Cards Face Wake Forest in First ACC Home Game

Game Information
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Denny Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,090) (175-30 in 12th year)
Television: ACC Network - Mike Monaco, play-by-play; Cory Alexander, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (XM channel 380, SiriusXM App 969)
Series History: Louisville leads 8-2 (3-0 in Louisville, 3-1 in Winston-Salem, 2-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 77, Wake Forest 65 (Jan. 13, 2021 at Winston-Salem, N.C.)
UofL National Ranking: unranked in USA Today & Associated Press polls
Next UofL Game: Jan. 1 at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Ga., 2:00 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After a COVID-related pause and a brief Christmas break, Louisville will play its first home ACC game of the season and its last game of the 2021 calendar year as the Cardinals face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the KFC Yum! Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.

In its last game, Louisville fell 82-72 at Western Kentucky on Dec. 18 as the Hilltoppers' 50 percent shooting from the field was the highest for a UofL opponent this season. Noah Locke led UofL with 20 points while Jarrod West contributed eight points, a season-high five steals and a team-high four assists.

The Cardinals played without leading scorer and rebounder Malik Williams. Over his last seven games, Williams has averaged 13.3 points and 9.9 rebounds and is the Cards' scoring and rebounding leader. He has grabbed at least eight rebounds in nine of his first 10 games and is third in the ACC in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding (7.5 per game).

Louisville buried a season-high 13 three-pointers in 36 attempts at Western Kentucky, its third game this season with 10 or more threes. The Cardinals did not make double-digit threes in any game last year.

Louisville returned to practice on Sunday evening with its available players in preparation for Wednesday's game.

Wake Forest is atop the ACC standings with Duke with an 11-1 overall record and 1-0 league mark, beating Virginia Tech 80-61 on Dec. 4 in their lone ACC game. Wake Forest is 26th in the nation in scoring offense (81.2 ppg) and 27th in field goal percentage (.487), ranking second in the ACC in both statistics.

Oklahoma graduate transfer guard Alondes Williams is tied for the ACC lead in scoring (21.0 ppg) and is second in assists (3.9 apg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.580). He posted a triple-double vs. USC Upstate for the Deacons' first triple-double since Tim Duncan in 1996.

Louisville has an 8-2 series advantage over Wake Forest and the Cardinals have won the last four meetings. In the last matchup, Louisville prevailed 77-65 last season (1-13-21) as Carlik Jones led UofL with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

Notes

Louisville has won its first home conference game eight of the last nine years, entering Wednesday's ACC home opener vs. Wake Forest.
Mason Faulkner -- who has totaled 12 points and three assists off the bench in each of the last two games -- needs five points for 1,400 in his career at Northern Kentucky, Western Carolina and Louisville. Jarrod West needs 22 points for 1,300 in his career at Marshall and UofL.
UofL's 85-76 victory over Wake Forest on Jan. 7, 2015 in Winston-Salem, N.C. was the Cardinals' first-ever ACC game. Two meetings have come in NCAA Tournament action, with the teams splitting those two.
UofL Coach Chris Mack was an assistant coach for three seasons at Wake Forest (2001-04) under the late head coach Skip Prosser when the Demon Deacons posted a 67-29 record.
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).
Jarrod West is third in the nation in career steals among active players with 276, including 22 in his first 11 games at Louisville. He collected a season-high five steals at Western Ky., his fourth game this season with three or more steals. West is fifth in the ACC in assists-turnovers ratio (2.27) and sixth in assists (3.8).
Louisville is No. 20 nationally in adjusted defense in KenPom analytics (first in the ACC). The Cardinals rank 16th in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (29.6 rpg) through Dec. 26.
Louisville is averaging 27.6 points from its bench, gaining a season-high 44 bench points vs. SE Louisiana two games ago (31 vs. WKU).
The Cardinals have enjoyed success in recent years with its first game after Christmas. Louisville has won 19 of its last 27 games played immediately after Christmas, including 12 of the last 20. The Cardinals beat Kentucky 62-59 on Dec. 26, 2020 in Louisville's last game after Christmas last year.

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Mason Faulkner

Carlik Jones

Noah Locke

Jarrod West

Malik Williams

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