Pitino Previews Thursday's Game against St. John's
February 10, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2010
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino met with members of the media on Wednesday via teleconference to preview Thursday's game against St. John's. The Cards and Red Storm will tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
U of L ventures out for its first of two straight in the state of New York. Louisville won 76-60 over Rutgers last Saturday in Freedom Hall as the Cards handed out 20 assists and shot 54 percent from the field. U of L has won 20 of its last 22 games during the month of February dating back to 2007.
St. John's (12-8, 2-8 BIG EAST) won nine of its first 10 games of the season, but has dropped its last five BIG EAST Conference games. The Red Storm built a 16-point lead over West Virginia last Saturday before falling 79-60 as WVU hit 65.5 percent from the field in the second half, making all eight of its three-point goals.
One of the Cardinals' three repeat opponents this season, St. John's is No. 90 in the ratings percentage index (RPI) and is No. 80 in the Sagarin Ratings through games of Feb. 9. Junior guard/forward D.J. Kennedy, who has been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll four times this season, is averaging a team-high 15.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Louisville leads the series 8-3 and has won the last four straight meetings. The Cardinals prevailed 75-68 in Freedom Hall earlier this season (1/9/10) as Jerry Smith led U of L with 16 points, including hitting 12-of-14 free throws.
GAME FACTS - Louisville (15-8, 6-4) vs. Rutgers (12-10, 2-8)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 11
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Site: Madison Square Garden (19,786), New York, N.Y.
TV: ESPN2 will televise the game with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (analyst)
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst)
SIRIUS: SIRIUS Satellite Radio Ch. 122 (XM Ch. 203)
Series History: U of L leads 8-3 all-time (5-0 in Louisville, 2-2 in New York, 1-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: U of L 75, St. John's 68 (Jan. 9, 2010 in Freedom Hall)
National Ranking: Neither team is ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and Associated Press Poll this week.
Officials: Karl Hess, Mike Stuart, John Gaffney
Next U of L Game: Feb. 14 at Syracuse, 1:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
