Men's Basketball Hosts Southern Illinois on Wednesday Night

GAME 9
Date: Dec. 7, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (103-14 in 7th year)
Television: ACC Regional Sports Networks Wes Durham, play-by-play; Mike Gminksi, analyst. Specifics on where to watch may be found here: http://theacc.co
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) - Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius channel 81, XM 81, Internet 81)
Series History: UofL leads 3-2 (2-1 in Louisville, 1-1 in Carbondale)
Last Meeting: UofL 73, Southern Illinois 72 (Feb. 26, 1976 at Carbondale, Ill.)
UofL National Ranking: 13th USA Today, 11th Associated Press
Officials: Bert Smith, Lee Cassell, Jerry Heater
Next UofL Game: Dec. 10 vs. Texas Southern, KFC Yum! Center, 2:05 p.m. ET (Regional Sports Networks)

Louisville will return to the KFC Yum! Center for the first of five straight at home as the Cardinals face the Southern Illinois Salukis on Wednesday. In its first true road game of the season, Louisville prevailed 79-70 at Grand Canyon as the Cardinals' bench produced 38 points. Deng Adel led the Cardinals with 15 points, 11 of which he scored in the second half.

Two Cardinals are averaging double figures after the first three games of the season. Sophomore Donovan Mitchell leads Louisville in scoring with 11.9 points per game while Quentin Snider is second on the team with 10.5 points. Jaylen Johnson leads the team on the boards with 8.0 rebounds per game while also averaging 9.3 points per game. Snider leads the team with 28 assists on the year.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the arc. UofL is averaging 44.2 rebounds per game while holding opponents to just 35.2 rebounds a game.

Southern Illinois (5-3) returns three starters from last season when it posted a 20-12 record and finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU is the third MVC team that UofL has played this year (also Evansville, Wichita State). SIU won 74-70 over Texas Southern -- UofL's opponent on Saturday -- on Dec. 3 in its last outing.Trailing by two with 1:30 remaining, the Salukis scored the last six points of the game as Armon Fletcher scored 18 points to lead four SIU players in double figures.

All five Saluki starters are averaging double figures in scoring. Junior forward Thik Bol is 31st in the nation in blocked shots per game (2.4). Senior forward Sean O'Brien, who is averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds, was a preseason All-MVC selection. Sophomore guard Armon Fletcher, a starter in 76 consecutive games, has hit 43.6 percent of his three-pointers this season (17-of-39). The Salukis are No. 84 in the RPI, 134 in the Sagarin Ratings and 167 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings.

Louisville has won three of its five previous meetings with the Salukis, including a 73-72 victory in the last matchup on Feb. 26, 1976 in Carbondale, Ill. as Ricky Gallon scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Cardinals to lead all five starters in double figures.

CARD FILE:

Louisville has a 27-4 record during the month of December over the last five years, winning 15 of its last 18 in that month.
Attendance at the KFC Yum! Center will surpass the 2.5 million mark likely on Wednesday. A total of 2,496,279 fans have flocked to the arena to watch UofL play in the Cardinals' seventh seasons downtown, 3,721 short of the 2.5 million mark
Louisville has won 50 of its last 51 non-conference games at home in the KFC Yum! Center, spanning the last seven seasons. UofL has an overall 103-14 record in the spectacular arena, including a 59-3 record against non-conference opponents. The Cardinals have won their last 14 home games against non-conference opponents.
UofL Coach Rick Pitino won his 750th career collegiate victory when the Cardinals beat Wichita State on Nov. 24. He needs two wins for his 400th victory at Louisville. He is one of five active coaches with at least 750 victories.
Donovan Mitchell leads the ACC and is 21^st in the nation in steals (2.5 per game). His seven steals against Old Dominion matched the fourth-most ever at UofL. His 20 steals in eight games is just five less than he had his entire freshman year.
Louisville's 153 victories over the last six years are the fifth-most wins in the nation in that stretch. The Cards are one of just three teams to win at least 30 games in three of the last five seasons (30-10 in 2011-12, 35-5 in '12-13, 31-6 in '13-14).
Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 14 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).

Men's Basketball Hosts Southern Illinois on Wednesday Night

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Players Mentioned

Deng Adel

Jaylen Johnson

Donovan Mitchell

Quentin Snider

University of Louisville Athletics