BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DePaul @ Louisville

February 22, 2006


It has not exactly been the kind of season that DePaul of Louisville had hoped for in their first run in the Big East. I am sure both programs were hoping this Wednesday night match-up in late February would mean something, but I doubt they figured it would be a key battle in determining which four teams make the Big East Tournament.

A tough year got even tougher for Louisville as David Padgett is now done for the season as he will undergo surgery on his ailing knee. DePaul, with a win, would suddenly become a strong contender for a spot in New York City, and they are coming off a road win at St. John's.

Here are the links to all the pregame stories and previews:

Battered Cards Still Hopeful (Newsday, AP Story)
Bad Luck Hits Padgett in the Knees (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Card's Padgett Out for Season (Lexington Herald-Leader)



Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


Former Conference USA foes DePaul and Louisville renew their rivalry tonight in Freedon Hall with Big East postseason bids on the line. If the conference season ended today, neither Louisville or DePaul would make it to NYC for the Big East tournament. A win by Louisville would but them back in the picture, but a daunting schedule to finish the season, with games at West Virginia and Connecticut and a home date with Marquette does not bode well for a strong finish for the Cardinals, who are now without David Padgett.

A win tonight for DePaul would move them into a tie with Notre Dame and Louisville, just one game out of the mix for a spot in NYC. DePaul then faces Seton Hall and Syracuse at home before wrapping up at Notre Dame.

Looking at the current records and remaining schedules, it is probably safe to assume that Rutgers, St. John's and Notre Dame have the edge in heading to New York while Providence, Louisville, DePaul and South Florida have the toughest road to make it. The key number to have a chance is 5 wins. Louisville, or DePaul, must get to 5 wins and hope that St John's loses out (at Villanova and home against Rutgers) to draw them into a likely tie with Providence (assuming they lose out at Pitt, vs Notre Dame, at Marquette) and St. John's for the last spot, then, it is up to the tie-breaker scenarios.

As for tonight, well, Louisville is in a must-win state again. There are some that believe the Cardinals are still on some sort of bubble for the NCAA Tournament, I guess they could be, if they win out, which would give them a couple quality wins, even away from home, but now, withouth Padgett, any chance of that might have completely gone out the window. There is still some talent on this team, so they need to be taken seriously, but they are not a typical Rick Pitino team as they do not shoot the 3-pt shot as prolific as his teams in the past and they are not as physical as most teams in the conference, a dangerous combination if your looking at being successful in the Big East. Taquan Dean can still light up the scoreboard, but with no quality scorers to help relieve the pressure on him, it is a struggle to get good shots.

For DePaul, they have not really shown any sort of cinsistency all season. They had a brief run in December where they beat Dayton, Wake Forest and UAB, before being demolished by Old Dominion and then beat Cal. It looks like their season peaked just before Christmas and has been mostly lowlights since. With Sammy Mejia, Karron Clarke, Wilson Chandler and Draelon Burns, there is also talent on the DePaul roster, but inconsistent PG play and an offensive presence inside has made it very difficult for DePaul to challenge teams in the Big East for the full 40 minutes.

Tonight, it will be a close game. Louisville is favored by 9 pts and that seems to be too much as the Cardinals just have not been scoring. Even with Padgett, at home, they barely escaped beating South Florida. The former C-USA teams still have a chip on their shoulders when playing Louisville and target them with a strong effort. I expect a similar effort from DePaul, they might pull out the win, but Louisville comes together just enough to hold them off in the end.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisville 59 DePaul 56