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Louisville hopes to build momentum vs. South Florida

Jan 7, 2009 - 11:34 AM No. 21 Louisville (9-3) at South Florida (5-8) 7:00 p.m. EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Edgar Sosa and Louisville look to avoid a letdown after their biggest win of the season when they take on South Florida in their Big East Conference opener on Wednesday.

The Cardinals entered the season with plenty of hype, including a No. 3 ranking in the preseason poll. Three losses prior to conference play have put a damper on the hoopla, although they avoided a fourth setback Sunday thanks to the much-maligned Sosa.

The guard, who was told earlier this season by coach Rick Pitino it might be a good idea to transfer, sank a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to lift Louisville to a dramatic 74-71 win over rival Kentucky.

Pitino benched the talented junior earlier this season, citing lackluster effort, especially on the defensive end. He came within two minutes of his season high in playing time against the Wildcats with 26.

But with the game on the line, Sosa delivered. He finished with 18 points, and Terence Williams added 19, eight rebounds and five steals.

South Florida's rally in its contest against Syracuse fell short as it dropped a 59-54 decision on Friday. The Bulls trailed by 16 points at halftime and cut the deficit to as little as three with 1:33 to go, but the Orange staved off the comeback attempt to hand South Florida its seventh loss in nine games.

Dominique Jones scored 17 points and Mobolaji Ajayi added a season-high 15, but South Florida shot just 4-of-23 from behind the arc, including an 0-for-10 performance by Jesus Verdejo.

Verdejo matched a season low with six points on 3-of-17 shooting overall.

The Cardinals experienced some travel problems as their original flight was forced to make an emergency landing Tuesday afternoon after a warning light for an engine fire came on in the cockpit. There was no fire, no one was injured in the incident and the team arrived in Florida later that night.