Louisville, KY (My Sportsbook) - Big East powers collide at Freedom Hall this evening, as the 20th-ranked Louisville Cardinals play host to the 12th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame has won its last two games to move to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Fighting Irish knocked off Seton Hall on Saturday in an 88-79 final, and they are now a perfect 8-0 at home. In true road games, coach Mike Brey's team is 2-1 thus far, although the last road tilt ended in defeat.
As for Louisville, it has posted three consecutive victories, and Saturday's 61-60 decision over No. 17 Villanova in Philadelphia was certainly impressive. The Cardinals are 11-3 overall, including 2-0 in conference, and the club hopes to improve its 8-1 home record tonight.
Louisville owns a 14-8 series lead over Notre Dame, which includes a 90-85 win over the Fighting Irish in the most recent meeting last season.
It is obvious that Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody is one of the truly elite players in the nation. Harangody is the reigning Big East Conference Player of the Year, and that is an impressive honor considering the vast talent in the league. The big man has led his team in both scoring and rebounding in eight consecutive outings, and he is averaging 24.5 ppg and 12.7 rpg while shooting 50.2 percent from the floor. Kyle McAlarney adds 16.5 ppg on 46.3 percent efficiency from three-point range, and Tory Jackson adds 11.8 ppg while leading the club in assists (89) and steals (24). The fourth and final double- digit scorer on the roster is Ryan Ayers with 11.5 ppg. Notre Dame is generating 82.2 ppg while allowing 67.5 ppg. In the victory over Seton Hall on Saturday, Harangody only shot 8-of-23 from the floor, but he still finished with 30 points and 16 rebounds after shooting 14-of-16 from the foul line. Jackson and McAlarney added 18 points apiece, and Notre Dame won the game on the strength of big advantages in both rebounding (43-30) and points from the foul line (28-10).
Louisville is scoring 74.6 ppg this season, and the team is limiting opponents to 59.8 ppg on 38 percent shooting from the floor. The Cardinals are outrebounding foes by 5.5 rpg, another key to their success. Earl Clark leads Louisville with 13.7 ppg, and he is ripping down 8.8 rpg. Samardo Samuels, a powerful freshman forward, checks in with 13.6 ppg, and he adds 6.1 rpg. Terrence Williams is a tremendously versatile performer who is scoring 11.5 ppg, and he also leads the team in rebounding (8.9 rpg), assists (67) and steals (34). Clark scored 16 points and ripped down 11 rebounds in the narrow victory over Villanova on Saturday. Samuels finished that tilt with 10 points, 14 boards and six assists, while Samuels contributed 15 points. The Cardinals only connected on 38.7 percent of their field goal attempts but limited the Wildcats to 37.7 percent.
