Pre-game preview: Louisville
Here’s your pre-game preview of the UConn-Louisville game:
Records: Louisville 15-1, 3-0; UConn 12-3, 2-1
Last game:Louisville beatSouth Florida, 64-38, Saturday; UConn won at No. 17 Notre Dame, 65-58, Saturday.
Probable starters
UConn:
6-1 jr. guard Shabazz Napier (17.5 pts, 4.5 rebs)
6-0 so. guard Ryan Boatright (16.1 pts, 4.5 assists)
6-5 fr. guard Omar Calhoun (10.1 pts, 3.1 rebs)
6-8 so. forward DeAndre Daniels (11.0 pts, 4.7 rebs)
6-9 jr. forward Tyler Olander (5.3 pts, 4.1 rebs)
Louisville:
6-0 sr. guard Peyton Siva (11.9 pts)
6-1 jr. guard Russ Smith (18.7 pts, 3.6 rebs)
6-5 so. forward Wayne Blackshear (8.9 pts, 4.0 rebs)
6-6 so. forward Chane Behanan (11.1 pts, 7.4 rebs)
6-11 jr. center Gorgui Dieng (9.6 pts, 9.8 rebs)
Noteworthy
-- Louisville climbed from No. 3 to No. 1 in today’s Associated Press Top 25 poll
-- Second game in just over 48 hours for both teams.
-- Bad weather forced Louisville to travel to UConn today instead of Sunday.
-- Huskies 2-1 vs. ranked teams this season.
-- UConn’s first game against top-ranked team since beating Texas, 88-74, at Gampel Pavilion in January 2010.
-- Cardinals off to best overall start since 2003-04.
-- Series history: UConn trails, 7-6, losing last meeting, 80-59, last February inLouisville. Huskies 2-3 at home vs. Cards.
-- Louisville’s 77.1 pts per game average its highest in seven years.
-- Cardinals ranked second nationally in turnover margin (7.8). Rank third in steals (11.5).
-- Siva is the preseason Big East player-of-the-year.
-- Louisville owns most road wins in BE (33) in last six years.
-- Hot: Olander scored career high in consecutive games and made 11 of 13 from field.
-- Cold: Calhoun shooting 6-for-22 in last three games.
-- Boatright scored in double figures a team-high nine straight games.
-- Faces in the crowd: Amida Brimah, a 6-foot-11center from Miami. He gave the UConn coaching staff a verbal commitment Sunday night. He’s on an official visit. A native of Ghana, he attends Archbishop Carroll High School in Miami.
Also, Paschal Chukwa, a 7-footer from Fairfield Prep, will sit behind the UConn bench. He’s a member of the Class of 2014.
-- For updates, follow me on Twitter @GavinKeefe
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