College Hoops Picks 1/31/09: West Virginia Mountaineers @ Louisville Cardinals

West Virginia Mountaineers (15-5) at Lousiville Cardinals (16-3)

Saturday, Jan. 31—12:00 PM EST

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Preview

The Mountaineers (4-3, 15-5) have had some great conference games this season (17-point upset over Georgetown, 23-point win over St. John's) and some disappointing ones as well (22-point loss to Connecticut, 12-point loss to Pittsburgh).

Louisville (7-0, 16-3) has been on a roll since the beginning of conference play—they have been perfect against the Big East and have defeated teams like Pitt, Syracuse, and Notre Dame along the way.

The Mountaineers rely on two players—Da'Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff—but others have shown they have the ability to step up when their leaders are struggling.

Louisville's offense surrounds three key players—Earl Clark, Samardo Samuels, and Terrence Williams.

Stats

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
West Virginia	15-5	4-3	8-8	18	18	73.2	59.6
Louisville	16-3	7-0	11-7	9	15	75.0	60.2

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG
West Virginia	43.5	40.6	32.9	26.6	66.6	42.3	7.8	14.9	7.8
Louisville	43.5	38.4	34.0	31.2	65.9	42.7	9.0	16.6	13.4

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Prediction

Current Line: Louisville -9.5

West Virginia ATS: 8-8, 2-1 when underdog
Louisville ATS: 11-7, 9-6 when favored

Louisville has been on fire at home during conference play. The most important stat from conference play, though, is that the Cardinals are 7-0 ATS during Big East play. On the season, Louisville is 7-4 ATS at Freedom Hall.

This is the fourth-largest conference play spread that the Cardinals are going to have to overcome, and given how they are playing, it shouldn't be an issue.

Pick: Louisville -9.5

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

*This article is also featured on CBBPlace.com*