LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A week ago the University of
Louisville basketball team was trying to settle in as the top-ranked team in
college basketball. Saturday in Washington D.C., the Cards will try to avoid a
three-game losing streak when they play Georgetown at noon.
This is Louisville's eighth season in the Big East. How many
times have the Cards lost three straight conference games?
Twice – in January 2010 to Villanova, Pittsburgh and Seton
Hall; and again in January 2006 to Pittsburgh, St. John's and Connecticut.
The Cards lost back-to-back games in the league twice last
season, but their losing streak never reached three.
After playing the Hoyas, Louisville returns home for
Pittsburgh Monday night. Eric Crawford and Pat Doney are scheduled to be in
Washington D.C. Saturday and will have complete coverage on WDRB 41 during the
10 p.m. news as well as at WDRB.com.
How many times has U of L lost four straight Big East games?
Never.
*How good is Georgetown?
Joe Lunardi gave the Hoyas a 10-seed in his latest
Bracketology on Tuesday, the day after Georgetown thumped Notre Dame, 63-47, in
South Bend, a dazzling achievement. It was the fewest points the Fighting Irish
had scored at home since the first season of the Digger Phelps Era – when UCLA
limited Notre Dame to 32 in January 1972.
Georgetown coach John Thompson III has developed the
second-best three-point shooting team in the Big East. The Hoyas have stroked
12 of 27 threes in their last two games. Freshman D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, the
Indianapolis native who was recruited by U of L, has averaged 15 points the
last two games, making four of nine three-pointers.
*The Cards remain a 5-point favorite. Ken Pomeroy likes U of
L, 63-56, with a 75 percent win probability. Jeff Sagarin's numbers also favor
U of L by five.
*Kentucky, meanwhile, is a 17-point favorite to handle
Louisiana State in Rupp Arena Saturday at 4 p.m. Pomeroy likes the Wildcats,
81-63, with a 93 percent win probability. Sagarin says UK by, surprise,
surprise, 17.
*The Wildcats lost at Alabama Tuesday. Kentucky has lost
consecutive Southeastern Conference games one time during John Calipari's 3 ½
seasons – a two-point loss at Ole Miss, followed by a two-point loss at Florida
in February 2011.
*LSU is looking at its fourth consecutive season without an
invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers (10-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC)
have not been ranked in the AP Top 25 since the 2008-09 season.
Anthony Hickey, Mr. Basketball in Kentucky two seasons ago,
leads the nation in steals, averaging 3.86 per game. Hickey had eight steals
when LSU rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Texas A&M in Baton Rouge
Wednesday.
*Look for LSU to rely on the three-point shot as its major
weapon. The Tigers rank first in the SEC in three-point field goal attempts per
game, launching an average of 22.5. They average making 33.9 percent.
*John Calipari Quote of the Day: "I keep telling them, ‘you
know why nobody cares about your problems? Because they have their own
problems. They don't care about your problems.' "
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Both Louisville and Kentucky are favored to bounce back from losses on Saturday.
