BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Louisville

February 7, 2007


The Georgetown Hoyas try to keep pace with the leaders as they travel to Louisville to meet Rick Pitino and the Cardinals. Louisville is also trying to stay among the league leaders and position themselves for a Big East Tournament bye. On a night that the court at Freedom Hall will be renamed for Denny Crum, it should be a great atmosphere for an upper-division Big East showdown.


Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Cold Cards Seek Shooting (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Pitino, Hoyas Go Way Back (Lexington Herald-Leader)
For U of L Fans, One Day Brings Two Big Events (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Finally Healthy, Louisville Feeling Better About Itself (Washington Post)
At Peace in His Father's Shadow (Washington Times)
Clark Finding His Comfort Zone (Louisville Courier-Journal)
'Denny Crum Court' Ceremony Tonight (Courier-Journal)


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



It should be an emotionally charged Louisville crowd tonight as they rename the court at storied Freedom Hall in honor of former head coach Denny Crum. Denny Crum Court will be unveiled this evening as the Cardinals welcome in the Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East conference match-up. Both teams have a 1st round bye in he Big East conference tournament firmly in their sites and a win tonight with each having a date with Pittsburgh in the near future could set them up to challenge for Big East supremecy. There is a lot riding on this game.

The oddsmakers have made this a 'pick-em' game and the Pomeroy Computer rankings give a slight edge to the Hoyas. Louisville has been playing an aggressive style of extended defense that has given Georgetown trouble at times this year. Villanova used a similar defense to stymie the Georgetown attack for a victory. The Hoyas are thin in the backcourt and if you force them to take 10-15 seconds to get set in their offense you take away a lot of the effectiveness of the Princeton-style offense Georgetown will utilize.

While Louisville's defense has been a strength, it will definitely be challenged tonight as Georgetown has been the most effecient offense in Big East play. The hoyas have a mix of scoring from the perimeter and inside and they are perfectly comfortable playing a game in the high 50's because that is where their pace of play usually puts the game. With a frontline of Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green and DaJuan Summers they have the size to give Louisville trouble on the boards and matching up on defense. The Cardinals will look to rotate their four guards (Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith, Brandon Jenkins and Andre McGee) to keep the pressure on the Georgetown backcourt and hope to wear out Jonathan Wallace and Jesse Sapp.

Louisville needs to shoot better, it is plain and simple. Georgetown will shorten the game with long possessions on offense and tough defense, changing from man to man and match-up zone to give the Cards different looks. Louisville will have a hard time getting Juan Palacios and David Padgett established against the size of the Hoyas, but they will need to be persistent in attempting so they can open up the perimeter for their guards to get comfortable and for Terrence Williams to find lanes to the rim.

This should be an excellent game. Georgetown is on quite a run, winning their last five games, although none have come against teams .500 or better in the conference. Louisville has played themselves back into contention winning six of their last eight, with home wins over Providence and Syracuse the best of the bunch. So, both teams are looking for a win to hang their hat on.

I thinkg Georgetown is just a little tougher and has the better shooting touch as a team and gets it down, in a tight one, on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 64 Louisville 60