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No. 15 Louisville seeks rare win at Madison Square Garden

Mar 8, 2007 - 4:11 PM West Virginia (22-8) vs. No. 15 Louisville (22-8) 7:00 pm EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) - The Big Apple has been anything but friendly for Louisville in the past several seasons.

The 15th-ranked Cardinals seek to end a nine-game losing streak at Madison Square Garden and win their seventh consecutive game overall Thursday when they meet West Virginia in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.

Louisville went 12-4 in its second season in the Big East - a six-win improvement over 2005-2006 - and is the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents by an average of 13.5 points during their winning streak.

However, coach Rick Pitino has been unable to lead Louisville to a victory in his hometown since joining the Big East. The Cardinals were swept in all three trips here last season and lost to Arizona in the Jimmy V Classic on December 5.

Louisville kept its winning streak alive with Sunday's 86-71 triumph over Seton Hall. David Padgett scored 18 points and Terrence Williams added 15 with 11 rebounds for the Cardinals.

Seeded seventh here, West Virginia is just 5-10 all-time in the tournament and is considered one of several teams on the bubble for the NCAA championships.

The Mountaineers set a tournament record with 17 3-pointers in Wednesday's 92-79 first-round victory over Providence. Frank Young and Alex Ruoff scored 21 points each and Darris Nichols added 16 for West Virginia.

Coach John Beilein is seeking his 100th victory at West Virginia in 159 outings. His career mark is 546-317 in 29 seasons, including stints at Richmond and Canisius.