FACTS & STATS: Site: BJCC Arena (16,266) -- Birmingham, Alabama. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Oklahoma 33-24, Louisville 55-35. Series Record: Oklahoma leads, 2-0.

GAME NOTES: The third-seeded Louisville Cardinals will do battle with the sixth-seeded Oklahoma Sooners this evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of this East Region game will move on to the Sweet 16 to face either second-seeded Tennessee or seventh-seeded Butler. Oklahoma fought off Saint Joseph's by a 72-64 final on Friday to advance in the tournament. The team now owns a 23-11 record and finished fourth in the Big 12 standings with a 9-7 mark against conference competition. The Sooners are making their 25th NCAA Tournament appearance, including the 12th in the last 14 years, and they are 33-24 all-time at the event. Head coach Jeff Capel participated in this tournament as a standout guard for Duke, and he hopes to lead his Oklahoma squad to the round of 16 in this, his second year in Norman. As for Louisville, it cruised to a 79-61 decision over 14th-seeded Boise State in round one. The Cardinals are making their 35th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and own a stellar 55-35 all-time record at the event. They won the national title in both 1980 and 1986 and have eight Final Four appearances 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 Conference Tournament. Therefore, it was a relief for the fans of the program to see how easily Louisville handled Boise State. The Sooners have won their only two previous meetings with the Cardinals, but the brief series history doesn't figure to have any impact on today's clash.

Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, a freshman First Team All-Big 12 selection, is a force in the paint, as he uses his 6-10, 243-pound frame to punish the opposition. He is averaging 14.9 ppg and 9.2 rpg while shooting 56.6 percent from the floor. Griffin has registered 10 double-doubles, and seven of those have come against teams that have been nationally ranked at some point during the season. The rugged power forward was limited to four rebounds versus Saint Joseph's, but he scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and could have put up huge numbers if he was a bit more selfish at the offensive end. Fortunately, teammate David Godbold was on fire, as he nailed 5-of-8 three- pointers and finished with 25 points. Longar Longar had 14 points for the Sooners, and Austin Johnson rounded out a foursome of double-digit scorers with 10 points. Oklahoma only committed nine turnovers in the clash and shot 57.1 percent from the floor, so it isn't hard to see why the squad won. An 18-10 edge in points from the foul line helped the club as well.

Louisville is limiting the opposition to 61.3 ppg on 38.6 percent shooting from the floor. Offensively, the club is generating 72.2 ppg, and there are four double-digit scorers in the lineup. David Padgett is posting 11.6 ppg on 67.8 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 10.8 ppg and 8.1 rpg, and he has also blocked 54 shots. Rounding out the impressive group is Jerry Smith with 10.4 ppg. In the romp over Boise State, Clark scored 15 points off the bench. Juan Palacios hit all five of his shots from the floor to finish with 13 points, while Smith contributed 12 points. The Cardinals made good on 55.8 percent of their field goal attempts as a team, including 12-of-24 from three-point range, and they forced 19 turnovers as well.

Expect this game to go down to the wire, but give a narrow edge to Louisville for two reasons. First, the Cardinals can get it done at both ends of the floor. And secondly, it is hard to imagine Capel out-coaching Rick Pitino.

Predicted Outcome

Louisville 77, Oklahoma 71