Louisville Vs. Georgetown 2/23/10

Louisville has two more home games remaining before they vacate Freedom Hall.

Georgetown Hoyas (18-7) at Louisville Cardinals (18-9)

Big East College Basketball: Tuesday February 23, 2010 7 PM EST

The Line: Louisville -2

Two traditional college basketball powers square off in the Big East as Georgetown visits Louisville.

Louisville has won three in a row and five of their last six to put them right back i the thick of things when it comes to being selected into the NCAA Tournament. The Cards are now 9-5 in Big East play and they are in fifth place in the conference standings. Samardo Samuels has taken over as the leader of the Louisville team with 16.1 points per game and 7.1 rebounds while Edgar Sosa chips in 12.9 points per outing as well. As a team Louisville is scoring an impressive 78.3 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor and rebounding offensively as the 49th best in the nation in that category. Defensively the Cardinals have had some problems allowing 69.4 points per game on average but it's a pretty simple formula that when they hold teams below that mark they win, when they go above it they don't win too often. This is Louisville's second to last game ever at Freedom Hall and all of their remaining games are against teams with winning records.

For the first time this season Georgetown has lost back to back games as they have slipped to a tie for sixth place in the Big East with an 8-6 record in conference play. The Hoyas have played well this season but they are getting colder at the wrong time and the schedule down the home stretch isn't cooperating either. With four players averaging over 10 points per game , Georgetown has a plethora of options and as a team they shoot 50 percent from the floor which is fourth best in the country though with their 249th ranked offensive rebounding it all shakes out to 73.7 points per game which is 80th in the nation. Defensively the Hoyas allow 65.3 points per game on 40.8 shooting percentage by opponents though they haven't held anyone to anywhere near that mark in seven games. While the Hoyas seemed like a cinch to make the NCAA tournament, they don't look as certain right now.

Louisville is just 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record and 1-5 against the spread in their last six home games. Georgetown is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games following a loss but they are 9-23 against the spread in their last 32 Big East games. The favorite is 4-1-1 against the spread in their last last six games between these two.

This is going to be another hard fought defensive game but I think Louisville has been able to find an answer for their lack of a real inside presence and have found other ways to win. The Georgetown defense hasn't been as strong as it was earlier and I think it costs them again.

Mitch's Pick: Louisville - 2

Check out all of our free basketball picks against the spread 2/23/10

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