Pitino, Smith Preview Saturday's Season Finale against West Virginia
March 06, 2009 | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2009
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino and junior guard Jerry Smith met with members of the media on Friday at the Yum! Center to preview Saturday's season finale against West Virginia. The No. 6 ranked Cardinals and Mountaineers will tip off at 9:00 p.m. ET at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va., and the game, which will be the centerpiece for ESPN's Gameday, will be televised nationally by ESPN.
At least a share of the BIG EAST Conference regular season championship will be on the line for Louisville. U of L won its sixth straight and 16th in the last 18 games as the Cards beat Seton Hall 95-78 in Freedom Hall on Wednesday. Louisville had four players finish in double figures for the third consecutive game. Junior Earl Clark is averaging a team-high 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while senior Terrence Williams leads the Cards with 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals.
West Virginia (21-9, 10-7 BIG EAST) has won five of their last six games, including an 82-63 victory over DePaul on Wednesday. In that game, Alex Ruoff led five Mountaineers in double figures with 20 points as WVU held a 48-30 rebounding advantage over the Blue Demons. Junior forward Da'Sean Butler (17.4 ppg) and Ruoff (16.3 ppg) are the top two scorers for West Virginia. Freshman forward Devin Ebanks averages 9.6 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds.
Louisville has won six of its eight previous meetings vs. WVU, including the last three straight. Saturday is the second meeting against West Virginia this season for the Cards as U of L won 69-63 on Jan. 31 in Freedom Hall. Jerry Smith scored 20 points, burying 4-of-5 three point goals, and Terrence Jennings added a then season-high 13 points for the Cardinals. After WVU led 12-10 eight minutes into the game, U of L went on a 23-3 run over the next six minutes to take a 33-17 lead. Butler led the Mountaineers with 23 points.
GAME FACTS - Louisville (24-5, 15-2 BIG EAST) vs. West Virginia (21-9, 10-7 BIG EAST)
Date: Saturday, March 7
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Site: WVU Coliseum (14,000), Morgantown, W.Va.
TV: ESPN will televise the game with Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Dick Vitale (analyst), and Erin Andrews (reporter)
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst)
SIRIUS: SIRIUS Satellite Radio Ch. 127
Series History: U of L leads 6-2 all-time (3-1 in Louisville, 1-1 in Morgantown, 2-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: U of L 69, West Virginia 63 (Jan. 31, 2009 in Louisville, Ky.)
National Rankings: U of L is ranked 6th in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' and Associated Press Polls this week; West Virginia is unranked.
Next U of L Game: March 12 in quarterfinals of BIG EAST Championship, Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. (opponent TBA)
