UConn and Louisville will meet on Saturday at noon at the XL Center and it figures to be a showcase for first-year players on both sides.

Among the Big East freshman classes, nobody has more points or assists than the first-year players from Louisville while no team has played freshmen more than the Huskies.

It's a far cry from the experienced squads that met in the 2009 national championship ggame.

"Programs, they handle these cycles differently depending on where they are in the history of the program," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Somebody like Notre Dame who has been doing this a little longer at this level can graduate a bunch of seniors, replace them and not miss a beat as much. Somebody like Louisville, Jeff (Walz) hasn't been there long enough to kind of stockpile people to withstand graduations so it is a little more difficult. I watch them play now and I don't even recognize some of the names. I know they are good, I know they are talented and they have young kids who everybody was recruiting but it is going to take a while before it shows up, especially on the road. The two teams that played in the national championship game, there is semblance either way."

Speaking of the game, UConn is announcing it as an advanced sellout although if you go onto the XL Center site, there are no lack of available tickets.