BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ Connecticut

March 4, 2006


Louisville is coming off an emotional win over Marquette as Taquan Dean and the Cardinals were victorious on Senior Night and clinched a bid to the Big East Conference Tournament. Connecticut is looking for one more win which would give them the #1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and keep their NCAA #1 seed status cemented. With it being Senior Day and a national television audience, it should be quite an atmopshere in Connectict.

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I feel this one might be a blowout. Louisville definitely will not rollover and quit, but Connecticut is coming off a very lackluster trip to South Florida where they struggled to a 66-53 win after racing to an 18-0 lead out of the gate. Jim Calhoun is not one to allow a lull this time of year, so expect him to be on the Huskies right from the get go to sharpen their focus. It is also Senior Day and an energized crowd will be looking for Hilton Armstrong, Denham Brown, Ed Nelson and Rashad Anderson to go out in style. All four have been productive members of the program and have gone through their own personal ups and downs at UConn and will look for one last celebration on their home floor before their real work begins. That talent alone is impressive and then you add Rudy Gay, Josh Boone and Marcus Williams, who all could be NBA first round picks this June and you know they are going to put forth their best effort in case this is the last time they perform in front of the home crowd for all seven of them.

Louisville's style also plays into the hands of Connecticut as they like to push tempo and shoot 3-pters. They don't offer a lot of interior resistence or a physical presence on the boards, whoch UConn will look to exploit. Louisville still has something to play for, getting to 7-9 in the conference with their overall record could begin to catch the eye of the NCAA Selection Committee, it is still a long shot, but getting a big win like this on the road would go a long way. However, I feel they are due more for a letdown that a terrefic performance.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 85 Louisville 65