Men's Basketball Plays Host to USF on Tuesday
February 17, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2014
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team continues to test its endurance, facing USF on Tuesday for the Cardinals' third game in five days. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET in the KFC Yum! Center.
Aside from tournaments, Louisville last played three games in five days from Dec. 27-30, 2006. The last time it played that many conference games in a five-day window was Jan. 10-14, 1991.
The Feb. 18 game airs on CBS Sports Network, with Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Steve Lappas (analyst), and Evan Washburn (analyst) calling the action. Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) will announce the game on WKRD 790 AM. The contest also is available on SIRIUS channel 93 and XM channel 190.
| RELATED NEWS UofL to honor Houston, Smith, Whitehead |
During Tuesday's game, the three initial African American student-athletes to play basketball at Louisville - Wade Houston, Sam Smith, and Eddie Whitehead - will be honored on this 50th anniversary of that participation.
Against USF, Louisville owns a 28-4 all-time record. The Cardinals, who have won 14 of the last 15 meetings, posted an 86-47 victory over the Bulls earlier this year on Jan. 22. Wayne Blackshear led five Cardinals with double figures with 16 points, connecting on 5-of-6 shots from the field. Louisville shot 50.8 percent from the field, knocking down 12 3-pointers, while holding USF to 36.4 percent from the floor.
Recently, Louisville (21-4, 10-2 AAC) won its fourth-consecutive game, posting a 102-54 victory over Rutgers on Sunday. It's the most points Louisville has scored against a conference opponent in regulation since logging 105 against Tulane on Jan. 29, 2005. The Cardinals moved up to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and fifth in the USA Today Coaches poll.
In the win over Rutgers, Luke Hancock registered career highs of 25 points and six 3-pointers, while Terry Rozier had season highs of 16 points and four treys. Hancock's six 3s are the most in a game since Andre McGee hit that many on Nov. 17, 2007. Blackshear added 10 points off the bench.
Collectively, the Cardinals hit 55.7 percent of their shots, going 16-of-30 from long range. Louisville also had one of its better performances at the line, connecting on 18 of 25 free throws.
For the season, Russ Smith leads the Cardinals in scoring (17.7), while ranking first on the team with 51 3-pointers, 115 assists, and 45 steals. Montrezl Harrell is averaging 12.6 points, second most on the team, while grabbing a team-high 8.3 boards per game.
Nationally, the Cardinals rank in the top-15 statistically in scoring margin (No. 1, +21.3), turnover margin (No. 2, +6.7), steals per game (No. 4, 9.6), total steals (No. 5, 239), scoring offense (No. 10, 83.1), and assist-turnover ratio (No. 11, 1.51).
USF comes to Louisville with three-consecutive losses, falling in eight of its last 10, after dropping a 75-74 decision to UCF on Feb. 15.
The Bulls (12-14, 3-10) held a four-point lead at halftime, but UCF clawed back and Isaiah Sykes scored a layup with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the Knights the victory. He finished with a game-high 27 on 11-of-24 shooting, while USF was led by 21 points apiece from Martino Brock and Victor Rudd. UCF, which shot better than 50 percent from the field, scored 50 points in the paint.
For the season, Rudd is pacing the Bulls in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (6.7) and also has a team-best 26 3-pointers. Corey Allen Jr. is second in scoring with 9.9 points and has dished out a team-high 79 assists.
The Bulls are under the direction of seventh-year coach Stan Heath, who's guided the program to a 100-123 record in that span. The Bulls were picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams after going 12-19 a season ago. Both Anthony Collins and Rudd were picked to the AAC preseason all-conference second team.
GAME FACTS - Louisville vs. USF
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 18
Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky.
TV: CBS Sports Network will broadcast the game, with Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Steve Lappas (analyst), and Evan Washburn (analyst) calling the action.
Radio: WKRD 790 AM will broadcast the game, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) calling the action. The broadcast also is available on SIRIUS channel 93 and XM channel 190.
Series History: UofL leads the all-time series 28-4 (14-2 in Louisville, 12-2 in Tampa, 2-0 neutral).
Next UofL Game: Saturday, Feb. 22 at Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, Noon ET (CBS)
