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