Sport: College HoopsPick Selection: (658) Louisville Cardinals -3 -110
(657) Georgetown Hoyas at (658) Louisville Cardinals 9:00 PM ET
(658) Louisville Cardinals -3 -110
The 5th ranked Hoyas are getting points? Yes that is the case and Louisville is the play. The Cardinals, along with other big advantages, have the scenario of being an unranked home favorite against a ranked road team and this has always been a solid proposition to be behind. Freedom Hall will be rocking for this one and there is some revenge in play as well as Georgetown won the only meeting last season and that came by eight points in Louisville and the Cardinals no doubt remember that one.
Injuries slowed this team down early in the year but the Cardinals are once again healthy and it is showing. After starting 5-3, the Cardinals have been on fire. Louisville has won two straight, four of five, eight of 10 and 12 of 15. Of the three losses, two came by a combined three points against Connecticut and Cincinnati while the third came against Seton Hall and that came right after the big home win over Marquette. In the home loss against Cincinnati, they shot a woeful 3-23 from long range (13 percent).
The Cardinals win over Marquette was a huge one but don?t expect any sort of letdown, especially with what is at stake. A victory gets Louisville within a game of first place. Taking nothing away from Georgetown, who has won six straight games, but this is by far the biggest test during this recent run. A win at West Virginia was nice but the toughest contest prior to that was a game at Pittsburgh and the Hoyas walked out with a six-point defeat.
The Hoyas have been successful because of their defense as Georgetown leads the nation in shooting defense at 35.2 percent. However, the Cardinals are not far off. They are allowing opponents to shoot 37.4 percent from the floor which is 10th in the country. Louisville has held 13 teams under 40 percent shooting this season, including seven of its last nine opponents. It has allowed fewer than 60 points 13 times including 10 of the last 14 games which just happens to coincide with the returned health.
As mentioned earlier, the Cardinals are favored over a ranked team but for good reason. They also fall into a fantastic situation. Play on home teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are outscoring their opponents by 12 or more ppg, in February games. This situation is 31-10 ATS (75.6 percent) since 1997. Louisville loves coming back home as it is 11-3 ATS after playing a road game over the last two seasons. Georgetown is just 2-5 ATS its last seven games against teams with a .600 or better winning percentage. Play Louisville Cardinals 2.5 Units
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