Cardinals Seek Bahamas Championship vs. Maryland

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 5-2 (2-0 in Louisville, 1-1 in College Park, 2-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: Maryland 95, UofL 73 (Nov. 20, 2000 at Maui, Hawai'i) - Maui Invitational First Round
Next UofL Game: Dec. 1 at Michigan State, Big 10/ACC Challenge, East Lansing, Mich., 7:15 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN2)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS -- Louisville will be seeking its 31st regular season tournament championship when the Cards face the Maryland Terrapins (5-1) in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship in Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

In its first game away from the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville defeated Mississippi State 72-58 on Thursday as the Cardinals limited the Bulldogs to 33.3 percent shooting from the field, held a 47-38 rebounding advantage and led by as many as 28 points. Samuell Williamson scored in double figures for the third time this season, leading the Cardinals with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He became the fourth different Cardinal to lead UofL in scoring through five games. Dre Davis backed up a season-high 18 points in the win over Detroit Mercy with 12 points in just 17 minutes on Thursday against Mississippi State.

Noah Locke needs one point to reach 1,000 career points after scoring 933 points in three seasons at Florida and 66 in the Cardinals' first five 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 four of the first five games and leads UofL in scoring (13.2 ppg).

Malik Williams, a preseason All-ACC second team selection, has grabbed at least nine rebounds in four of the first five games (10 vs. Miss. State) and ranks third in the ACC in rebounding (9.4 rpg) and 17th in the nation in defensive rebounding (7.6 per game). Williams, Roosevelt Wheeler and Sydney Curry combined for 17 points and 16 rebounds from the center position against Mississippi State.

Louisville will be seeking its 31st regular season tournament championship when the Cards play in the Bahamas Championship. Louisville claimed its 30th regular season tournament championship, winning the 2019 Global Sports Shootout title by sweeping the five-team, round-robin event and beating Akron 82-76 in the final game.

Maryland beat Richmond 86-80 to also advance to the championship game as 6-8 guard Hakim Hart scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures for the Terrapins. Eric Ayala added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Ayala averages 16.2 points per game to lead six players averaging over seven points per game. Maryland is among the nation's top teams in rebound margin (+9.2).

The Cardinals have a 5-2 all-time record against Maryland, but fell 95-73 to the No.6-ranked Terrapins in the last matchup 21 years ago in the 2000 Maui Invitational first round (11-20-2000). Reece Gaines (currently on the UofL staff) led the Cardinals in that game with 22 points. The teams have met once in NCAA Tournament competition, with Louisville prevailing 96-82 over fourth-ranked Maryland in the 1975 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship as Louisville advanced to its third Final Four. Regional MOP Phil Bond led the Cardinals in that game with 23 points and seven assists.

Game Notes

UofL has a collective 60-48 series record against current members of Big Ten Conference, having previously faced all 14 of its members. The Cardinals will make it back-to-back games against Big Ten teams when it plays at Michigan State in its next game on Dec. 1 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
In 2014, Louisville moved from the Big East to replace Maryland in the ACC when the Terrapins left to join the Big Ten Conference.
Located in College Park, Md., 605 miles east of Louisville, Maryland is No. 59 in the Sagarin Ratings and 40th in the KenPom analytics through games of Nov. 24 (Louisville is 65 in the Sagarin Ratings and 44 in KenPom).
Jarrod West is second in the nation in career steals among active players with 264 career steals, including 10 in his first five games at Louisville. West had three or more steals in nine games last season and has two this year with the Cardinals.
Louisville has a 55-7 record during the month of November over the last nine years, winning 35 of its last 40 games during that month.
Louisville ranks 28th in the nation in defensive rebounding (30.0 rpg) and is 33rd in field goal percentage defense (.372) through Nov. 25.
Louisville is averaging 30.8 points per game from its bench. Cardinal players have scored in double figures off the bench five times this year.
A graduate transfer has started in the Louisville backcourt in each of the last four seasons and five of the last seven, as Jarrod West is doing this season for the Cardinals.
Louisville has an all-time 6-1 record in games played on Nov. 27, winning its last five games played on that date.

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Curry

Dre Davis

Noah Locke

Jarrod West

Roosevelt Wheeler

Malik Williams

Samuell Williamson

University of Louisville Athletics