With two BIG EAST conference losses each, Louisville and West Virginia need a win tonight in order to stay within sight of Pittsburgh who leads the league at 7-1. No. 23 Louisville (15-4) hosts the unranked Mountaineers tonight (7 pm ET, ESPNU) at the new KFC Yum Center in Louisville. Most offshore sports shops currently list the Cardinals as 4-chalk spreads favorites with a 140 1/2 total. Keep tabs on the most up to date NCAA Basketball Betting Spreads as you make your plays all season.
Louisville returns home to Denny Crum Court after dropping a road game to Providence College (72-67) as a 5-chalk road favorite on Saturday. West Virginia has won four straight conference games and has a signature win over No. 12 Purdue in a non-league tilt Jan. 16.
Louisville is getting most of the betting action with 67 percent of bets ATS and 74 percent moneline placed on the Cardinals. Louisville is 10-3 SU at home this campaign and has been profitable for backers at the betting window going 7-4 ATS at home and 9-6 overall. Over its last 10 games, Louisville is 5-1 at home and 2-2 ATS. West Virginia is 3-2 SU on the road, but has struggled ATS by going 1-4. OVerall, the Mountaineers are 5-9 ATS on the season.
Bettors might want to consider an UNDER play for tonight's game. The combined OVER/UNDER total record with home Louisville games and road West Virginia games is six for over and nine for UNDER.
The Cardinals have won four of the last five meetings. In last year's contest, West Virginia pulled out a 77-74 win in Morgantown on Jan. 30, 2010. Da'Sean Butler scored 27 points, hitting 4-of-9 attempts from 3. Kevin Jones chipped in 16 points, and Wellington Smith added in 12. Samardo Samuels and Reginald Delk each tallied 16 points, and Louisville shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field. The last time the two teams met in Louisville, the Cardinals took a 69-63 decision over the Mountaineers.
