Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

The Cardinals are heading back on the road for a matchup with the in-state Hilltoppers.

Louisville Cardinals (7-3, 1-0 ACC) at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-4, 0-0 C-USA)

- Tipoff: Saturday, December 18th at 3:00 p.m. EST
- Location: E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
- How To Watch: CBS
- How To Listen: WKRD 790 AM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -2.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 42-39
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 75-54 on Dec. 1, 2020 (KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• F Dre Davis (6-5, 210, So.)
• F Matt Cross (6-7, 230, So.)
• C Malik Williams (6-11, 245, Sr.)
• G Noah Locke (6-3, 210, Sr.)
• G Jarrod West (5-11, 185, Gr.).

Western Kentucky

• F Jairius Hamilton (6-8, 230, Sr.)
• C Jamarion Sharp (7-5, 235, Jr.)
• G Luke Frampton (6-5, 205, R-Sr.)
• G Dayvion McKnight (6-1, 195, So.)
• G Camron Justice (6-3, 185, Gr.)

Main Storylines

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's matchup with Western Kentucky: Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. WKU

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Hilltoppers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape & Prediction: Louisville vs. WKU

Louisville

• 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.
• Malik Williams, a preseason All-ACC second team selection and the MVP of the 2021 Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, produced his eighth career double-double and second in three games with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two steals against Southeastern Louisiana. Over the last seven games, Williams has averaged 13.3 points and 9.9 rebounds, rising into the Cards’ scoring leader.
• Williams has grabbed at least eight rebounds in nine of the first 10 games, and double digits boards in six games. He is third in the ACC in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding (7.5 per game). He grabbed 550th career rebound vs. SE Louisiana.
• Louisville has a 49-14 record (.777) in the month of December over the last eight years.
• 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. SE Louisiana in its last game.
• 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 vs. SE Louisiana.
• Jarrod West is third in the nation in career steals among active players with 271, including 17 in his first 10 games at Louisville. He is sixth in the ACC in assists-turnovers ratio (2.11) and seventh in assists (3.8). West handed out his 450th assist in his career with five at NC State (462 now; 424 at Marshall, 38 at Louisville) and had five in his last game vs. SE Louisiana. 
• Six different players have led the Cardinals in scoring in Louisville’s 10 games
• Louisville has produced eight or more steals in six of its 10 games. The Cardinals are sixth in the ACC in steals (7.8 per game)
• Louisville has held nine of its first 10 opponents under 43 percent from the field this season and five under 40 percent. The Cardinals lead the ACC and are 22nd nationally in field goal percentage defense (.378)
• Noah Locke is sixth in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.1). Locke has made at least three threes in five games
• Jarrod West is sixth in the ACC in assists-turnovers ratio (2.11) and seventh in assists (3.8). West handed out his 450th assist in his career with five at NC State (462 now; 424 at Marshall, 38 at Louisville).
• While Louisville has made 70.7 percent of its free throws on the season, the Cardinals have made 80 percent at the line (28-of-35) in the last five minutes of games.

Western Kentucky

• The Hilltoppers have won two straight games in blowout fashion over Ole Miss and Centre College, while Louisville bounced back from a loss to DePaul with an 86-60 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday.
• WKU is 58-63 all-time against the current ACC membership, while head coach Rick Stansbury is 5-10. The Hilltoppers are 10-8 against teams from the Power Five over the last five seasons, and they have won three straight at home - Boston College in 2017-18, Wisconsin in 2018-19 and Arkansas in 2019-20.
• As of Thursday, WKU ranks third in the country in total blocks (75), fifth in blocks per game (6.8), 20th in total steals (105), 23rd in total assists (138), 24th in field goal defense (37.8%), 27th in defensive rebounds (29.2), 31st in assists per game (16.6), 33rd in steals per game (9.5), and 36th in field goal % (48.1%).
• WKU junior center Jamarion Sharp is the tallest player in college basketball at 7 feet, 5 inches. He’s also the tallest player in the history of the Hilltopper program. Sharp leads the nation in blocks percentage (20.4%), total blocks (54) and blocks per game (4.9). | More info pg. 7
• Since entering the starting lineup seven games ago, Jamarion Sharp is averaging 9.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 31 of 40 (77.5%) from the field.
• Sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight recorded his first career triple-double Tuesday against Centre with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. WKU is the first team since 2017-18 to have two different players have a triple-double in the same season. Jamarion Sharp had a triple-double with blocks in his first career start against Alabama A&M. WKU has two of the seven total triple-doubles in the country this year.
• After making 1 of 19 3-pointers (11%) in the first three games, redshirt senior guard Luke Frampton has made 23 of 52 3-pointers (44.2%) in the last eight games.
• Fifth-year senior Josh Anderson is returning for an extra year of eligibility afforded by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anderson could become the first player in program history to letter in five seasons for the Hilltoppers. Anderson is ranked 29th on WKU’s all-time scoring list with 1,222 career points, as well as fourth in career steals with 188. He could also crack the top 10 for career minutes played, games played and games started.
• WKU added a major influx of experience with Division I transfers Keith Williams (Cincinnati), Jairus Hamilton (Maryland) and Jaylen Butz (DePaul). The trio had played a combined 6,514 career minutes and scored 2,388 points at the college level entering the 2021-22 season.

Players to Watch for Louisville vs. Western Kentucky

PG Dayvion McKnight

© Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists per game

C Jamarion Sharp

Star Tribune

7.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.9 blocks per game

C Malik Williams

Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

10.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals per game

PG Jarrod West

Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

6.6 points, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals per game

(Photo of Dayvion McKnight, David Johnson: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Louisville Courier-Journal via Imagn Content Service, LLC)

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