(Sports Network) -- Yet again the 19th-ranked Louisville Cardinals enjoy some home cooking tonight as they host the St. John's Red Storm in a Big East Conference showdown at the new KFC Yum! Center.
Of the 17 games that Louisville has played thus far, all but three have taken place at home and that has proved to be a huge advantage for the squad now that it is back in the national rankings.Last Saturday, the Cardinals slipped by Marquette at home in a 71-70 final, providing Rick Pitino's group with their third win in the last four outings and their 12th in 14 tries at home in 2010-11. Tonight's game marks the 800th in the coaching career of Pitino (586-213).
As for the Red Storm, now under the direction of head coach Steve Lavin, it gained some national exposure on Sunday afternoon when it toppled the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Madison Square Garden, 72-54. The victory snapped a two-game slide by St. John's, which had only eight days earlier bowed to the same Notre Dame group in South Bend by a score of 76-61.
With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Cardinals own an 8-4 advantage and they have won all five battles played in Louisville over the years. However, the most recent meeting took place in the Big Apple where the Red Storm responded with a convincing 74-55 victory.
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