FACTS & STATS: Site: BJCC Arena (16,266) -- Birmingham, Alabama. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Boise State 0-4, Louisville 54-35. Series Record: Louisville leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The third-seeded Louisville Cardinals are set to collide with the 14th-seeded Boise State Broncos in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's East Region. Awaiting the winner of this contest is a clash with either sixth- seeded Oklahoma or 11th-seeded Saint Joseph's in the second round. Boise State is coming off an emotional triple-overtime victory in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title game that earned the squad an automatic bid to the "Big Dance". The Broncos are making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, and the previous four all resulted in first-round exits. One of the first- round losses did come to Louisville back in 1994 by a 67-58 final. That meeting was the first and only in the series between the two teams. Boise State enters tonight's clash with a 25-8 overall record, while Louisville of the Big East Conference is 24-8. The Cardinals are making their 35th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and own a stellar 54-35 all-time record at the event. They won the national title in both 1980 and 1986 and have eight Final Fours to their credit. This year's squad carried a nine-game win streak into the regular season finale against Georgetown, but that showdown ended in a loss and was followed by a setback to Pittsburgh in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament.

Boise State is led by a tremendous trio consisting of Reggie Larry, Matt Nelson and Tyler Tiedeman. Those three players combine to account for 49.2 of the team's 82.0 ppg. The Broncos are shooting a staggering 50.9 percent from the field this season to place second nationally in that category. Larry is racking up 19.6 ppg while pulling down 9.3 rpg, and he also has 47 steals and 35 blocks to his credit. As for Nelson, a 65 percent shooter from the floor, he checks in with 15.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Tiedeman is netting 14.0 ppg, and he is shooting a staggering 49.4 percent from three-point range. In the triple- overtime victory over New Mexico State in the WAC title game, Larry posted 31 points and 16 rebounds, while Nelson finished with 26 points and nine boards. Boise State showed a great deal of heart to hold off the Aggies, but it will take much more than heart to beat the Cardinals.

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino stresses the importance of strong team defense, and his Cardinals have certainly responded this season by limiting the opposition to 61.3 ppg on 38.3 percent shooting from the floor. Offensively, the club is generating 71.9 ppg, and there are four double-digit scorers in the lineup. David Padgett is posting 11.7 ppg on 67.6 percent shooting from the field, and Terrence Williams adds 11.2 ppg to the mix. Far from just a scorer, the versatile Williams is also contributing 7.3 rpg and 4.5 apg. Earl Clark provides muscle up front with his 10.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg, and he has also blocked 52 shots. Rounding out the impressive group is Jerry Smith with 10.4 ppg. With the presence of Edgar Sosa, Derrick Caracter and Juan Palacios, this Louisville team has seven players who could get significant playing time for any club in the nation.

After losses in each of the last two outings, there is no way that Louisville will look past Boise State in this first round. Expect the Cardinals to jump out to an early lead and never look back.

Predicted Outcome

Louisville 79, Boise State 67