NCAA BASKETBALL – THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
Louisville Cardinals (12-6) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (10-6)
The Louisville Cardinals will travel to Newark, New Jersey on Thursday as they tip off against the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center.
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The Cardinals routed the Pirates 95-78 the last time the two teams met on March 4, 2009.
Louisville could not hold off a vigorous offensive attack by No.16 Pittsburgh allowing them to tie the game with one minute left in regulation and then fell in an 82-77 defeat on Saturday. The Redbirds squandered Samardo Samuels’ team-high 25 points and two six-point leads in each half plus a 68-63 lead with 34 seconds remaining, because they couldn’t convert their free throw opportunities. Louisville was 1 of 5 at the line in the final minute and 10 of 17 overall. Preston Knowles added 21 points for the Cardinals in the win. Louisville’s only losses in their last 10 games were to top 25 teams – No. 16 Pitt, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 4 Villanova, despite having the eighth-toughest schedule in the nation.
The Pirates are a team that started strong but has been losing more than winning since league play and dropped its fourth Big East contest with an 85-73 loss to then No.11 Georgetown in their last outing. Junior guard Jeremy Hazell scored 17 points in the win. Hazell leads the Pirates with 22.9 points per game. The Pirates allowed the Hoyas to shoot an incredible 68 percent — their worst defensive performance this season. Four of their losses have come against top 20 teams and they have recorded five losses in the last six games having erased much of the momentum from what had been an impressive season start.
The odds makers have Seton Hall as +1 -point underdogs in this one.
Louisville will have the dauntless task of playing two of its next three away from home starting with Seton Hall. They are just a meager 1-3 on the road. Seton Hall likes to score points and will test Louisville’s pressure defense and ability to control Jeremy Hazell, who is currently second in the Big East in scoring.
Expect the Cardinals to edge one out here to begin their short road trip.
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