Louisville looks to take care of business against surging Rutgers

It's already been a season of bad breaks for Louisville, and while having to play Rutgers this weekend isn't on par with the calls at the end of the West Virginia game, it certainly falls under the category of misfortune.

Nine days ago the Scarlet Knights were winless in the Big East and had lost their eight conference games by an average of more than 19 points. The folks in Jersey still paying attention were anointing the rest of the year as the Fred Hill farewell tour and praying that no other players would take the Corey Chandler/Greg Ecehnique route and flee the program.

Fast forward today where RU is riding a two-game winning streak after stunning Notre Dame by a point and rolling over St. John's by 12.

“We were going through a very tough stretch, but two of the things I’m most proud is that (the players) never stopped believing and they never stopped working,” said RU head coach Fred Hill. “I think that the last two games they have been rewarded for that.”

Perhaps no one has been more rewarded than star guard Mike Rosario.

The former McDonald's All-American torched the Irish for 24 points and then turned around and buried 13-of-22 shots on his way to dropping 33 on St. John's. After a somewhat cold shooting stretch, Rosario has connected seven of his last 13 three-point attempts.

Rosario expects Louisville to focus in on him this afternoon, a challenge he welcomes.

"I'm used to it," Rosario said of the extra attention. "It shows how much respect I have in the league. That motivates me even more. I just try to adapt to it and see how I can get off my shot or do things in order to get loose."

On the other end of the floor the Cards will have to pay just as much attention to Rutgers center Hamady N'Diaye, who ranks third in the nation in blocked shots with 108, more than twice as many as any other player in the Big East. He's also averaging career highs in points (9.5 ppg) and rebounds (6.5 rpg).

“I remember four years ago, everyone called H a project," Hill said. "To see where he has come from – a kid that played basketball starting at 16, came over here from Dakar, Senegal, played in prep school. I love the kid. He brings unbelievable passion to our team.”

Despite all the "questionable" calls that have gone against them and all the talk of missing the NCAA Tournament, a win by Louisville this afternoon would put them in a tie for fourth place, the spot where they were picked to finish before the season began.

Still, Rick Pitino can't help but wonder what if.

"Think about where we'd be right now beating West Virginia and Pitt on the road,” coach Rick Pitino said. “We'd be in the top 20. So if we're in the top 20, we're a pretty good team. … Not only do I think we're an (NCAA Tournament) team, but I think we're a darn good basketball team.”