BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ Cincinnati

January 31, 2007


One of the best rivalries in the history of Conference USA reunites tonight in the Big East as Louisville travels to meet Cincinnati. Louisville has turned things around lately, winning five of their last six contests, highlighted by their come from behind stunner over Syracuse on Saturday night. Cincinnati have found things tough going in the Big East, winning just once in conference play in Mick Cronin's first season as UC's coach.

Here are the links to the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this AM:

Cronin to Face Mentor Pitino (Cincinnati Post)
Shooting Isn't Everything (Louisville Courier-Journal)
UC, Louisville Friendly Rivals (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Cronin's Seen Pitino Before (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Cronin is Another Pitino Protege (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.

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Much of the focus of tonight's match-up between Louisville and Cincinnati has been on the coaches as the pupil (Mick Cronin) meets the teacher (Rick Pitino). New Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin served as a Pitino assistant at Louisville where he helped build the Cardinal final four team of a couple years ago.

However, maybe the focus should be on the Cardinals play of late. Louisville entered Big East play with a lot of questions and after a 16-pt loss at Notre Dame to open conference play, many were ready to write off Louisville once again. However, five wins in their last six games have brough Louisville back into consideration for the NCAA Tournament talk and into contention in the Big East. With road games at Pittsburgh, Marquette and Villanova and a home date with Georgetown, tougher games are ahead, making this game at Cincinnati very critical.

Cincinnati narrowly missed a road upset at Syracuse and followed that up with an exciting OT win over West Virginia. Things looked to be getting better, but Pittsburgh and Georgetown ended any momentum the Bearcats hoped to build. However, Mick Cronin was happy with the Bearcats improvements even in those losses. The Fifth Third Arena should be charged up for this rivalry,but do the Cincinnati players know this is a rivalry? Afterall, only Cedric McGowan, Ronald Allen and Conor Carwin have ever faced Louisville and they only played them last year. However, the oddsmakers have certainly placed a line on this game that sayys RIVALRY as Louisville is a 3.5-pt road favorite over the Big East's 16th placed team.

Louisville finally looks to be healthy with Brandon Jenkins, Juan Palacios and David Padgett playing minutes that were expected of them before the season started. They will still be without sophomore Andre McGee and who knows if freshman Derrick Caracter will ever suit up for the Cardinals again, but this looks to be the most cohesive Louisville has been all year. Their freshmen backcourt duo of Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith have been solid and sophomore wing Terrence Williams continues to lead the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and turnovers and is 2nd on the team in blocks. He remains the key, because when he hits shots, they are a tough team to beat!

Both teams play a similar style, but Cincinnati doesn't quite have the depth to compete for the 40 minutes, but look for them to play zone and hope the atmosphere can rattle Louisville into some missed shots. Cincinnati will try and use their athleticism inside, but their inconsistent shooting from deep will have to be on to keep pace.

In this rivalry game, I am going with the better team, but I think the home team keeps it closer than many would expect.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 66 Cincinnati 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ Louisville

January 27, 2007


At times this season, Syracuse and Louisville hardly looked like a pair of teams that were going to challenge to be among the top four in the Big East, as they were expected to do so. Quietly, both teams are now sitting at 4-2 in the conference standings heading into a game that might be shaping up to determine which team has the inside track at a Big East Tournament bye when the regular season is done.

Syracuse saw their four-game win streak snapped with a road loss last Sunday to St. John's. The Orange fell behind big early on but came all the way back to take a late lead, only to watch St. John's, especially Avery Patterson, make all the plays late to come up with the win. Louisville has the tougher part of their schedule ahead of them, but came up with a road win last weekend at DePaul and held serve at home against Connecticut on Monday night.


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

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The second half of the Big East schedule looks pretty daunting for the Louisville Cardinals as it includes road games with Villanova, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Connecticut and a home game with Georgetown after this weekend's match-up with Syracuse. With such a road slate ahead, taking care of business against Syracuse is a big key for the rest of their season.

Syracuse has a very fair schedule from here on out, with five on the road (including their game with Louisville) and five at home. They are probably kicking themselves for letting the game with St. John's get away, but after their narrow escape at home against Cincinnati just days earlier, it probably was not THAT surprising.

If I was a Syracuse fan, this team would scare me every time they step onto the court. They can look so bad with the basketball with careless passing and mind-boggling decision-making that makes Jim Boeheim cringe and with a constant look of bewilderment throughout games. There is talent, no doubt, but they just have a knack of making the wrong play to let teams stay in the game and, for whatever reason, their willingness to now play a full 40 minutes makes any game an adventure.

Louisville has a young backcourt and this will be their first time seeing the Syracuse zone defense. With Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith handling the ball for the most part, this will be an interesting test to see how they solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone. If they settle for long range shots and are not able to get Juan Palacios and David Padgett shots near the run and Terrence Williams is launching 3-pt shots, it might be a long night for Louisville who can run very cold often.

Syracuse has the athletes inside to defend and rebound against Louisville, but they will need a big night from Demetris Nichols to get a road win. I think the Syracuse experience against a young ball-handling team facing the 2-3 zone gives the Orange the edge.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 70 Louisville 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Connecticut @ Louisville

January 22, 2007


Big Monday brings us a big game in the Big East when Connecticut, desperate for a quality win, travels to Louisville, who is trying to solidify themselves as a challenger for one of the Big East Tournament byes.

Connecticut has lost five of their last seven games after starting off 11-0. Two of the losses have come out of conference, including their tough home loss to Indiana on Saturday. Louisville lost last Monday night at home to Marquette, but picked up a solid road win with a 9-pt win over DePaul on the road on Saturday.

Here are all the internet articles on tonight's game:



UConn Rebounding Worries Pitino (Kentucky.com)
UConn at Louisville (Connecticut Post)
Ice-Cold UConn Faces Challenge in Red-Hot Louisville (Danbury News Times)
Urgent Task Tonight (Norwich Bulletin)
Time is of the Essense, So Are Wins (New London Day)
Cards Strutting Home for UConn (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Two-Faces Cards Meet Their Match (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Louisville Finally Getting Healthy (Evansville Courier and Press)
UConn Takes Fight to Freedom (Hartford Courant)
Winning Only Things That Counts at UConn (Connecticut Post)
All is Not Yet Lost for UConn (Norwich Bulletin)
Improving Huskies Seek Big Win Tonight (New Haven Register)
New Line-up Falls Short (New Haven Register)



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

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These two teams really do mirror each other in many ways as they depend on several sophomores and freshmen in key roles. No team does so maore than UConn whose entire 13-man roster is made up of freshmen (8) and sophomores (5). With their youth comes a lot of promise, and the Huskies have shown a lot of fight, but they are very inconsistent offensivley in the course of a game.

The Huskies struggle with their shooting and decision making. Doing some of the little things in the tough Big East is still an art that has not been mastered by these pups. They need to do a better job of working to get better shots and stepping up and making the good shots they do get. Also, foul shooting has been very bad for Connecticut, making things even tougher on the road.

Louisville has shown signs of life, mostly with a smaller, quick line-up, but after Juan Palacios' big game against DePaul, he will re-enter the starting line-up tonight against the bigger Huskies. Palacios and David Padgett will have to play big and tough underneath as Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet bring size to the paint for UConn. The Huskies are also likely to go with Stanley Robinson on the wing while Terrence Williams, the high-flying sophomore, leads the way for Louisville on the wing. Whichever team can get their frontcourt to establish themselves will likely claim victory tonight.

The backcourts are often in a state of flux for each team, but both are limited in experience. Brandon Jenkins is a senior starter for the Cards, but he is battling a thumb injury and he is questionable for the game. Freshmen Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith have been solid this season, and might be playin a bit better than their more highly rated counterparts on the UConn side, Jerome Dyson and AJ Price. Doug Wiggins has been getting more and more time, even starting their last game, in place of Price, who has been very inconsistent at the point. I think these units will balance each other out in this game.

Off the bench, Louisville has numbers, but sometimes very little production. Terrence Farley and Derrick Caracter offer nice depth in the post, but you never know what to count on when it comes to Caracter. Earl Clark can play big minutes one game and none the next, so the inconsistency of the roles for the Cards has been frustrating. The injury to Andre McGee has limited the backcourt depth for UL, so that is something to watch because the Huskies will play aggressive defense on the perimeter, especially Dyson. Connecticut has depth with Craig Austrie in the backcourt, Marcus Johnson on the wing and Curtis Kelly and Jonathan Mandeldove in the post. Jim Calhoun is still trying to pin down a rotation and consistent roles for his players, so you never really know what their team will look like each game.

This game is a tough call. For one, I think Connecticut is due, but on the road in front a national TV audience and big crowd, I think Louisville has just enough experience and enough of a comfort zone to hold off the youthful Huskies. The oddsmakers has pegged Louisville as a 3-pt favorite, although Pomeroy's Computer rankins still have UConn as a projected 1-pt winner.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 64 Connecticut 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ DePaul

January 20, 2007


A key game on the Big East schedule this weekend involves two former Conference USA rivals battling it out in the standings of the New Big East. Louisville travels to Chicago to meet DePaul Saturday afternoon as both teams fight to stay above .500 in the conference.

This is a key game for the Blue Demons, not only because it is home, but after this game three of their next four will come on the road against Georgetown, West Virginia and Syracuse with a home game in the middle with Connecticut. DePaul has been an inconsistent team all season, but their only home loss has come at the hands of Pittsburgh.

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

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Louisville is coming off a 9-point home loss to Marquette on Monday night and now must rebound on the road against DePaul. The Cardinals have altered their line-up because of injuries and have gone with a much smaller and quicker look. Lately their line-up has consisted of three guards (Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith and Brandon Jenkins) with a small forward (Terrence Williams) and David Padgett in the middle. Juan Palacios has been slowed by a series of injuries, but he is rounding back into shape and should be a key player in the match-up with DePaul. Both teams are a bit inexperiences and inconsistent at point guard. For DePaul, freshman Will Walker and sophomore Jabari Currie get most of the time there with Cliff Clinkscales seeing more action if both are unrpoductive in the game. Louisville is trying to make due with freshman Edgar Sosa running most of the action at the point guard spot, maybe not yet his true position. With the injury to Andre McGee, there options are limited.

At the off-guard spot, DePaul relies on senior Sammy Mejia, one of the better players in the conference, but he does have a habit of having quiet games at the wrong time for DePaul. Senior Brandon Jenkins is still rounding into shape from preseason leg injuries, but his experience and defensive ability will be key for the Cards in this game. Both teams have depth and the ability to play three guards with DePaul's Draelon Burns and Jerry Smith for Louisville.

The small forward has a pair of exciting athletes with Terrence Williams of Louisville and Karron Clarke of DePaul. Williams seems to be the thermometer for Louisville as when he is cold, so are the Cards. He is a tremendous athlete that can really get himself and the team on a role with a couple acrobatic plays and finishes. Clarke has similar athleticism but in too many games he is virtually invisible in the DePaul system. If they ever could find a way to unleash his talents, they would be a much tougher team to defend.

At the big forwars spot, two of the most talented players in the conference will go head to head. Wilson Chandler of DePaul is a mult-talented big man that can step outside, put the ball on the floor and rebound and block shots with anyone. Juan Palacios is not as long or quite as athletic as Chandler, and has not reached the level of consistent production that Chandler usually gives the Blue Demons. He seems to be Louisville's enigma because you know there is more there than we have seen. Injuries have definitely not helped his cause, however.

In the middle, neither team will get much in the way of true post offense. David Padgett of Louisville is probably a little more comfortable facing the basket to create his offense. He is a good passer out of the post, but he will have toruble with the size of the DePaul post defenders in Wesley Green and Keith Butler. However, neither Green nor Butler look to use their brawn very much offensively, both are likely to settle for the face-up jumper against other big men. There never seems to be much patience from DePaul in establishing any post game and a revolving door at the position which could include Loenzo Thompson or going smaller with Chandler at the '5' and Marcus Heard at the '4' also seems to happen from time to time.

Both teams are deeper than most of the other teams in the league, but it is not always productive depth. Louisville has some big names off the bench in Derrick Caracter and Earl Smith, but you never know from game to game if either will play for coach Pitino.

Depaul seems to have more experience and much more maturity to get a win at home. Louisville has not shown the ability to react to the adversity that all teams face on the road in order to get a win. last year they were 1-7 on the road in the conference and this season they do have a conference road win at South Florida, but this one will be much tougher as DePaul is tough defensively and has some weapons to score. The Louisville pressure on defense is my only hesitation with DePaul because the Blue Demon guards are prone to poor decisions and a tendency to settle for the long shot. With that in mind, Louisville keeps within striking distance but Mejia and Chandler should make too many plays in the end.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 68 Louisville 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Marquette @ Louisville

January 15, 2007



Marquette looks to keep their momentum as they embark tonight on a two-game road trip this week, starting on a date with Louisville on ESPN's Big Monday. Things looked better for the Cardinals last week as they raced past South Florida on the road and came back home and knocked Providence from the ranks of the conference unbeatens. Tonight is a key early conference season game for both clubs.

Here are the game preview and stories from around the internet:

Confidence Up (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Cardinals to Meet Their Match (Louisville Courier-Journal)
'Small Ball' Gives Cardinals Some Shots of Confidence (AP Story from Herald-Leader)
Marquette-Louisville Match-up Could be a Thriller (OnMilwaukee.com)
Burke Grows into Role (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

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

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After starting conference play 0-2, Marquette coach Tom Crean vowed publicly that his Golden Eagles would get better and Crean's Strong Words Continue to Ring True (Journal-Sentinel) as MU responded by winning on the road against Connecticut and cruising to a victory over West Virginia at the Bradley Center last week. Back at .500 in the conference, the Golden Eagles look to continue their run with a couple tough road tests this week, starting off with Louisville in Freedom Hall tonight and finishing with a trip to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Things weren't looking too good for Louisville 12 days ago after Notre Dame beat them handily to open conference play. More injuries (Andre McGee and Juan Palacios) were headlines and the on and off again saga of Derrick Caracter continued to be the focus of the team, which had already seen three players leave the program from the end of last season (Brian Johnson, Chad Millard & Bryan Harvey) leaving the Cards hurting for depth. A trip to South Florida with the season possibly on the brink brought a change to a four-guard look and a resurgence from the Cardinals as they ran past USF in the 2nd half and returned home to beat Providence on Saturday.

In Louisville's win over Providence on Saturday, perimeter players accounted for 156 of the possible 200 minutes. In Marquette's win over West Virginia, perimeter players accounted for 151 minutes of a possible 200. So, we are going to see a pair of teams that have adopted similar philosophies in style of play, bith looking to pressure the ball on defense and pressure the defense when on offense by playing at a high speed. Earlier in the season, both teams were moving fast, but not really going anywhere as they struggled scoring points at certain times. With both teams looking to play the same style, points should not be a big concern tonight.

Both teams have depth in the frontcourt and can rotate several players behind their starting big men in David Padgett (UL) and Ousmane Barro (MU), but depending on the availablity of Juan Palacios, Louisville can go a little bigger and not lose much at the '4' position in terms of perimeter comfortability. Marquette can use Lazar Hayward and Dan Fitzgerald at the PF position, both add the threat of the 3-pt jumper and versatility to the arsenal. Louisville probably has the slight edge in the frontcourt, but it depends on Palacios' health, and he played just three minutes on Saturday, pressing Earl Clark into duty, and Clark did not play at all in their blowout win over USF.

So then we move to the backcourts. In the Big East, there is no better trio than Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews. Although each is just a sophomore, they are the more experienced trio because Louisville will start two freshmen in Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith along with senior Brandon Jenkins. I do not think the backcourt of Marquette will be forced into 26 turnovers like Providence was over the weekend at the hands of UL, but Marquette is prone to turning it over, as they have been turning it over more than 20 times a game in their last three outings. They HAVE to take better care of the ball, especially on the road, because they are not the best shooting team around.

The wildcard player in this game is Louisville sophomore Terrence Williams. Coming off a 23-pt, 12-rebound, 5-assist and 5-steal performance against Providence, he will need two strong games together for Louisville to get a win tonight. He has the athletic ability to match anything Marquette throws at him and will have to help the young guard duo of Smith and Sosa survive the ball pressure that Marquette will employ.

These games between the two teams are traditionally close and tightly contestes. The Pomery computer shows Louisville as a projected 2-pt winner and the oddsmakers have made Louisville an early 3-pt favorite. Both teams are trying to stake a claim as one of the teams competing for a Big East Tournament bye, meaning it is nearly a must-win for the home Cards. I really like their move to the smaller line-up and Terrence Williams does provide a match-up problem for Marquette in the smaller look. I worry about the UL freshmen guards in this game, but UL can go a little bigger if need be. This game truly looks like a toss-up, and I think Marquette wins a nail-biter.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Marquette 72 Louisville 70

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Providence @ Louisville

January 13, 2007


One of the most interesting games of the day on Saturday pits Louisville and Providence at Freedom Hall. Louisville rebounded from their conference-opening loss at Notre Dame to run past South Florida in the 2nd half by going small for an 81-55 win. Providence was the talk of the conference in the first week by opening conference play with a pair of home wins over Marquette and Seton Hall.

One big key for Providence is the return of Sharaud Curry from a suspension for violation of team rules. Curry leads PC in scoring and teams with Geoff McDermott and Herbert Hill to provide the Friars with top-line production from a 'big three' trio. However, that might not be the reason the Friars are off to such a good start, to me it is the improved production from Weyinmi Efejuku that gives the Friar atatck balance and when Curry was out, freshman Dwain Williams filled in adequately giving him more experience and confident to be a productive member off the bench.

Things have not gone very smoothly for Louisville this season. Injuries again have caused the Cardinals to be very inconsistent and they were without Andre McGee and Juan Palacios in their win over South Florida. McGee may be done for the season, but Palacios will hopefully suit up and play on Saturday. Also, the distraction that is Derrick Caracter continues as he did not even accompany the team to South Florida, so his availability is unknown and another talented freshman, Earl Clark, didn't see the floor in the blowout. Louisville looked their best with a small line-up of Terrence Williams, Brandon Jenkins, Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith with David Padgett in the middle. That is going to be a tough go against Providence with their strong frontcourt. The return of Palacios will definitely help the UL cause and a home crowd supporting them will give them a little extra adrenaline.

I am always leary of a team playing their first conference road game, so I am treading a little cautiously on Providence in this one. I think they are going to start slow, but crank things up in the second half, but it might be a little toolate as the added confidence of a good start helps Louisville in this one and they make the right plays down the stretch (considering that Palacios is playing).

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 75 Providence 73

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ South Florida

January 10, 2007


Things have not been going so well for Louisville, coming off their conference open pounding at the hands of Notre Dame, the Cardinals are still battling injuries and adversity. South Florida opened conference play with a brutal 2-game road trip to Connecticut and Pittsburgh, where the Bulls failed to combined to score 100 points in the pair of games. Tonight, a pair of struggling teams meet in Florida.

Here are the pre-game stories and previews:

Jenkins Returns to Line-up
McGee May Be Out for Season (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Howard's Future On-Line (Tampa Trib)



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





Not really sure where to begin with this game. The news out of Louisville continues to puzzle fans and frustrate them at the same time. This week it is that Brandon Jenkins will start tonight in place of freshman Jerry Smith. Jenkins has made just four of his last 35 field goal attempts in the last seven games and replaces Smith, who has averaged 9 PPG while shooting 50% from 3-pt range on the season. The move is defenviely motivated by coach Rick Pitino who does not like having two starting freshmen for defensive purposes.

The bad news on the injury front is that sophomore guard Andre McGee could be lost for the season. In the preseason, Pitino was praising the improvements of McGee in shooting and conditioning. With the freshmen guard tandem of Smith and Edgar Sosa and the struggled Jenkins has had coming back from injury, McGee will be sorely missed as Cornell transfer Will Scott is likely to see more time.

Some better news on the injury front is the Juan Palacios shoulder/neck is improving and he is closer to 70% of full strength and should be able to shoot tonight. However, the frontcourt looks to again be held hostage by the Derrick Caracter saga as Pitino says the talented but 'lethargic' freshman is unlikely to be brought along to South Florida...oh my...

South Florida, as we know, has their own struggles with injuries and depth. Soloman Bozeman has played well on the season for being thrown into the fire as a starting point guard, but the Big east is a new animal. Transfers Jesus Verdejo and Kentrell Gransberry have added depth, talent, scoring and rebounding to what Melvin Buckley gives on the wing and the athletic McHugh Mattis can cause problems in the frontcourt. Melvyn Richardson and Ade Saaka provide the bench support for now, but the Bulls could get a lift tonight if Chris Howard is cleared to play. Howard would add to the point guard depth and give the Bulls another talented player in the mix after missing the last year and a half with a pair of ACL tears. Howqard will definitely need some time to get his basketball legs back...but, at least there looks to be some help on the way for the injury-ravaged Bulls.

Maybe another sight for sore eyes is the appearance of the Cardinals, who seem in disarray for the Bulls. However, I still can not see a team with Jenkins, Palacios and David Padgett being this bad. I think this is a tight, low scoring game, but in the end, Louisville does just enough to pull it out.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 67 South Florida 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Louisville @ Notre Dame

January 3, 2006



One of the more interestinggames of the first week pits the Louisville Cardinals and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Heading into conference play, the resume of each team almost sounds reversed as the Cards are fighting injuries and inconsistent play while the Irish have come together and over-whelmed the majority of their opponents with a barrage of offense. Here are the pregame articles from newspapers around the internet:

Are Cards ready for Big East Play? (News-Sentinel)
Cards Brace for Irish 'O' (south Bend Tribune)
U of L Opens Big East Play at Notre Dame (Kentucky.com)
Jenkins, Cards Hope to Have Shot Tonight (Louisville Courier-Journal)

This game has added additional intrigue with Kyle McAlarney being out after being charged with marijuana possession after a routine traffic stop early Saturday morning and with Juan Palacios being listed as 'doubtful' for Louisville due to back/wrist ailments. Both are key players to their team's hope for success this season, we will soon see how big of a loss each player is.

It has been nothing short of a special run by Notre Dame through their pre-conference schedule. The Irish have drubbed opponents that have given them trouble in the past and found the strength to close out Maryland and Alabama when the games got tight down the stretch. When it seemed like everything was going right, the news on McAlarney hit them right in the face. In his place, it is expected that freshman Tory Jackson will have to take the majority of minutes on the ball for Notre Dame. Jackson enters tonight's contest averaging 16.6 minutes a game with 4.8 PPG and an assist to turnover ratio of slightly better than 1:1. His 17% 3-pt shooting percentage and 52% free throw percentage are both big drop-offs compared to McAlarney (46% and 82%) and areas to watch as the Notre Dame offense has been built around the effeciency that McAlarney provided with the ball (2.5:1 assist to turnover ratio). Notre Dame does have the personnell to pick up the slack with seniors Russell Carter (17.8 PPG) and Colin Falls (14 PPG) on the wings and an inside duo of Rob Kurz (16 PPG and 9 rebounds) and freshman Luke Harangody (12 PPG and 6 rebounds in just 18 minutes a game). The Irish play well together and know their roles, key points in games this early.

Louisville looks to be the polar opposite thus far. Suffering through a series of injuries once again and off-season defections, the Louisville line-up has been in a state of flux and looks to be changing again with the injuries to Palacios. The Cards have had 12 different players start as David padgett, Brandon Jenkins and Adnre McGee have battled injuries and Derrick Caracter has battled maturity issues. The Cards have gone young of late with Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith and Earl Clark getting more and more time. Terrence Williams is their leading scorer at 12 PPG, but he has been brick-city (and continues to let them fly) from beyond the arc shooting a woeful 17% on 69 attempts. Williams also leads the team in rebounds (7.6/game) and assists (4/game), so the offense seems to be going through him. The only other players averaging in double-digits are Sosa (11 PPG) and Palacios (10 PPG). If palacios is unable to go, Caracter could be pressed into action and his vulnerability to fouls could be exploited quickly by Kurz. The inconsistent Cards will have their hands full against the effecient Irish.

The current vegas line shows Notre Dame as 9-pt favorites and Pomeroy has the Irish as 14-pt winners. We are not sold on Louisville, especially on the road, until they can get healthy and playing together much better.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Notre Dame 75 Louisville 65

What do you think?

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