Louisville Cardinals Odds to Win 2008 NCAA Tournament
Written March 3, 2008 by Jack Jones
The Louisville Cardinals had a rough start to the season as they were at one point 5-3 after losing tough home games to BYU and Dayton and a road game at a very good Purdue game. Since losing to Purdue this team has went 18-3 doing most of its damage in the very tough Big East Conference. They are currently 13-3 in the conference putting them in a tie with Georgetown for first place. In conference they have also beaten ranked Marquette twice, highly ranked Georgetown, and most recently a big win against Notre Dame. Louisville is currently ranked 12th in the RPI and in the top 15 of most polls. The Cardinals should have a great chance at a high seed this year, as they have the 10th hardest schedule and still have a huge match up with Georgetown and the Big East tourney to go.Rick Pitino is one of the most respected coaches in the game, and his Cardinals playing at a very high level as they are currently riding an 8-game winning streak. Senior David Padgett who started his college career at Kansas before transferring to Louisville leads them on the floor. Padgett is the leading scorer with 12 PPG and grabs nearly 5 RPG. Next in line is Junior Terrence Williams who seems to do it all as he scores 11.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG and a team leading 4.7 APG. Williams put up a triple-double against Seton Hall with 10 points, rebounds and assists. Sophomores Jerry Smith and Earl Clark both come in averaging about 10.5 PPG, with Smith securing a team leading 8 RPG and Clark a solid 5 RPG. The Cardinals have a pretty good bench as well as they have Derrick Caracter and Edgar Sosa chipping in for over 8 PPG and Juan Palacios helping out with nearly 6 PPG and 4 RPG.
The Cardinals have two regular season games remaining with a battle at home against Villanova and a much-anticipated trip to Georgetown in a rematch of the game where Louisville was able to take home a 59-51 victory. This time around there will most likely be even more at stake as the conference title should be up for grabs. Then they will have to turnaround and head to the Big East tournament where they get a chance to redeem a loss to surging UConn or maybe even another big game against Georgetown.
Louisville is one of the hottest teams in the country, that has many teams hoping they don’t get put in the same bracket come tournament time. They have shown they can win in a offensive shootout like they did against Notre Dame winning 90-85, and they have played a defensive slug fest in a 59-51 victory against Georgetown. While it will be hard for them to win out, the possibility is not out of reach. If they were able to they would most likely soar through the rankings and could end up getting as high as a #2 seed in the Tournament. Louisville is our sleeper pick of the tournament as of right now as they are not thought of as high as teams such as Texas, Memphis, UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, and Tennessee. They might not be a sleeper come tournament time, so it might be best to jump on them now before their odds aren’t as profiting.
Louisville Cardinals Odds to Win 2008 NCAA Tournament: 10/1
Sportsbook.com is a great place to do all your NCAA Tournament betting. Continue to check out Sportsbook.com for your entire tournament betting needs, as they will have the odds for every team and every game in the big dance. As always feel free to leave any comments in our comment box.
