Some questioned how much of a toll the 5-OT loss against Notre Dame would take out of Louisville. The answer is none. In fact, quite the opposite, as the Cardinals have gone on a five game winning streak with an average margin of victory of 15.2 points. Not bad, eh? Although, keep in mind that four of those games came against sub .500 teams in the Big East. Still, the victory over Syracuse has to be looked at as a major confidence booster as we ramp up for March Madness.
Cincinnati (20-9) is having a decent season of their own, but certainly haven't lived up to expectations. They avoided worsening a three game skid with a win over UCONN, but offensive struggled continue to plague them, which bodes poorly against Louisville who has tightened up their defensive efforts. Opponents are averaging 18.7 turnovers a game, second most in the nation.
The Cardinals (24-5) are gearing up for a push, but need to get some of their key players back to form. Starting PG Peyton Siva has struggled from beyond the arc as of late after turning in a solid 38.6% earlier this season.
"I don't like going away from him because I have so much confidence in him but I had to win this game," Coach Pitino said of Siva.
One area where he hasn't struggled has been assists. Averaging six a game, he'll need to keep those numbers up if his shooting stroke doesn't return. Luckily, he'll have Center Gorgui Dieng to help on the glass who's posting nearly a double-double each outing.
Prediction: I don't see the Bearcats pulling off the upset tonight, but if they should, they'll need a tremendous effort from Guard Sean Kilpatrick. Cincinnati is going to have to keep the turnovers below double digits if they're going to avoid the blowout.
Coverage begins at 7PM Eastern on ESPN
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