No. 18 Louisville knocked off Rutgers 53-50 Sunday night, extending its home winning streak to 14 games.
Defeating the Scarlet Knights was no small accomplishment, considering Rutgers had won five straight and eight of its last nine games. The Scarlet Knights also are the defending Big East regular season champions.
But the Cardinals (18-2, 4-2 Big East), who opened the season by winning their first 12 games, have yet to falter at Freedom Hall this year.
Although the streak is impressive, Louisville has yet to play a ranked opponent at home. Two of its three home Big East wins came against Cincinnati and Seton Hall, both of which reside in the bottom half of the conference standings.
The Cardinals host few challenging opponents over the course of the season. Louisville has home dates with Pittsburgh Wednesday and DePaul Feb. 3, but it has to go on the road to face Notre Dame, Connecticut and Marquette.
Upstart Friars miss big chance
Providence senior forward Chelsea Marandola stepped to the free-throw line Saturday with less than two minutes remaining and a chance to help put away Marquette.
At the time, the Friars led 74-71, and the victory would have given the Friars another impressive notch to carve on their collective belt.
Providence already had defeated then-No. 13 Louisville at home in double overtime and was off to a 12-6 start, a marked improvement for a team that finished 8-19 last season.
And the Friars had to feel confident with Marandola on the line. After all, Marandola leads the Big East in free-throw percentage (90.4 percent) and already had scored 19 points in the game.
So up to the charity stripe Marandola stepped, and calmly, she sank the first shot, extending the Providence lead to four. But she missed the second, and the Golden Eagles would go on to win 79-77.
Though they appear to be a team on the rise, the Friars, for now, will have to be content with moral victories, such as hanging close with quality opponents.
Who's hot: Notre Dame. Sure, the Fighting Irish have been beating up on some of the Big East's lightweights, but winning four out of the last five is no small accomplishment in conference play.
Who's not: Villanova. Last season, the Wildcats were 21-11 and embarrassed Marquette in the first round of the Big East tournament. These days, 'Nova, losers of four straight, has fallen to the basement of the conference standings.
Game of the Week: Pittsburgh at Louisville, Wednesday 6 p.m. The Panthers will travel to Kentucky to take on the No. 18 Cardinals. Pittsburgh plays well at home, but how will it fare on the road against a quality opponent?