Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Southeastern Louisiana Lions

The Cardinals hope to get back on track against the Lions after getting stunned by DePaul.

Southeastern Louisiana Lions (4-6, 0-0 Southland) at Louisville Cardinals (6-3, 1-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, December 14th at 6:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: WHAS 840
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -23.0
- All-Time Series: First meeting
- Last Meeting: N/A

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.).

Southeastern Louisiana

• F Jalyn Hinton (6-6, 200, Sr.)
• F Gus Okafor (6-6, 230, Jr.)
• G Keon Clergeot (6-1, 190, Sr.)
• G Ryan Burkhardt (6-5, 185, Sr.)
• G Joe Kasperzyk (6-3, 190, Jr.)

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

• On its first time playing at home in 20 days, Louisville fell 62-55 to DePaul last Friday as the Cardinals shot a season-low 31.1 percent from the field. It was just the seventh non-conference loss at home for the Cardinals in 12 seasons in the KFC Yum! Center. Malik Williams led the Cardinals with a career-high 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
• Malik Williams, a preseason All-ACC second team selection and the MVP of the 2021 Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, totaled a career-high 22 points with eight rebounds against DePaul. Over the last six games, Williams has averaged 13.0 points and 9.7 rebounds.
• Williams has grabbed at least eight rebounds in eight of the first nine games, including his seventh career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds at NC State. He is third in the ACC in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and ninth in the nation in defensive rebounding (7.6 per game). His next rebound will be the 550th of his career.
• Louisville has a 48-14 record (.774) in the month of December over the last eight years.
• Louisville is No. 13 nationally in adjusted defense in KenPom analytics (best in the ACC). The Cardinals rank 11th in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (30.2 rpg) through Dec. 11. Louisville is averaging 25.4 points from its bench, but received only five bench points vs. DePaul.
• Dre Davis contributed a career-best four assists and was one shy of his career high with eight rebounds against DePaul. He has averaged 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds over the last six games, the Cardinals’ No. 2 scorer in that stretch behind Malik Williams.
• Louisville attempted just three free throws against DePaul, its fewest since taking just two against Syracuse on Feb. 17, 2016 ... DePaul finished with a 50-49 edge in rebounding. The Cardinals are 1-3 this season when losing the rebounding battle.
• Louisville grabbed 16 offensive rebounds against DePaul, its sixth straight game with at least 10.
• The Cardinals entered the DePaul game averaging 28 points per game off the bench, but picked up a season-low five on Friday. UofL has had seven double-figure scoring performances off the bench this season.
• Louisville held DePaul to just 36.4 percent (24-for-66) shooting, the sixth UofL opponent to shoot 40 percent or less this season.
• The Blue Demons' 26 points in the first half were the second fewest by a Louisville opponent in any half this season and their 30.3 field goal percentage was the third lowest in any half.
• In his first starting assignment of the season, Matt Cross scored 11 points against DePaul for his fourth double-digit scoring effort of the season and second straight. In his previous game at NC State, Cross had 13 points and seven rebounds, and buried a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining to break the tie game.

Southeastern Louisiana

• Southeastern Louisiana is off to a 4-6 start, falling 72-66 at Southern on Dec. 11 in their last game as Keon Clergeot led the Lions with 16 points and three assists. UofL beat Southern 72-60 in its opener on Nov. 9.
• Junior forward Gus Okafor is the SLU scoring leader, averaging 13.5 points per game while forward Jayln Hinton is the top rebounder (7.2 rpg, 12.4 ppg).
• Southeastern Louisiana is 27th in the nation in steals per game (9.6), 49th in three-point field goals per game (9.4), and 40th in assists per game (16.4). Southeastern Louisiana is No. 277 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 308 by KenPom, and No. 311 in the Sagarin Ratings through Dec. 11.
• Southeastern Louisiana is the only first-time opponent for the Cardinals this season. UofL is 244- 83 in first-time meetings, including 55-3 since 2002-03. UofL has a collective 7-0 all-time record against current members of the Southland Conference, having previously faced four of its 13 members. The Cardinals last faced a Southland Conference team in 2018 when UofL beat Central Arkansas 86-41 in the KFC Yum! Center (12-5-21).
• SLU assistant coach Mark Lieberman was an assistant coach at Louisville for the 2010-11 season before serving as the Cardinals’ Director of Basketball Operations in 2011-12.

(Photo of Malik Williams: Louisville Report - Cindy Rice Shelton)

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