Louisville Will Open Big East Tournament Play On Thursday Against Villanova

Louisville's defense of its Big East Tournament title will begin Thursday at 7 p.m. against the team that handed it its most lopsided defeat during the regular season.

Villanova got 18 points from big man Mouphtaou Yarou and coasted past St. John's inside Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. The seventh-seeded Wildcats Also got 15 points from freshman Ryan Arcidiacono, and 12 points and nine boards from JayVaughn Pinkston.

'Nova, you may remember, defeated Louisville 73-64 back on Jan. 22. The loss was the second in a three-game losing streak suffered by the Cards after achieving a No. 1 rankings.

Via Eric Crawford, here are some thoughts from Jay Wright on the rematch.

Louisville generally struggles in its Big East Tournament opener, and the Wildcats aren't exactly an ideal matchup. The fellas might have to gut this one out and win via superior effort.

It all gets started in less than 24 hours.