LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville men’s basketball returns to league action with a one-off game at Florida State on Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla. The game will be broadcast on The CW beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals recently suffered a tough loss to in-state rival No. 5 Kentucky last Saturday. Louisville fell to the Wildcats 93-85. Florida State beat Winthrop on Monday night 82-64.
The former Metro Conference teams have significant history with each other with 53 meetings between the two programs. Louisville leads the all-time series 35-18 and holds a 12-11 edge in Tallahassee. The programs will meet twice this year in ACC action: once on Saturday, Dec. 21 and again in Louisville on Saturday, Feb. 22.
GAME 12
Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship);
Streaming (Paul Rogers, pxp | Bob Valvano, analysis)
Watch: The CW (Tom Werme, pxp | John Henson, analysis)
Live Stats: Florida State Statbroadcast
TOP STORYLINES
- Through the last three games, fifth-year senior Terrence Edwards Jr. is averaging 22.0 points a game off the bench, shooting 51.3% from the floor and 52.6% from the 3-point line.
- Senior guard Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Player of the Week on Dec. 2 and was one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week after his stellar performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
- Louisville could play six ranked teams before January 2. The Cardinals have the 11th best strength of schedule according to KenPom as of Dec. 20.
- Louisville’s 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis was Louisville’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 19/20 Virginia Tech 73-71 on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s the highest ranked opponent the Cards have beat since beating No. 3 Duke 79-73 on Jan. 18, 2020.
- In the win over Indiana, UofL’s Chucky Hepburn logged 16 points, 10 assists and seven steals. He’s the first DI player with at least those marks since Markquis Nowell of Kansas State did it against West Virginia with 23 points on Dec. 31, 2022.
- All four of Louisville’s losses are to teams now in the top 20 in the AP Poll: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 4 Duke, No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 19 Ole Miss.
- As of Dec. 20, Louisville is sixth in the country in three point attempts per game (32.5) and 49th in turnovers forced per game (15.1). Chucky Hepburn is fifth in the country in steals per game at 3.0 and in total steals with 33. Reyne Smith is 34th in the country in 3-pointers per game at 3.18 and 13th in total three point attempts.
- Against Winthrop on Nov. 22, Louisville logged 10 blocks, including seven in the first half. Sophomore James Scott blocked five on his own. The 10 total, seven in a half and Scott’s five were all the first time those feats happened for the Cardinals since March 7, 2018 against Florida State.
- Fifth-year senior forward Kasean Pryor tore his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
- Junior guard Koren Johnson tore his labrum and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
- Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.
