GAME NOTES: The red-hot and 23rd-ranked Louisville Cardinals will try to continue their surge tonight, as they host the Syracuse Orange in a Big East showdown at Freedom Hall tonight. The Cardinals have started to take over the Big East courtesy of wins in five straight and seven of their past eight outings. On Saturday, Louisville outlasted Providence, 80-72, as it reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth consecutive season. The win, coupled with a Georgetown loss, pulled the Cardinals into a first place tie in the Big East standings at 10-3. As for Syracuse, it was the team responsible for upsetting eighth-ranked Georgetown, posting a solid 77-70 victory on Saturday. The win was the Orange's first over a top-25 opponent since defeating Georgetown last March. Now at 17-9 overall and 7-6 in conference play, Syracuse is set to play the second of four straight games against teams ranked in the top-25. As for the all-time series, Louisville holds a 7-4 edge over Syracuse and that includes a 4-1 mark when playing at home.

The Orange converted 23-of-28 free-throw attempts and controlled the boards, 36-30, as they knocked off Georgetown this past weekend. Syracuse shot a solid 44.4 percent from the field and turned 14 Georgetown miscues into 20 points. Paul Harris led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Donte Greene tallied 18 points. Jonny Flynn contributed 17 points and nine assists, and Arinze Onuaku had 13 points. For the season, Greene leads the Orange in scoring at 17.9 ppg and he has also done a good job on the boards, ripping down 7.2 rpg. Flynn checks in with 15.5 ppg and he has been in charge of running the offense, distributing a team-best 5.1 apg. Harris adds 14.2 ppg and a team-high 8.7 rpg to the rotation, while Onuaku turns in 12.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg. As a team, the Orange are producing a hardy 79.4 ppg, in addition to outrebounding opponents by 6.5 rpg.

The Cardinals limited Providence to a lackluster 35.8 percent shooting effort from the field, as they captured an eight-point win over the weekend. Louisville hit on 46.0 percent of its field goals and it made 15-of-24 attempts at the foul line. Earl Clark led the charge with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Terrence Williams logged 12 points and six boards. David Padgett and Jerry Smith also got involved, scoring 11 points apiece. For the season, Williams tops the roster in scoring (11.5 ppg) and assists (4.6 apg) and he is also pulling down 7.7 rpg. Padgett is hot on his trail with 11.3 ppg and Smith follows closely with 11.2 ppg. Clark is the team's leading rebounder at 8.2 rpg and he rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.7 ppg. The Cardinals, as a unit, are netting a solid 72.6 ppg, while holding their foes to just 60.4 ppg and a mere 37.5 percent shooting from the floor.

Louisville has started to take control of the Big East and behind a solid defensive effort, expect the Cardinals to prevail in convincing fashion tonight.