St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - The Louisville Cardinals open their 2009-10 season tonight in St. Louis, taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks in what is being dubbed as the Hall of Fame Showcase.

The 20th-ranked Cardinals are coached by Rick Pitino, who is anxious to get the campaign underway after enduring some trying moments off the court in the off-season. Despite returning just one double-digit scorer from last year's stellar team that went 16-2 in the Big East, the Cards are considered one of the top teams once again in what is arguably the nation's toughest conference. Louisville has won 30 of its last 36 league bouts and has reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years.

Arkansas blew out Alcorn State in its season opener last Friday, taking a 130-68 decision in Fayetteville. It was a record-setting game all the way around, highlighted by the 51 points scored by UA sophomore shooting guard Rotnei Clarke. The 130 points put up by Arkansas was its most ever in a season opener. Following this clash, the Hogs will play four straight at home and nine of their next 10 in front of the Arkansas faithful.

The all-time series between Louisville and Arkansas is knotted at 3-3, with the last meeting taking place in December of 1997 with the Razorbacks claiming a 100-83 victory on the road.

Standout forwards Terrence Williams and Earl Clark are gone, but Pitino is excited about the team he has, particularly with the senior leadership guys like Jerry Smith (7.8 ppg) and Edgar Sosa (7.3 ppg) provide. Neither are big- time scorers, but they are the sort of players who can lead a team on the floor and that's exactly what this team needs. Smith has shown the ability to shoot the three-point shot (.412), and Sosa (88 assists) will have to take over the playmaking duties from Clark and Williams who combined to hand out more than 300 assists last year. Sophomore forward Samardo Samuels (11.8 ppg) turned out to be a force on the inside as he led the team in foul shots (110- of-165) and was also among the team leaders with 49 blocked shots, stats that earned him a spot on the All-Big East Rookie Team.

Clarke's school-record 51 points, included an Arkansas and SEC record 13 three-pointers, and the Razorbacks didn't need to do a whole lot more in what wound up as a 62-point drubbing of Alcorn State. Somewhat lost in the shuffle was the play of juco transfer Jamal Farmer, who poured in 28 points in his first game as a Razorback. Farmer actually finished with a double-double as he also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. He also had six assists with no turnovers, a truly remarkable effort. Freshman Marshawn Powell also posted a double-double in his first collegiate game with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and he added five blocks. Mike Washington only played 17 minutes due to foul trouble but still contributed 14 points and four blocks in the easy win. Despite the impressive contributions from a host of Hogs, it was Clarke's night to shine, and shine he did on his way to being named the SEC's Player of the Week.