--Was just thinking this morning about what an amazing day it was the last time the Cards went to Morgantown. It was the first weekend of March and yet it was sunny and the temperature was in the high 70s. I arrived at the CC Compound with beer, burgers and airheads in tow and proceeded to drink, watch Gameday at WVU and get ready for Pitt/UConn. The Panthers took care of the Huskies (as chronicled by an amazing open thread), making U of L's 9 p.m. game for all the Big East marbles. Kentucky lost to Florida, we grilled out, and then the main event came.
We all know what happened.
Tremendous day.
--Rick Pitino is 9-3 against Bob Huggins and 3-0 against the man while he's been at West Virginia. Huggy is 14-14 all-time against Louisville.
--The Mountaineers have been notoriously slow starters this year, and it always takes WVU a while to adjust to Louisville's zone, so don't be surprised if the Cards jump out to a sizable lead once again.
--The Cards have been able to hold Da'Sean Butler in check pretty well throughout his career. We said the same thing about Scottie Reynolds four weeks ago.
--Devin Ebanks is the player Louisville doesn't have this season. if he doesn't go off this afternoon, it will be a huge check in the corner of the Samuels/Jennings experiment.
--Kyle Kuric might learn some new words today.
--This Louisville team has been as poor as any I can remember when it comes to locating shooters on the perimeter. This could be an issue today as, despite their recent shooting struggles as a team, West Virginia will consistently have four or five guys on the floor who can knock down the outside shot. Casey Mitchell's been a bit of a disappointment when it comes to his three-point numbers, but guys like that have a tendency to go off against us.
--Joe Mazzulla is one of the better on-ball defenders in the league, and he will try to make life hell for Edgar Sosa.
--The Mountaineers rank eighth in NCAA Division I in rebounding margin, 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio and 13th in assists per game.
--We could use this one.