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about 1 month ago: Louisville coach Rick Pitino instructs his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova in Louisville, Ky., Monday, Jan. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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Good morning from a very snowy New Jersey, where the ground outside is whiter than "Slick" Rick Pitino's leisure suit.

Rutgers travels to Louisville, Kentucky (and leaves 12-18 inches of snow behind) in a key Big East match-up for both teams.  The Cardinals (14-8, 5-4) have been both unlucky, and on the wrong side of some egregious officiating, but with a big win over Connecticut on Monday the Cards have put themselves back into NCAA tournament consideration (currently among the last team's 'IN' in Joe Lunardi's Bracketology).

The Cardinals and their high pressure defense and high octane offense are led in scoring by forward Samardo Samuels who averages 15.7 points per game, but the real key for this offense is the depth.  The Cardinals have 11 guys who average at least 19 minutes per game and all score at least 3 points per game.  The Cardinals will run until your tired, and then run right past you. 

The Scarlet Knights on the other hand look rejuvenated after their 9 game losing streak came to an end last Saturday against Notre Dame.  The Scarlet Knights then dominated from the start against St. John's and never appeared to be in any serious trouble to capture their 2nd straight win.  Is it possible that in a 7 day span Rutgers can go from winless in the Big East to winners of three straight (their first 3 game Big East winning streak since 03-04)?  If so, will the Rutgers fans jump back on the Freddy Hill bandwagon and call for a new 6 year extension worth 80 million dollars?  Uhhh...doubt it.

Mike Rosario has regained his shooting touch and registered a career high 33 points in Tuesday's win over St. John's.  He's taking good shots, and looking to get to the rim more now than he did during his mid-season slump.  Rutgers has received some major contributions from Jonathon Mitchell and Dane Miller, who have stepped in their games during Big East play.  But the key player in the 2 Rutgers victories has been center Hamady Ndiaye who ranks 3rd in the nation in blocks per game.  He has been a dominating force down low on the defensive block either swatting away or altering shots.  And his offense is starting to come around as well, as "H" has scored in double-figures in 5 of his last 6 games.

Let's take a look at some of the key stats for today's game:

Rutgers has never won in Freedom Hall (0-3 alltime), but today would be a good day to start.  We all know that the Scarlet Knights don't have any postseason reservations booked, but a win today and a soft finishing schedule, the Scarlet Knights could get to 5 or 6 wins in Big East play.  That being said, I think that Louisville just has too much depth for the Knights.  I can't trust James Beatty or Mike Coburn against a suffocating Louisville defense.  Rutgers will keep it close for a while, but the turnovers will mount for the Knights whose 2 game winning streak is snapped.

Louisville 82 RU 64

If you're snowed in today like me, kick back with a cold one and enjoy the day's games!