Cards and Cats Face off on Saturday in Lexington

Saturday, December 26

Lexington, KY

NOON ET

University of Louisville

Kentucky

Louisville v UMKC | Minardi Classic | Rick Pitino

December 25, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Cardinals take on the Wildcats in the Battle of the Bluegrass

By: Kim Pemberton

GAME 13
Date: Dec. 26, 2015
Time: 12:06 p.m.
Site: Rupp Arena (23,500), Lexington, Ky.
Television: CBS - Tom McCarthy, play-by-play; Bill Raftery, analyst; Dana Jacobson, reporter.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius channel 83, XM 194)
Series History: Kentucky leads 15-33 (8-12 in Louisville, 5-17 in Lexington, 2-4 neutral)
Last Meeting: UK 58, UofL 50 (Dec. 27, 2014 in KFC Yum! Center)
UofL National Ranking: 15th USA Today, 16th Associated Press
Officials: Doug Shows, Mike Roberts, Pat Adams
Next UofL Game: Jan. 3 vs. Wake Forest, KFC Yum! Center, 8 p.m. ET (ESPNU) - ACC opener

Louisville plays its second true road game of the season the day after Christmas as the Cardinals face intrastate rival Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday. Louisville beat Utah Valley 98-68 in its second game of the Billy Minardi Classic on Dec. 23 as Trey Lewis totaled 21 points, seven rebounds and hit 7-of-10 shots from the field.

The Cardinals are led by three players averaging double figures, Damion Lee leads the trio of top scorers with 17.3 points per game. Trey Lewis ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.7 per game. Quentin Snider also leads the team in assists with 4.4 per game while averaging 10.1 points. Chinanu Onuaku leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 per game while averaging 9.5 points per game.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 51.8 percent from the field while holding opponents to 35.2 percent shooting. Louisville leads the nation in scoring margin, defeating opponents by an average of 30.4 points per game. The Cards are also averaging 44.2 rebounds and 15.1 assists per game.

The Wildcats (9-2), ranked 11th in the USA Today poll and 12th by AP, fell 74-67 to Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 19 in their last game as guard Jamal Murray scored a career-high 33 points. Kentucky had the week off prior to facing the Cardinals.

Murray leads the Wildcats in scoring with 17.1 points per game. Tyler Ulis is second on the team with 12.0 points per game while Isaiah Briscoe is third with 11.5 points per game. Alex Poythress leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game.

Louisville trails the all-time series against Kentucky 15-33. UK has won seven of the last eight. The Wildcats hold a 24-11 advantage since the series resumed in 1983. Current UofL Coach Rick Pitino had a 6-2 record as the Wildcats' head coach in games against Louisville; and has a 5-11 record facing UK.

Louisville fell 58-50 to the top-ranked Wildcats last season as the Cardinals made just 25.9 percent of its field goals, with Terry Rozier scoring 15 points to lead UofL.

The two teams have met in NCAA Tournament competition on six occasions, with Louisville winning twice. UofL won 80-68 in overtime in the 1983 Mideast Regional championship in Knoxville, Tenn. in a game labeled as the first "Dream Game." The two teams had not met in regular season play for 62 years before the current series was renewed in 1983; the rivals have met all 33 seasons since. UofL has a collective 83-67 all-time record against current members of the SEC.

CARD FILE:

Louisville's 134 victories over the last five years are the second-most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville and Wichita State are the only schools in the nation to win 30 games in three of the last four seasons.
UofL leads in the nation in scoring margin (+30.2), is second in rebounding margin (+14.9) and scoring defense (55.9), and is fifth in field goal percentage defense (.352).
UofL has a 26-3 record during the month of December over the last four years, winning 14 of its last 16 in that month.
Louisville is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage (.519). UofL has shot above 50 percent in nine of its 12 games. The Cards shot 50 percent or above on eight occasions all last season. UofL is 13th nationally in scoring (86.1 ppg).
Louisville has opened with at least an 11-1 record through 12 games for the sixth straight season. The Cards have won at least 11 of their first 13 games each of the last five years (12-1 last year).
UofL has an all-time 10-5 record vs. teams ranked No. 12 in the AP poll, winning seven of those last 10. UofL has won 27 of its last 50 against AP ranked foes.
Louisville has a 60-33 record over the last 10 years on its opponents' home court.
Damion Lee has been the Cardinals' top scorer in eight of 12 games this season. He is among the ACC leaders in scoring (17.3, 5th), steals (1.8, 3rd) and free throw percentage (.891, 3rd).