By Justin Renck:

#5 Louisville (16-3, 4-2) @ Georgetown (13-4, 3-3)

12:00 ESPN

Verizon Center  (20,000)

Washington D.C.

*Series history- Georgetown leads the series 8-4 (they have won the last 3 in the series). Louisville is 2-4 in Louisville, 1-3 in Washington, and 1-1 at neutral sites.

*Last meeting- The Hoyas won 71-68 on December 28, 2011 at the KFC Yum! Center.

*The series dates back to 1948. Three of the last five matchups have been decided by 3 points or less.

Series vs. Georgetown

(Won 4, Lost 8)

Date ……………………. UL-GU

Jan. 1, 1948 (H) …….. 69-52

Mar. 7, 1953 (N)* …… 92-79

Mar. 27, 1982 (N)** … 46-50

Feb. 1, 2000 (A) …….. 59-61

Dec. 5, 2000 (H) ……. 63-70

Feb. 7, 2007 (H) …….. 65-73

Feb. 9, 2008 (H) …….. 59-51

Mar. 8, 2008 (A) …….. 52-55

Feb. 23, 2009 (A) …… 76-58

Feb. 23, 2010 (H) …… 60-70

Jan. 31, 2011 (A) …… 59-62

Dec. 28, 2011 (H) ….. 68-71

* NIT First Round

(New York, NY)

** NCAA Semifinals

(New Orleans, La.)

*Rick Pitino is 4-9 against Georgetown.

*The Cards have lost 2 games in a row. The Hoyas have won 3 of their last 4 games.

*Otto Porter leads Georgetown in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg).

*Georgetown has no seniors on its roster this season.

*Louisville is 2nd nationally in turnover margin (+7.2). The Cards have forced an average of 19.6 turnovers per game, scoring 33% of their points off turnovers.

*The Cards rank 3rd nationally in steals per game (11.5). They have recorded double digit steals in 16 of 19 games. Russ Smith averages 2.4 per game (18th nationally) and Peyton Siva averages 2.2 per game (32nd nationally).

*Peyton Siva is averaging 6.1 assists, which is 4th in the Big East and 21st nationally. He is 2nd in career assists at UofL with 564.

*Louisville has the most road victories in Big East conference games over the last 6 years with 34.

Stat Comparison……Georgetown   UofL

Record ………………….. 13-4   16-3

Scoring Average …….. 64.0   75.7

Points Allowed ……….. 55.8   58.0

Scoring Margin ……….. +8.2   +17.7

FG Percentage ……….. .462   .451

Opp. FG Percentage .. .383   .400

3-Pt. Percentage …….. .341   .328

FT Percentage ……….. .663   .698

Rebound Margin …….. +1.4   +5.5

Turnover Margin ……… +1.4   +7.2