That means Wednesday's game against the Dons will serve as the team's final dress rehearsal before the real season begins. After romping by an average of 25 points so far, the Runnin' Rebels will be a significant step up in class.
Pitino has called UNLV the ''second-best'' team he's seen this season behind Duke, yet he's not worried about the Cardinals looking ahead. They've managed to stay on task so far, though plenty of work remains.
''We're going to have to make great strides because we're nowhere near where we need to be to open up the Big East schedule,'' Pitino said.
Louisville will play without junior forward Kyle Kuric, who will miss his second straight game after suffering a concussion in a win over Florida International last week.
Not that he was needed during a rout of South Alabama thanks in part to Goode, who is finally healthy after spending most of his career finding interesting ways to injure himself. He once sprained an ankle after stepping on a ball in practice.
Pitino likened Goode and oft-injured teammates Preston Knowles and Russ Smith to ''mother-in-laws.''
''They're always nagging,'' Pitino said with a laugh.
Pitino is kidding, and he knows things are about to become serious for his surprising team, which was picked to finish eighth in the Big East.
He's pleased, but he knows it won't last if the Cardinals can't continue to stay humble, ignore the rankings and simply try to get better.
''There are a lot of things we're happy with,'' he said. ''We're happy with the unselfishness, the assist/turnover ratio. There are a lot of positive signs, but we have to improve a great deal. There will be a lot of close games coming up, a lot of close games and how we execute down the stretch will be interesting.''
