Cardinals Host Intrastate Rival Kentucky on Saturday Afternoon

GAME 13
Date: Dec. 29, 2018
Time: 2:02 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (139-21 in 9th year)
Television: ESPN2 - Dan Shulman, play-by-play; Jay Bilas, analyst; Dan Dakich, sideline analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (XM channel 380, Internet 971)
Series History: Louisville trails 16-35 (9-12 in Louisville, 5-19 in Lexington, 2-4 neutral)
Last Meeting: Kentucky 90, UofL 61 (Dec, 29, 2017 in Lexington, Ky.)
Officials: Ron Groover, Jeff Clark, Pat Driscoll
Next UofL Game: Jan. 6 vs. Miami, KFC Yum! Center, 6 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Louisville, ranked 17th in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET ratings through games of Dec. 23, will play its final non-conference game of the regular season as the Cardinals face intrastate rival Kentucky in the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday.

Louisville won for the sixth time in its last seven games and third straight in beating Robert Morris 73-59 as the Cardinals shot 48.9 percent from the field and held a 41-26 rebounding advantage, their fourth double-digit rebounding margin in their last six games. Jordan Nwora led the Cardinals with 19 points and 13 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season and his ninth game with seven or more rebounds. Steven Enoch scored a career-high 16 points.

The Cardinals are very balanced on the offensive end, with five players averaging over eight points. Sophomore Jordan Nwora leads the Cardinals in in scoring and rebounding with 17.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Dwayne Sutton is second on the team in scoring and rebounding with 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Steven Enoch ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.2 points along with 4.6 rebounds per game. Christen Cunningham averages 8.6 points per game while Ryan McMahon averages 8.3 points per game to round out the top scorers.

Kentucky (9-2), ranked 16th in the AP and 15th in the USA Today polls, has won nine of its last 10 games, winning 80-72 over then-No. 9/10 North Carolina in its last game on Dec. 22. The Wildcats' two losses have come in a pair of neutral site games to Duke 94-66 on Nov. 6 and Seton Hall 84-83 in overtime.

Kentucky is second in the nation in rebound margin (+12.7), third in free throws made per game (20.8), 11th in the nation in blocked shots (5.6 per game) and 24th in field goal percentage (.491). Kentucky is No. 22 in the Sagarin Ratings, No. 18 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 22 in the NET rankings and No. 15 by Ken Pomeroy through Dec. 23. Freshman guard Keldon Johnson is the Wildcats' top scorer (16.5 ppg), one of four Wildcats averaging over 12 points. Sophomore forward PJ Washington is UK's top rebounder (8.5 rpg, 13.3 ppg).

Louisville trails the all-time series against Kentucky 16-35. UK has won nine of the last 11. The Wildcats hold a 26-12 advantage since the series resumed in 1983. Kentucky holds a 12-9 edge in games played in Louisville.

CARD FILES

Louisville has an 81-5 record against nonconference opponents in the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals have won 37 of their last 39 home games against non-conference opponents.
Louisville has made 41 more free throws (261-of-338, .768) than its opponents have attempted (155-of-220). Louisville is second in the nation in free throw attempts per field goal attempts (338/661, 51.1 percent) and leads the nation with 27.1 percent of its points coming from free throws. UofL is 14th in the nation in free throw percentage.
In his last five games, Jordan Nwora has averaged 19.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and shot 55.6 percent from the field, including making 16-of-28 three-pointers (.571). He has scored in double digits in 11 of 12 games this season – including 20 or more in six games -- while averaging 17.8 points per game (sixth in the ACC).
Malik Williams has averaged 9.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and two blocked shots in his last three games. He gained his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Lipscomb.
Nearly half of Louisville's points this year have come from its bench (33.3 points per game).
Louisville's 2019 signing class is ranked second in the nation by ESPN.com, fifth by Rivals.com and fifth by 247sports.com.
Louisville's 2019 signing class is ranked as the best in the nation by ESPN.com, third by Rivals.com and fourth by 247sports.com. All six individuals are ranked highly among the nation's prospects, including five of the six among ESPN's top 100. The impressive signing class includes Aidan Igiehon, David Johnson, Josh Nickelberry, Quinn Slazinski, Samuell Williamson and Jae'Lyn Withers.

Cardinals Host Intrastate Rival Kentucky on Saturday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christen Cunningham

Steven Enoch

Ryan McMahon

Jordan Nwora

Dwayne Sutton

Malik Williams

University of Louisville Athletics