College Basketball on Saturday and we will see the Louisville Cardinals travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have Louisville favored by 5 points while the total sits at 120.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Free Analysis: The fifth-ranked Cardinals have lost back-to-back games since entering last weekend as the nation's top-ranked team. Finishing has been a problem in Louisville's losses to then-No. 6 Syracuse - which upset the Cardinals (16-3, 4-2 Big East) at home last Saturday 70-68 - and at Villanova on Tuesday. The 73-64 loss to the struggling Wildcats was especially frustrating for Pitino because of his team's poor performance at the free-throw line. The Cardinals trailed the Wildcats by as many as 10 points in the first half before rallying to take a 52-46 lead with 8:25 remaining. Villanova closed with a 27-14 run, helped by Louisville's 7 of 18 free-throw shooting, including missing five of its final six. Siva, who is 2-for-12 from 3-point range in the last two contests, handed out 13 assists against the Wildcats but very few went to Smith, who matched a season low with eight points on 2-of-13 shooting. The star guard has shot under 20 percent from the floor in three of the last five games. Louisville's poor free-throw shooting was part of the reason it lost its last matchup with the Hoyas. The then-No. 4 Cardinals shot 58.8 percent from the line in a 71-68 home defeat Dec. 28, 2011, their third straight in this series. The Cardinals rank second nationally in turnover margin (plus-7.2).
Georgetown (13-4, 3-3) was ranked in all three of those wins, and it enters this meeting after posting a 63-47 victory at No. 24 Notre Dame on Monday. Georgetown used a tight defensive effort to stifle the Fighting Irish and will look to slow the pace with Louisville as well. The Hoyas are 2-1 against Top 25 teams this season, with the only loss coming in overtime to then-No. 1 Indiana on Nov. 20. They are 9-1 at home and will be facing a Cardinals team in the midst of playing four of six on the road. : The Hoyas had their own struggles during back-to-back losses to open conference play but have found some balance lately. Otto Porter Jr. is shooting 58.3 percent from the field over the last four games, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range, and played all 40 minutes while battling the Notre Dame frontcourt in Monday’s 63-47 triumph. The 6-8 Porter can play inside or outside on offense and has the same versatility on defense, where his length helps Georgetown stay out on shooters when it goes to a 2-3 zone. The Hoyas held the Fighting Irish to 35 percent shooting and stayed aggressive in the second half after squandering an 11-point lead in a 61-58 loss to South Florida in the previous game.
Free Pick: Im going to look to the Over in this one. The Hoya’s played an amazing defensive game vs the Irish, but I feel that the Cardinals can speed them up just enough to get the Over here. Louisville averages 75.4 ppg on the road, while Georgetown averages 63.8 ppg at home. Both teams also come in having allowed 59.4 ppg in their last 5 games each. I expect both teams to allow 60+ points in this one, in what should be a slightly faster paced game than Georgetown is used to. I look for at least 125 points in this one.
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