GAME NOTES: Winners of four straight contests, the 23rd-ranked Louisville Cardinals wrap up a brief two-game road trip today, as they invade the Dunkin' Donuts Center to battle with the Providence Friars in Big East play. The Cardinals continued their success on the road this past week, notching an 88-68 triumph at DePaul on Tuesday. It was the ninth win in the last 11 true road games dating back to last season for Louisville, which sits in second place in the Big East standings at 9-3. With victories in four straight and 10 of their last 12 games, the Cardinals are now just one triumph shy of reaching the 20- win plateau for the sixth consecutive season. Standing in their way is Providence, which is coming off an 82-63 setback at nationally-ranked Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The loss was the second in a row for the Friars, as they dipped to 13-11 overall and 4-8 in conference. The team, though, now returns back home, where it has posted a solid 9-2 mark thus far. With respect to the all-time series, Louisville owns a 6-4 edge over Providence and it has won the last five meetings.

The Cardinals have been effective at both ends of the court this season, as they are netting 72.3 ppg behind 45.4 percent shooting from the floor, while limiting their opponents to only 59.9 ppg and a mere 37.6 percent shooting overall. Terrence Williams leads this balanced attack with 11.5 ppg and 4.7 apg and he is also pulling down a solid 7.8 rpg. With a 12-point effort today, Williams will become the 59th player in school history to reach the 1,000- point mark for his career. David Padgett nips at the heels of Williams with 11.3 ppg and he is also collecting 4.1 rpg and shooting a blistering 67.3 percent form the floor. Jerry Smith chips in with 11.2 ppg, and Earl Clark adds 10.3 ppg and a team-best 8.2 rpg to the mix. In the squad's last game, Williams dropped in 22 points and ripped down eight boards to lead the Cardinals in a rout of DePaul. Padgett tallied 20 points for Louisville, which shot 58.1 percent from the field and scored 27 points off 16 turnovers by DePaul.

At the offensive end of the court is where the Friars have enjoyed most of their success this season, averaging 74.5 ppg on 45.5 percent shooting from the floor and 38.2 percent from long distance. Jeff Xavier tops the roster in scoring at 12.5 ppg and he is also a tenacious defender, recording a team-best 50 steals. Dwain Williams knocks down 40.9 percent of his long-range attempts for an average of 11.4 ppg, and Brian McKenzie chips in with 10.9 ppg on an equally as good 40.2 percent shooting from downtown. Geoff McDermott nets 10.3 ppg for Providence and he leads the team in both assists (4.8 apg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). In the team's prior outing, the Friars lacked defense, allowing Pittsburgh to hit on 58.6 percent of its tries from the floor in a 19- point setback. The Friars lost the battle on the boards, 31-24, and also committed 14 turnovers. Xavier had 14 points on 4-of-8 three-pointers in the loss.

The Cardinals are clearly the better defensive team here and that should help them ease past an upset-minded Providence squad today.