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Pitino goes for 500th collegiate victory

Dec 8, 2007 - 2:11 PM Dayton (6-1) at No. 11 Louisville (5-1) 2:00 pm EST

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Ticker) - Rick Pitino will be chasing a milestone on Saturday when No. 11 Louisville hosts Dayton.

Pitino needs one victory for his 500th collegiate career victory. A win would make Pitino, who has compiled a4 99-183 record in 22 seasons, tied for the 12th fastest to reach 500 wins by the number of victories and seventh fastest by the number of seasons.

The Cardinals, who lead the all-time series 39-26, have won five of their last six games.

Lousiville hasn't played since last Saturday, a 47-44 victory over Miami Ohio. Sophomore forward Earl Clark had his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots. The 47 points were the fewest a Pitino-coached team has scored in a victory.

Clark leads the Cardinals in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (11.8). Sophomore center Derrick Caracter averages 13.0 points, junior forward Terrence Williams 11.7 and sophomore guard Jerry Smith 10.3 for Louisville.

Dayton, which has defeated the Cardinals the last two meetings, comes in with a five-game winning streak. Senior guard Brian Roberts leads the Flyers in most categories, including points per game (18.0), assists per game (4.8), minutes played, 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.

Freshman forward Chris Wright averages 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds for Dayton, which plays its next six games at home following this contest.

Last week's victories over Miami Ohio and Holy Cross marked the first time in 20 years that the Flyers had won consecutive road games against non-conference opponents in the same week.