Men's Basketball Hosts Miami on Saturday
February 20, 2015 | Men's Basketball
GAME FACTS - Louisville vs. Miami
Date: Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015
Time: 2:05 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (79-12 in 5th yr.)
Television: ESPN Tom Hart, play-by-play; Doris Burke, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Doug Ormay, analyst (Sirius 93, XM 193)
Series History: Louisville leads 8-2 (2-0 in Louisville, 5-2 in Coral Gables, 1-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 63, Miami 55 (Feb. 3, 2015 at Coral Gables, Fla.)
UofL National Ranking: 12th USA Today, 12th Associated Press
Officials: Mike Eades, Earl Walton, Tim Comer
Next UofL Game: Feb. 23 at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Ga., 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Louisville returns to the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals face the Miami Hurricanes for the second time this season on Saturday. Louisville dropped its last game 69-59 at Syracuse on Feb.18 as Terry Rozier led the Cardinals with 17 points in the loss. With UofL guard Chris Jones out with a suspension, freshman Quentin Snider gained his first career start and totaled a career-best 13 points, four assists and committed no turnovers.
Louisville has four players averaging double figures. Rozier leads the Cards in scoring with 18.0 points per game. Montrezl Harrell ranks second with 15.4 points, while Jones ranks third on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game and Wayne Blackshear averages 10.5 points. The Cardinals are solid on the boards, Harrell leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game. Rozier ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.5 per game.
Louisville ranks among the nation's top 30 in eight statistical categories through games of Feb. 18. Individually, Harrell is 31st nationally in rebounding (9.3) and 24th in field goal percentage (.577). Rozier is 67th in steals (1.9) and 48th in scoring (18.0). Jones is 31st in steals (2.0).
Miami (16-9, 6-6) has won three of its last four outings, including a 76-52 victory over Virginia Tech on Feb. 18 as junior guard Sheldon McClellan scored 21 points and junior center Tonye Jekiri added 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Junior guard Angel Rodriguez is second in the ACC in steals (2.0 spg, 12.6 ppg, 4.3 apg, 45-of- 146 three-pointers), Jekiri leads the ACC in rebounding (10.4 rpg, 8.5 ppg) and McClellan is the Hurricane's top scorer (14.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Miami, which has beaten three ranked opponents this season including two on the road, commits just 10.3 turnovers per game, 15th best in the nation.
Louisville has an 8-2 series advantage over Miami. The Cardinals have won the last four meetings, including a 63-55 victory in Coral Gables, Fla. earlier this season (2-3-15) as Terry Rozier led the Cardinals with 22 points and Chris Jones produced 16 points, eight rebounds, six steals and five assists.
UofL Coach Rick Pitino has an 4-0 record against Miami -- three victories came at Louisville and one as Pitino's 1986-87 Providence team which reached the Final Four beat Miami 92-88 (1/20/87). Miami is 40th in the Sagarin ratings, 64th RPI through Feb. 18.
CARDINAL NOTES:
? Louisville's academic performance in the recently completed fall semester was impressive, with 15 of its 16 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.33 GPA for the 2014 Fall Semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved last fall.
? Terry Rozier has averaged 19.4 points and 5.9 rebounds over the last eight games, scoring over 20 points in five. He has averaged 18.0 points overall and 18.9 in ACC games, both which are third in the league. He is fourth in the ACC in steals.
? Louisville's 116 victories over the last four years are the most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville is the only school in the nation with three straight 30-win seasons, including a school-record 35 victories by its 2012-13 NCAA Title team.
? Louisville has shot 50 percent or above in a half eight times over its last eight games, including shooting 53.8 pct. in the first half at Syracuse in its last game. The Cardinals have shot above 47 percent from the field on 12 occasions this season, including eight times in the last 14 games.
? Louisville is seeking its 80th victory in the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals have a 79-12 record in their fifth season in the spectacular arena.
? Louisville has a 44-13 record in February over the last eight years (since 2007-08), winning 13 of its last 16 in the month.
? UofL has produced its 13th consecutive season with 20 or more victories.
