BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CONNECTICUT @ LOUISVILLE

February 2, 2009


As long as the voters in the ESPN Coaches Poll and the AP Writers Poll do the expected, the Louisville Cardinals will be welcoming in the second No. 1 team to Freedom Hall in less than a month. Connecticut, on the strength of a 94-61 demolision of Providence, and a loss by Duke earlier in the week, is poised to make the move from #2 in the country to the top spot when the polls are released today.

Pittsburgh saw their reign as the country's No. 1 team come to an end with a 69-63 loss at Louisville back in January. Now, the Cards and a frenzied Freedom Hall crowd will look for a second #1 team to knock off as Big Monday commences with a battle of the two preseason Big East favorites.

UConn may be #1 in the country when these teams hit the floor tonight, but they are still looking up at Louisville in the Big East standings. The oddsmakers do not believe the latest run at No. 1 will last long either, pegging the Cards as 3 1/2-point favorites:

Here are some pregame stories and previews on tonight's primetime match-up:

Now They've Got to Prove It (TheDay.com)
Pitino's Cards Primed for Late Push (Plain Dealer)
Just Another Big Game for Louisville (Courier-Journal)
Huskies Face Formidable Challenge (Rep-Am)
UConn Preview Capsule (Norwich Bulletin)
UConn Plays for Big East Lead (Norwich Bulletin)
Huskies Atop Basketball World - Again (Norwich Bulletin)
UConn set for Big Match-up with Louisville (Register Citizen)
History of UConn as #1 Team (Register Citizen)

This match-up starts right away in one area, the frontcourt. Each team has a starting frontline that could see all six players in the NBE within the next year or two. Louisville starts senior Terrence Williams, junior Earl Clark and freshman Samardo Samuels while UConn counters with junior Stanley Robinson, senior Jeff Adrien and junior Hasheem Thabeet. The UConn trio was instrumental in the thrashing of Providence over the weekend with Robinson playing his best game since returning to the program in December from a semester-long hiatus, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes. Thabeet dominated the paint with a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks. Adrien, who came into the PC game with six concesutive double-doubles of points and rebounds, scored 14 points and added 6 rebounds. As a team, UConn blocked 17 shots and outscored the Friars 56-27 after halftime.

Louisville had their own dominate half on Saturday, the first half, as the Cards blitzed West Virginia for a 45-25 lead at the half before putting the game on cruise control and winning 69-63. Jerry Smith hit seven of eight shots to finish with 20 points and freshman Terrence Jennings had a career-high 13 in the win.

Back on January 17th, Louisville played then-No. 1 Pittsburgh and knocked off the Panthers, 69-63, behind 20 points from Terrence Williams and an Earl Clark double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Cards pressure forced 20 Panther turnovers and limited DeJuan Blair to just 20 minutes because of foul trouble. A 19-3 run turned a 10 point deficit into a 6-point lead in the closing minutes and the Cards were victorious.

Tonight, UL will hope that pressure gets to the experienced UConn backcourt that features senior AJ Price, junior Jerome Dyson and senior Craig Austrie and frosh Kemba Walker off the bench. Price has been playing very well of late, averaging just over 19 points a game in the last five and connecting on 50% of this three-point attempts (13-26) in the span after a slow start to the season. Price getting back to form has UConn looking like the national title contender they were exected to be in the preseason as they have won nine in a row.

The Cards have been keyed by their (T-)will to win, as in Terrence Williams. The senior small forward does a little of everything in order to win. He plays defense (team leader in steals at 2.4/game), passes the ball (team leader in assists at 4.7/game), rebounds (team leader with 9.3/game) and scored at nearly a 13-point a game clip. In the last seven games, Williams is averaging 15 points, 11 rebounds, nearly 5 assists and over 2 steals a game.

The senior duo of Williams and Price will take center stage and it will be really interesting to see which one can lead his team to a victory. In the preseason, NBE selected Louisville as the league favorite with an ever so slight nod over UConn (mostly due to UConn's uncertainty with Ater Majok, Nate Miles and Stanley Robinson at the time). Both teams are on exceptional hot streaks and the Cards definitely have a favorable schedule here on out to take the conference crown. On this night, we expect a great game, going either way down the stretch, but the UConn experience and their more productive backcourt will prevail.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 73
Louisville 68