Cards Face Mississippi State in First of Two in Bahamas Event

Thursday, November 25

Nassau, Bahamas

9:30 PM

University of Louisville

Mississippi State

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Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

Cards Face Mississippi State in First of Two in Bahamas Event

November 23, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Louisville notes vs Mississippi State MIke Pegues Press Conference Malik Williams Press Conference Baha Mar Hoops Website Mississippi State notes vs Louisville

By: Kenny Klein

Game Information
Site: Baha Mar Convention Center, Nassau, Bahamas
Television: CBS Sports Network - Kevin Fitzgerald, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, analyst; Sam Hyman, reporter. CBS Sports Network is available in Louisville on multiple television providers such as Spectrum channel 531, AT&T Uverse 1643, DirecTV 221, and DISH 158.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Jody Demling, play-by-play; Reece Gaines, analyst (XM channel 371, SiriusXM App 371)
Series History: UofL leads 3-2 (2-2 in Louisville, 1-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: Mississippi State 79, UofL 56 (March 20, 2018 at KFC Yum! Center) NIT Quarterfinals
Next UofL Game: Nov. 27 vs. Maryland or Richmond, Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, Nassau, Bahamas, 10 a.m. ET (CBS SN) or 12:30 p.m. ET (FloHoops)

After playing its first four games at home in the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville travels to Nassau, Bahamas to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-0) in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET. It is the first of two games for the Cardinals at the Baha Mar resort in the four-team event.

Louisville prevailed 73-67 over Detroit Mercy on Nov. 20 as Dre Davis led the Cardinals with 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Davis had scored just 11 points through Louisville's first three games entering Saturday. It was the ninth double-figure scoring game of Davis' career. A starter at forward for the first four games, Davis is the third different player to lead the Cardinals in scoring through four games.

Noah Locke enters Thursday's game needing three points to reach 1,000 career points after scoring 933 points in three seasons at Florida and 64 in the Cardinals' first four games. Locke's 16 points against Southern is tied for the 11th most scored in a UofL debut. He has scored in double figures in each of the first four games and ranks 12th in the ACC in scoring (16.0 ppg).

Jarrod West is third in the nation in career steals among active players with 260 career steals, including nine in his first four games at Louisville. West had three or more steals in nine games last season and has two this year with the Cardinals. He has handed out 12 assists with just three turnovers this season, ranking third in the ACC in assists-turnovers ratio (4.00).

This is Louisville's third appearance in a Bahamas collegiate basketball tournament and the first in the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship (4-2 record in the Bahamas). Louisville twice finished as runner-up in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the 2012 and 2016 events. The Cardinals reached the championship game in 2012, falling 76-71 to Duke in the title game, and Louisville lost 66-63 to Baylor in the 2016 championship game.

Mississippi State beat Morehead State 66-46 on Nov. 21, the third opponent in four games that the Bulldogs have held below 50 points this season. Junior guard Iverson Molinar (15.8 ppg) is an All-SEC preseason first-team selection while senior forward Garrison Brooks (11.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg), who played four seasons at North Carolina, is a second team All-SEC pick. Brooks averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in four appearances against Louisville while at North Carolina, with highs of 12 points and four rebounds on two occasions.

Notes

Malik Williams has grabbed at least nine rebounds in three of the first four games and ranks third in the ACC in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and 23rd in the nation in defensive rebounding (7.5 per game). His next rebound will be the 500th of his career.
Samuell Williamson has scored in double figures off the bench in two games this season. He is second in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and third in scoring (8.3 ppg) for the Cardinals this year.
Mason Faulkner finished with eight points and five assists vs. Navy. Faulkner has 14 assists and just four turnovers on the season and ranks sixth in the ACC in assists-turnover ratio (3.50). His next assist will be the 450th of his career.
Along with two appearances in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Louisville began its journey for the 2011-12 season with a foreign trip to the Bahamas on Aug. 8-14, 2011. In addition to an intrasquad scrimmage on the island, UofL won a pair of games against island professional teams in Nassau, Bahamas on their visit at that time.
UofL guard Noah Locke averaged 8.3 points in three games against Mississippi State over the last three years while playing at Florida.
The Cardinals have won three of its five previous meetings against Mississippi State, but fell 79-56 in the last matchup on March 20, 2018 in the NIT quarterfinals played in the KFC Yum! Center. Raymond Spalding led the Cardinals in that game with 13 points and 11 rebounds.