Thursday afternoon brings the second round of NCAA Tournament action, which includes a Southwest Region clash between No. 13 Morehead State and No. 4 Louisville. The contest is scheduled to get underway at 1:40pm ET at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado; it will be broadcast on live on TBS. College Basketball Lines have the Cardinals listed as a -9.5 NCAA basketball predictions favorite and the Over/Under set at 131.5.
Morehead State won its second Ohio Valley Tournament title in the past three seasons to secure a spot in the 2011 NCAA 
Tournament. The Eagles, which are 24-9 overall, placed second in the regular season behind Murray State with a 13-5 league record.
Morehead State beat Tennessee Tech 80-73 in the tournament finale thanks to great performances on the part of center Kenneth Faried and guard Demonte Harper.
Faried, who is averaging 17.6 points and 14.5 rebounds per game coming into Thursday's meeting with Louisville, recorded 24 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks against the Golden Eagles while Harper posted 27 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.
Louisville finished fourth in the Big East standings after completing conference play with a 12-6 record. The Cardinals, which had a four game win streak snapped in their regular season finale (at West Virginia), nearly won the Big East Tournament, though, after knocking off Marquette 81-56 and two seed Notre Dame 83-77.
Rick Pitino's squad fell 66-69 to red hot Connecticut in the championship game after committing 16 turnovers. Louisville's leading scorer, Preston Knowles, scored a team high 18 points in the loss to the Huskies. Terrence Jennings and Peyton Siva also tallied double figures, finishing the game with 11 and 13 points respectively.
These two schools have faced each other five times since 1997; Louisville has won all five meetings by double digits. Their last get together came in the 2009 NCAA Tournament when the Cardinals posted a 74-54 victory.
Morehead State vs Louisville 2011 NCAA Bracket Predictions:
Morehead State Eagles +9.5 (-110), Over 131.5 (-110)
Louisville Cardinals -9.5 (-110), Under 131.5 (-110)
