Men's Basketball Plays Host to Louisiana-Lafayette
December 06, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2013
PRESS CONFERENCE LINKS:
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team plays host to Louisiana-Lafayette in the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday at 1 p.m., the first matchup between the programs since 2009.
The Dec. 7 game will air on WHAS-TV, with Drew Deener (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) calling the action. The game is available on ESPN3 for those not in the WHAS viewing area. Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (analyst) will announce the game on WHAS 840 AM.
| Watch on ESPN3 | Listen Live Online | UofL Media Center |
No. 7/6 Louisville recorded its second-consecutive victory with a 90-62 decision over Missouri-Kansas City on Wednesday. Louisville, which led for the entire game, finished with an impressive 22 offensive rebounds and improved its December record to 20-4 over the last four seasons.
For the first time since 2012 against FIU, the Cardinals had a pair of players register double-doubles. Chane Behanan notched his second double-double of the season, the 12th of his career, totaling 11 points and 11 rebounds, eight on the offensive end. Russ Smith tallied his second career double-double, going for 10 points and 11 assists.
Smith also had three steals, moving him into eighth on the school's career steals chart with 194 and surpassing Lancaster Gordon's total of 192 (1980-84).
For the season, Louisville continues to lead the country in turnover margin (+11) is eighth in fewest turnovers per game (9.3). The Cardinals also rank in the top 10 in the country in steals per game, averaging 11.1 per contest.
Smith is pacing the team with a 17.8 point-per-game average, and he also has a team-high 38 assists. Chris Jones is averaging 14.4 points and leads the squad with 18 steals, while Montrezl Harrell leads the team with 9.4 rebounds per game.
Louisiana-Lafayette has won its last four games, including both games in the EA Sports Maui Mainland Invitational, to boast a 6-2 record. The Ragin Cajuns' only losses came against Arkansas and Baylor.
On Wednesday, Louisiana-Lafayette secured an 89-80 victory over Louisiana Tech. Five players scored in double digits, led by Kasey Shepherd's career-high 22 off the bench. Shawn Long had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the win, and Elfrid Payton contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Ragin Cajuns' shot 50 percent from the field and connected on 22 of their 31 free throws.
Long leads the team in points per game (20.1), rebounds per game (11.6), and blocks (25). Payton, who played with UofL's Harrell on the U.S. U-19 World Championship Team in the summer, is averaging just less than 20 points, scoring 19.9 per game and has team highs of 40 assists and 20 steals.
Louisiana-Lafayette is under the direction of coach Bob Marlon, who has the led program to a 49-53 record in four years. The team, which returned all five starters, was picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll. Payton and Long were both preseason first team all-conference selections.
THE SERIES - Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Louisville
The Cardinals lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1966, 8-0.
Louisville posted an 84-69 decision the last time the two teams played on Dec. 23, 2009, in Freedom Hall. Samardo Samuels had 29 points and 15 rebounds in the victory, and Kyle Kuric added 13 points in the win. Stephan Van Treese saw action off the bench.
Two of the matchups have come in the NCAA Tournament, with Louisville registering a 68-62 win in event's first round in 2005. The previous tournament meeting was in 1972, when Louisville beat then-Southwestern Louisiana 88-84 in the regional semifinal. The Cardinals reached the Final Four each of those years.
GAME FACTS - Louisiana Lafayette at Louisville
Date: Saturday, Dec. 7
Time: 1:07 p.m. ET
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000)
TV: WHAS-TV will broadcast the game, with Drew Deener (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) calling the action. It also will be available on ESPN3 for those outside the WHAS viewing area.
Radio: WHAS 840 AM will broadcast the game, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (analyst) calling the action. The broadcast also is available on SIRIUS channel 136 and XM channel 195.
Series History: U of L leads 8-0 (6-0 in Louisville, 2-0 neutral)
Next UofL Game: Dec. 14 vs. Western Kentucky in KFC Yum! Center, Noon ET (ESPN2)
