Cardinals soar into Cincinnati to take on Bearcats

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2009 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time rivals, now members of the Big East Conference, meet in the Queen City today, as the seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals come calling on the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Rick Pitino has Louisville once again poised to make some serious noise in both the Big East and NCAA Tournaments, as the Cardinals are 20-5 on the year and 11-2 in conference. The team has won 12 of its last 14 games overall and is an impressive 5-1 in true road bouts this season. Providence came to Kentucky on Wednesday night, and stood tall against the Cardinals in the first half, only to fall in the end by a 94-76 final. It was the second straight game in which Pitino's club went over 90 points -- in stark contrast to the previous three outings in which it failed to post more than 60 points.

Cincinnati used the non-league portion of its schedule to post a favorable record (10-3), but its Big East brethren have been less than accommodating as the team is 7-6 in conference to this point. The Bearcats recently had a three-game win streak halted in an 85-69 loss at Pittsburgh last Saturday. Cincinnati has reason to be optimistic today as the team is 12-3 at home this season.

Cincinnati is Louisville's most played rival, with this being the 91st meeting between the two. The Cardinals own a 51-39 advantage, and they have won four of the last six encounters. The Bearcats, however, picked up a 58-57 win at Freedom Hall last year.

Strong defense and balanced scoring have been Louisville's hallmarks this season, as foes are putting up just 61.6 ppg while the Cardinals turn in 74.2 ppg. The front-line trio of Earl Clark (12.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 42 blocks), Samardo Samuels (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 33 blocks) and Terrence Williams (12.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 52 steals) have clearly been where the team looks when it comes to the bulk of its offensive production, although a guy like guard Jerry Smith (7.6 ppg), who is hitting 40.7 percent of his three-point tries this season, could possibly elevate his game if he so chose. On Wednesday night, Edgar Sosa scored 18 points to lead six Cardinals in double figures, and Louisville broke open a close game at the half by outscoring Providence 49-30 in the second stanza. The Friars were guilty of 22 turnovers, leading to 29 points for the Cardinals. Louisville had similar numbers in a 99-54 rout of DePaul in its previous outing, although it was the perimeter shot that helped the Cardinals feast on the Blue Demons, hitting 18 treys in the game.

While Louisville has been lighting up the scoreboard lately, Cincinnati continues to plod along, cracking the 70-point barrier just once in its last three games. In last week's 16-point loss at Pittsburgh, the Bearcats shot 51.9 percent from the field but struggled at the foul line (9-of-17) and allowed the Panthers to convert a whopping 67.4 percent of their total shots. It also didn't help that Cincy came up with just six turnovers in the game. Mike Williams led the UC attack with 17 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting effort, and Larry Davis finished with 13 points in hitting 6-of-7 shots. Dion Dixon came off the bench to chip in 10 points. Deonta Vaughn, who leads the Bearcats in scoring for the season at 15.7 ppg, was limited to just nine points as he attempted only seven shots in the game. Freshman center Yancy Gates is averaging 10.4 points and a club-best 6.0 rebounds per game this season, while Williams checks in with 10.0 ppg.