Elite Eight: No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 1 North Carolina

Louisville (27-8) will play top overall seed and virtual home team North Carolina (35-2) Saturday for a trip to San Antonio. With the way the Tar Heels are playing and the home court advantage it will have in Charlotte, beating them in the East Regional Final will be the toughest challenge facing any team in the tourney, Final Four games included.

North Carolina held Washington State to its lowest point total of the season-and the fewest points a UNC opponent has scored in the NCAA Tournament since 1946. That's far more impressive than scoring 121 points in their first two postseason victories. The Heels have listened to the critics who have said that their defensive play is going to be their weak link in trying to reach the Final Four.

North Carolina's defensive performance comes at a good time. Saturday, the Heels will try to avenge last year's letdown in the regional final, where they blew a double-digit lead and eventually lost to Georgetown in overtime.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who has won an NCAA title and taken three schools to the Final Four, has his team playing its best basketball of the season when it counts most. The Cardinals limped into the Big Dance with a two-game losing streak, but some time between their March 13 loss to Pitt and their Mar. 21 debut in the tourney, they have seen the light.

Louisville has beaten Boise State, Oklahoma and Tennessee by an average margin of 22.3 points. The smallest margin of victory in their three NCAA games was 18 points. No team has scored more than 61 points against the Cards in the Dance, and they've held their last two opponents to less than 34 percent shooting from the field.

Pitino, a victory away from his sixth trip to the Final Four, has apparently gotten through to his entire team. North Carolina will be in for a struggle because of Louisville's length and athleticism.

The Cardinals ability to score both inside and outside is tough for just about any team to stop, and they can throw five players out on the court at any one time capable of putting up double-digit points.

Defensively Louisville has found a great comfort level with its 2-3 zone, again ranking among the Big East's and nation's top defensive teams.

However, North Carolina has thrived against great defensive outfits. The Tar Heels have 'covered' 11 straight versus teams that allow less than 64 points per game and 17 of 20 when facing teams that allowed less than 42 percent shooting.

North Carolina was held to fewer than 70 points Thursday night for only the third time this season. For teams planning on slowing the pace against Roy Williams' team it should be noted that they are 3-0 when scoring fewer than 70 points.

The Tar Heels are 21-10 as favorites this season and they have cashed 14 of their last 15 outside the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Louisville has cashed seven of its last eight against top-caliber teams (outscoring their opponents by 12+ points per game). However, the Cardinals have come up short in 13 of their last 16 as neutral court short-enders and in 11 of 13 as neutral court pups of six points or less.

North Carolina has been on the high side in 22 of its last 34 games. Conversely, the Cards have slipped below the 'total' in 20 of 32 outings and in 10 of their last dozen as dogs.

Most offshore books opened the Tar Heels as a 5 ½-point favorite, with the 'total' set at 153.

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