Louisville vs. Davidson: Game Time, TV Schedule, Spread Info and Predictions

The Louisville Cardinals are entering the NCAA Tournament off a triumphant run through the Big East tournament, and they will get started with a matchup against the Davidson Wildcats.

Davidson is going dancing for the first time since 2008, when a young man named Stephen Curry was knocking down shot after shot for the Wildcats. They're a team that can score the ball at will, as Davidson finished 12th in the nation in scoring this season.

Louisville, however, is an elite defensive team, and the Cardinals are very hard to beat when they're creating turnovers and getting out in transition.

Here's a look at what you need to know concerning this matchup.

Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon

When: Thursday, March 15th at 1:40 p.m. EST

Watch: TBS

Listen: WHAS (840 AM) and WKRD (790 AM) for Louisville radio; 1660 AM, 1350 AM, 1450 AM, 104.7 HD3 for Davidson radio.

Betting Line: Louisville -7.5, according to Sportsbook.

Key Injuries (per the Chicago Tribune)

Louisville has three players listed as being out for the season in guard Mike Marra, forward Stephen Van Treese and forward Rakeem Buckles, but the team has no new injuries to report.

Davidson has no injuries at all to report. The Wildcats are heading into the Big Dance at full strength.

What's At Stake?

Both of these teams need to win in order to advance in the tournament, so it goes without saying that simple survival is very much at stake.

Beyond that, the winner of this game will take on the winner of the game between New Mexico and Long Beach State in the Round of 32. 

Between the two teams, there's more pressure on Louisville to advance, as the Cardinals have bowed out of the Big Dance two years in a row.

What They're Saying

Rick Bozich of The Courier-Journal penned a helpful guide of where the bar has been set for several notable teams. Of Louisville and Rick Pitino, he writes that Pitino could stand to win a couple games in this tournament.

"Rick Pitino could use an NCAA Tournament win. Or two. Even his fans have grumbled about first-round defeats in 2010 and 2011," writes Bozich.

Concerning Davidson, C.L. Brown of The Courier-Journal notes that Pitino is not about to underestimate Davidson. He says the Wildcats are “a tougher opponent I think than both of those teams that we faced and we lost.”

Brown writes that Davidson is a "prototype team capable of pulling an upset."

Clearly, nobody in or around the Louisville program is taking Davidson lightly.

Most Important Player to Watch: Peyton Siva

Junior guard Peyton Siva looked very good in the Big East tournament, lifting the Cardinals with his defensive abilities, his distribution abilities and his scoring abilities. Siva was up and down all year, but he showed up in a big way in the conference tournament.

For Louisville to advance in the Big Dance, Siva is going to have to keep it up. The Cardinals are at their best when Siva is forcing turnovers on defense and dishing the ball around on offense. They'll take whatever points they can get out of him, but Louisville operates like a well-oiled machine when Siva is doing the other things it needs him to do.

Key Matchup: Davidson vs. Louisville's full-court pressure

The Wildcats are a very good offensive team, but they're facing a defense tougher than any they've had to face.

The chief fear is how Davidson will fare when Louisville starts applying full-court pressure, as the Cardinals are known to do. If Davidson makes too many mistakes in the face of Louisville's pressure, it's going to make things way too easy for a Louisville team that is far from elite offensively.

Prediction: Louisville by six

It's hard to imagine Louisville actually losing this game, but the Cardinals aren't going to run away with it. Davidson's offense is too good to allow that to happen.