Men's Basketball Travels to Notre Dame on Wednesday

GAME 15
Date: Jan. 4, 2017
Time: 9:05 p.m.
Site: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Ind. (9,149)
Television: ACC Network (WAVE-TV in Louisville) - Tim Brando, play-by-play; Dan Bonner, analyst.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) - Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius channel 84, XM 84, Internet 84)
Series History: UofL leads 20-14 (12-3 in Louisville, 4-8 at Notre Dame, 4-3 neutral)
Last Meeting: Notre Dame 71, UofL 66 (Feb. 13, 2016 at Notre Dame, Ind.)
UofL National Ranking: ninth USA Today, ninth Associated Press
Officials: Ron Groover, Jeff Clark, Jerry Heater
Next UofL Game: Jan. 7 at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Ga., 2 p.m. ET (ACC Network/WHAS-TV in Louisville)

Louisville will play its first ACC road game of the season and its fourth straight ranked opponent as the Cardinals visit the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Notre Dame, Ind. on Wednesday. In its final non-conference game of the season, Louisville won for the seventh time in eight games in beating Indiana 77-62 in the Countdown Classic on New Year's Eve in Indianapolis, Ind. UofL shot a season-high 52.9 percent from the field, limited Indiana to 32.2 percent accuracy, and Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 25 points off the bench.

Sophomore Donovan Mitchell leads three Cardinals who are averaging double figures. Mitchell is averaging 12.4 points per game and 5.1 rebounds. Quentin Snider ranks second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game along with a team leading 51 assists. Deng Adel rounds out the top scorers with 10.7 points per game. Jaylen Johnson leads the Cardinals on the boards with 7.5 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 44 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from behind the arc. UofL is averaging 42.1 rebounds per game while holding opponents to 35.6 rebounds a game.

Notre Dame (12-2), ranked 23rd by AP and 21st by USA Today, has lost only to No. 1 Villanova and No. 15 Purdue in neutral site games this season. Notre Dame won 78-77 in overtime at Pitt on Dec. 31 in its ACC opener. In its ACC opener, Notre Dame won 78-77 in overtime at Pittsburgh on Dec. 31 as Steve Vasturia sank a three-pointer with two seconds remaining for the victory. He had hit a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.

The Fighting Irish lead the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.02), free throw percentage (.841) and fewest turnovers
per game (9.2); and they are sixth in assists per game (18.6), 12th in three-point field goals per game (10.1), 19th in scoring margin (+17.0), and 27th in scoring offense (83.2 ppg), and 35th in three-point field goal percentage (.396).

Louisville has a 20-14 series advantage over Notre Dame, but the Cardinals have won just four of 12 matchups at Notre Dame. In the last meeting, the Fighting Irish won 71-66 over Louisville at Notre Dame as Demetrius Jackson scored 27 points and Steve Vasturia added 20 for the Irish (2-13-16).

CARD FILE

Louisville posted a collective 3.18 grade point average for the recently completed 2016 fall semester, with 10 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better GPA.
No. 23 Notre Dame is the fourth consecutive Top 25 Associated Press ranked opponent for Louisville, marking the first time the Cardinals have ever faced four straight ranked opponents in the regular season.
Louisville has won its first conference road game in each of the last nine seasons.
Louisville won at least 12 of its first 14 games for the seventh straight season. The Cards' best start in that stretch was 16-1 during UofL's 2012-13 NCAA Championship year.
Louisville has a 33-15 record during the month of January over the last six years, including a 17-6 record in the last three years.
UofL Coach Rick Pitino, who has a 403-136 record in his 16th season at Louisville, won his 400th victory with the Cardinals on Dec. 10. He won his 750th career collegiate victory when the Cards beat Wichita State on Nov. 24. He is one of five active coaches with at least 750 victories.
Donovan Mitchell is tied for the ACC lead and is 34th in the nation in steals (2.1 per game). His 29 steals in 14 games is four more than he had his entire freshman year.
Louisville's 158 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).

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Players Mentioned

Deng Adel

Jaylen Johnson

Donovan Mitchell

Quentin Snider

University of Louisville Athletics