Men's Basketball Hosts Syracuse Sunday Afternoon

GAME 29
Date: Feb. 26, 2017
Time: 2:07 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (113-15 in 7th year)
Television: CBS (WLKY-TV in Louisville) - Andrew Catalon, play-by-play; Steve Lappas, analyst.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) - Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst. (Sirius channel 84, XM 84, Internet 84)
Series History: UofL leads 17-8 (8-3 in Louisville, 4-5 in Syracuse, 5-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 76, Syracuse 72 (OT) (Feb. 13, 2017 in Syracuse, N.Y.)
UofL National Ranking: sixth USA Today, seventh Associated Press
Officials: Roger Ayers, Doug Shows, Lee Cassell
Next UofL Game: March 1 at Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C., 9 p.m. ET (Regional Sports Networks/Fox Sports South in Louisville)

Louisville returns home to the first of its last two home games of the season in the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals face the Syracuse Orange on Sunday. UofL will wear throwback uniforms in the game to recognize its 1972 and 1982 Final Four teams on their 45th and 35th anniversaries, respectively. Louisville lost for just the third time in its last 12 games in falling 74-63 at ACC leader North Carolina on Feb. 22 as the Cards limited UNC to 37.1 percent shooting from the field. Donovan Mitchell led UofL with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Three Cardinals are averaging double figures with Mitchell leading the way. He is averaging 15.8 points per game and 4.7 rebounds. Quentin Snider ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game along with a team leading 88 assists. Deng Adel rounds out the top scorers with 11.2 points per game. Jaylen Johnson leads the Cardinals on the boards with 6.2 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from behind the arc. UofL is averaging 39.8 rebounds per game while holding opponents to 34.4 rebounds a game.

Syracuse (17-12, 9-7 ACC) has won six of its last nine games, including a 78-75 victory over Duke at home on Wednesday night as John Gillon buried a three-pointer at the buzzer. Gillon finished with a game-high 26 points and six assists.

The Orange are 25th nationally in steals (8.1 spg), 25th in blocked shots (5.0 bpg), 35th in assists turnovers ratio (1.33), and 50th in three-point field goal percentage (.382). Andrew White leads the ACC and is 16th nationally in three-pointers made (3.17 per game) and is eighth in scoring (17.5 ppg). Syracuse is No. 78 in the RPI, No. 38 in the Sagarin Ratings and No. 45 by Ken Pomeroy through Feb. 22.

Louisville has a 17-8 series advantage over Syracuse, winning four of the last five meetings. Louisville prevailed 76-72 in overtime earlier this month (2-13-17) at Syracuse as Ryan McMahon's seven points in overtime helped the Cardinals to victory. Donovan Mitchell and Deng Adel scored 16 points each to lead the Cardinals. UofL twice beat Syracuse in the championship game of the Big East Tournament (2009, 2013).

CARD FILE

Louisville won its 1,800th victory in its 103 seasons of collegiate basketball. UofL is 10^th in the nation in all-time victories (1,800-898).
Louisville posted a collective 3.18 grade point average for the recently completed 2016 fall semester, with 11 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better GPA.
Louisville is 14th in the nation in field goal defense (.393), eighth in blocked shots (5.7 bpg), 15th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.305), 16th in scoring margin (+12.8) and 14^th in offensive rebounds per game (13.5).
Louisville has faced the nation's third toughest schedule according to the RPI (Feb. 22). The Cardinals are sixth in the RPI.
Louisville has won at least 22 of its first 28 games in each of the last five seasons.
In his last 15 games, Donovan Mitchell has averaged 19.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals and has made 45-of-106 three-pointers (.425). Mitchell leads the ACC and is 22nd in the nation in steals (2.1 per game). He is among the top 30 candidates for the Naismith Trophy for national player of the year.
Louisville has a 56-18 record (.757) in February over the last nine years (since 2007-08), winning 22 of its last 30 in the month.
Louisville has a 35-8 record in its conference home games over the last five years (.814), including an 8-1 record last season.
Louisville's 168 victories over the last six years are the fifth-most wins in the nation in that stretch.
Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).

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Players Mentioned

Deng Adel

Jaylen Johnson

Ryan McMahon

Donovan Mitchell

Quentin Snider

University of Louisville Athletics