MORGANTOWN -You could make a case that today's noon game at the Coliseum pits two teams heading in opposite directions.
Visiting Louisville (19-5) is riding a five-game winning streak that has put the Cardinals back in the national ratings at No. 24.
Meanwhile, West Virginia (16-9) has dropped four of its last five contests, including a 55-51 home loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday night.
The key to Louisville's recent success? Coach Rick Pitino's team is playing great defense. It has held its five defeated foes to an average of just 62.4 points and 37.8 percent field goal shooting. On Monday night, in a 80-59 dismantling of UConn, the visiting Huskies shot just 35.1 percent.
"That's about as good of a display that I've seen in quite some time,'' said Pitino following the rout.
While Louisville is on a roll, West Virginia isn't.
Fact Box
CARDINALS vs.
MOUNTAINEERS
Who: Louisville (19-5, 7-4 Big East) vs.West Virginia (16-9, 6-6 Big East)
When: Noon today
Where: The Coliseum, Morgantown
TV: ESPN
The Mountaineers have fallen to .500 in the Big East and are starting to jeopardize their chance of earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Neither of West Virginia's seniors played well in the loss to Notre Dame as Kevin Jones, the Big East scoring leader, made just six of 15 field goals for 14 points while Darryl 'Truck' Bryant went scoreless after hitting for 32 points in a Sunday win over Providence.
"KJ goes 6 for 15... Truck doesn't make any,'' said WVU coach Bob Huggins. "They played hard; they just didn't play very well.''
