Cards Face Intrastate Foe Western Kentucky on Saturday

Game Information
Site: E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky. (7,523)
Television: CBS - Rich Waltz, play-by-play; Steve Lappas, analyst; Jenny Dell, reporter.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Jody Demling, analyst (XM channel 389, SiriusXM App 979)
Series History: Louisville leads 42-39 (28-18 in Louisville, 9-16 in Bowling Green, 5-5 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 75, Western Kentucky 54 (Dec. 1, 2020 at KFC Yum! Center)
UofL National Ranking: unranked in USA Today & Associated Press polls
Next UofL Game: Dec. 22 at Kentucky, Lexington, Ky., 6 p.m. ET (ESPN)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville men's basketball team will be back on the road for the first of two straight intrastate matchups as the Cardinals visit Bowling Green, Ky. to face the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT/local time in Bowling Green).

The time and TV were changed from the original schedule. The event has been moved to CBS, with the game time adjusted by the network to 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT local time). The game will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network and available to stream on Paramount+. The game was originally scheduled to air on CBS Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT local time).

Louisville beat Southeastern Louisiana 86-60 on Tuesday as Malik Williams produced his eighth career double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two steals to lead four Cardinals scoring in double figures. UofL shot 51.7 percent from the field and limited the Lions to 32.3 percent shooting. It marked the 157th consecutive victory for the Cardinals when scoring at least 85 points in regulation.

A recent Louisville offensive focus was to get the ball inside more and the Cardinals responded with a season-high 44 points in the paint among its season-best 86 points against Southeastern Louisiana.

Western Kentucky has won six of its last seven games, including a decisive 90-52 home victory over Centre College on Tuesday as sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the fourth triple-double in WKU history.

Louisville has an all-time 42-39 series advantage over WKU, winning the last nine meetings. In the last matchup, the Cardinals prevailed 75-54 in the KFC Yum! Center last season (12-1-20) as Dre Davis scored a career-high 21 points, Carlik Jones added 18 points and David Johnson totaled 17 points and eight assists for the Cardinals.

Tornado Relief Efforts: Many in the Bowling Green area were faced with the destructive force of tornadoes last weekend. While there are multiple ways to support relief efforts across Kentucky, below are two funds in which individuals can provide financial donations that can directly help residents specifically at WKU and the Bowling Green area, where the Cardinals will play on Saturday.
o WKU Opportunity Fund (providing emergency relief to WKU students affected by the tornadoes) -- Link: https://uofl.me/33wP47A, or text "WKURelief" to 83200
o Warren County Public Schools Synergy Relief Fund (impacts the community around WKU, handling much of the supply distribution in the county) -- Link: https://uofl.me/3IO55pM, or text "BGSTRONG" to 83200

Notes

Louisville is No. 12 nationally in adjusted defense in KenPom analytics (best in the ACC). The Cardinals rank 11th in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (30.3 rpg) through Dec. 14.
Louisville is averaging 27.3 points from its bench, gaining a season-high 44 bench points vs. Southeastern Louisiana in its last game.
Louisville is unbeaten this season when outrebounding its opponent (6-0), shoots better from the field than the opposition (6-0), or shoots more free throws than its opponent (5-0).
Located in Bowling Green, Ky., 111 miles south of Louisville, Western Kentucky is No. 90 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 108 by KenPom, and No. 116 in the Sagarin Ratings through Dec. 15. Louisville is No. 35 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 42 by KenPom and No. 41 in the Sagarin Ratings.
Western Kentucky has been a member since 2014 of Conference USA, a league in which the Cardinals were charter members and participated in for 10 years (1995-2005). UofL has a collective 140-80 series record against current members of C-USA, having previously faced 10 of its 14 members. Louisville and WKU were charter members of the Ohio Valley Conference in 1948. The Cardinals remained in the OVC one season.
UofL Coach Chris Mack has a 3-0 record vs. WKU. In addition to two victories while at UofL the last two years, his Xavier team prevailed 90-64 on Dec. 5, 2015.
Louisville has an all-time 23-7 record in games played on Dec. 18, winning its last four games played on that date.

University of Louisville Athletics

Cards Face Intrastate Foe Western Kentucky on Saturday

Players Mentioned

Dre Davis

David Johnson

Carlik Jones

Malik Williams

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