BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ Louisville

February 21, 2007


The red-hot Louisville Cardinals look to strenghten their hold on one of the four Big East Conference Tournament byes when they welcome the St. John's Redstorm to Freedom Hall for a game telecast by ESPN2.

The Cardinals have won three in a row, including road wins over Pittsburgh and Marquette, and return home with a national ranking and a 9-4 Big East mark. The Cards have a favorable schedule down the stretch with a trip to Connecticut and a home game with Seton Hall to close out the Big East slate.

St. John's has put themselves in solid shape to make the Big East Tournament, holding a 3-win lead in the standings over South Florida, Rutgers and Seton Hall. After tonight, the 'Storm host Duke this weekend before wrapping up conference play with Providence on March 4th.

Here are a few pregame articles found on the internet this morning:

Cards Expected to Go Without Palacios (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Cards Get the Message: Slump is Over (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Pitino Wary of Johnnies (NY Post)


It has not been an easy transition for Louisville from Conference USA to the Big East. Last season the Cardinals barely qualified for the Big East tournament and a series of injuries had Rick Pitino's squad off to another slow start this year. However, in the last month, Louisville has won seven of their last nine games as they have rounded back into shape after getting everyone healthier. Also, their highly regarded freshman class has matured on and off the floor, meaning minutes for Derrick Caracter, more minutes for Earl Clark and more consistent play out of Jerry Smith (Saturday's hero) and Edgar Sosa.

St. John's got off to a slow start in the Big East, losing four of their first five games. However back-to-back home wins over Syracuse and Notre Dame gave the Redstorm some life and since then they have beaten the teams they were supposed to (Cincinnati, USF & Rutgers). In Norm Roberts third season, it was the year they were supposed to take a step forward as a program. It looks like they have, maybe not as big of a step as hoped, but they have shown progress.

Tonight, Louisville is a 12.5-p favorite at home. They are a deep team, even though they are likely without Juan Palacios in this game. They are also a versatile team with athletic and long wings to match with St. John's strength. The Redstorm have a bit of a tendency to lose big on the road to quality teams, that could be a trend that continues tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 68 St. John's 54