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Louisville HC Kenny Payne Previews Kentucky (12/30/22)

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats

The Cardinals are back in action after a long layoff to take on their in-state rival.

Louisville Cardinals (2-11, 0-3 ACC) at Kentucky Wildcats (8-4, 0-1 SEC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, December 31 at 12:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
- How To Watch: CBS
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Kentucky -23.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Kentucky leads 37-17
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 62-59 on Dec. 26, 2020 (KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

  • G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Sr.)
  • G/F Mike James (6-5, 215, R-Fr.)
  • F Jae'Lyn Withers (6-9, 220, R-Jr.)
  • F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 250, So.)
  • F Sydney Curry (6-8, 270, Sr.)

Kentucky

  • G Sahvir Wheeler (5-9, 180, Sr.)
  • G Cason Wallace (6-4, 193, Fr.)
  • F Chris Livingston (6-6, 220, Fr.)
  • F Lance Ware (6-9, 235, Jr.)
  • F Oscar Tshiebwe (6-9, 260, Sr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Wildcats, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Kentucky

Game Notes

Louisville

  • Louisville head coach Kenny Payne spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach and later associate head coach at Kentucky from 2010-20 under coach John Calipari. The Wildcats went a combined 295-73 during Payne’s time with the program, reaching six NCAA Elite Eights and four Final Fours, and claiming the 2012 national championship. Payne helped coach 36 NBA Draft picks while at Kentucky, including 23 lottery picks and two No. 1 selections (Anthony Davis and Karl Anthony-Towns).
  • Payne’s son, Louisville graduate senior guard/forward Zan Payne, previously spent four seasons at Kentucky. After missing the first two years due to injury, Payne played in 11 total games during his final two seasons as a Wildcat.
  • No. 19 Kentucky will be the fifth team Louisville has played this season that’s been ranked in the AP Top 25 at some point. The Cardinals are 62-72 against Top 25 teams over the last 13 years. • Over the last four games, senior guard El Ellis has averaged 20.5 points, 6.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds while making 9 of 21 3-pointers. He set career highs against Western Kentucky with 30 points and 10 assists. Ellis is the first Cardinal to hit those marks since current team video coordinator Reece Gaines did it against TCU on March 6, 2002. It’s the 22nd time nationally since 2018 that a player has reached those numbers, and Ellis is the first player in Division I to do so this season.
  • After averaging 1.7 points and 3.6 rebounds across the first nine games, senior forward Sydney Curry is averaging 12.8 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last four games while shooting 67% overall. His career-high 19 rebounds against Florida A&M were the most by a Cardinal since Luke Whitehead grabbed 19 boards against Marquette on Jan. 31, 2004.
  • Last game: nine days earlier, Louisville fell 76-64 at NC State to extend their winless start to ACC play, moving to 0-3 and 2-11 overall.
  • KEY FIRST HALF RUN: After NC State scored the first five points of the game, the Cardinals went on a 9- 0 run starting at 18:10 and elapsing 2:20. o The Wolfpack responded with a 9-0 run of their own beginning at the 7:48 mark that was capped off with back-to-back 3-pointers by Casey Morsell. Over the course of that run, Louisville went 4:10 without scoring a point.
  • KEY SECOND HALF RUN: With the game tied at 33 early in the second half, the Wolfpack erupted for a 17-0 run starting at 17:41 and covering 3:54 that was keyed by four three-pointers, three of which came from Terquavion Smith. o The Cardinals closed the gap to nine with a 9-2 run beginning with 5:45 to play but were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.
  • UofL shot 23 of 45 (.511) from the field, 4 of 8 (.500) from 3-point range, and 14 of 24 (.583) from the free-throw line.
  • It was the third time this season the Cardinals have shot over 50% from the floor.
  • The Cardinals outscored the Wolfpack in the paint 38-32, the third time all season they have outscored their opponent from in close. Louisville also won the rebounding battle, securing 35 boards to NC State’s 32.
  • Louisville has now recorded at least 20 free throw attempts for the fourth consecutive game.
  • Sydney Curry led the Cardinals with a team-leading and season-high 16 points, the fourth consecutive game he has scored in double figures after failing to do so in the first nine games of the season. The forward also set a season-high with seven made field goals on only nine attempts and was able to secure four rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
  • Brandon Huntley-Hatfield recorded his second double double of his career and of the season, logging 12 points and 12 rebounds. He was 5 for 8 from the floor and connected on his only three-point attempt of the contest. The forward made an impact defensively as well, recording a block and two steals while playing 37 minutes.
  • El Ellis poured in 15 points to score in double figures for the tenth game this season while playing 35 minutes. The guard set a new career-best in made free throws, connecting on 10 of his 11 attempts from the charity stripe. He also recorded a season-best with five rebounds and blocked the first shot of his Louisville career.
  • Mike James was the fourth Cardinal in double figures with 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting, the first time he had scored in double figures since his collegiate debut against Bellarmine. James filled up the stat sheet with four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals while typing his season-best with 35 minutes.

Kentucky

  • With its win over Florida A&M, Kentucky extended its home winning streak to 26 games. That mark is the longest current home winning streak in the Southeastern Conference. UK most recently fell 89-75 at Missouri in their SEC opener.
  • Five Wildcats -- Chris Livingston, Antonio Reeves, Oscar Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler -- are on major national watch lists to begin the season. Tshiebwe has been a unanimous selection to preseason All-America teams, while him and Wheeler were selected to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year watch list,
  • The Wildcats are shooting 39.5% from deep which leads the SEC.
  • Oscar Tshiebwe has an SEC-leading six double-doubles thus far in 2022-23. He's produced 34 in 44 career games as a Wildcat.
  • Cason Wallace was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after producing 27 points, nine assists and four steals in the win over Florida A&M
  • Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally with 6.5 assists per game
  • Since the start of the 2019-20 season, his freshman season at Georgia, Wheeler's 610 total assists rank second nationally, only behind the 688 by Yuri Collins of Saint Louis
  • Cason Wallace ranks third in the SEC and 15th nationally with 2.50 steals per game. The 2.50 steals per contest are the most in the country among freshmen
  • Wallace is the only freshman in the country averaging at least 12.0 points, at least 4.0 assists, at least 3.0 rebounds and at least 2.0 steals per game
  • Oscar Tshiebwe's 23-point, 19-rebound game against Missouri was the fourth such contest of his UK career. He now has four of the seven 20 or more points and at least 18 rebounds in a game by an SEC player in the last 10 seasons. No other player has more than one and the feat had not been accomplished since South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell did so against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017
  • Tshiebwe also has tallied three 20-point, 15-rebound games so far this season after seven a season ago. He has 10 of the 52 20- point, 15-rebound contests by SEC players in the last 10 seasons
  • Tshiebwe is one of two players in the NCAA this season averaging more than 15 points and 13 rebounds per game (Zach Edey - Purdue)
  • Tshiebwe is second in the country with 13.6 rebounds per game
  • He is second in the country with 5.40 offensive rebounds per game and eighth with 8.20 defensive boards per contest
  • With 1,181 points and 1,016 boards, Tshiebwe is one of two players nationally to total at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds over the last four seasons, joining North Carolina's Armando Bacot (1,518 points, 1,135 rebounds). Tshiebwe has played 27 fewer games than Bacot.
  • Kentucky is 317-13 (96.0%) in the John Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest. Ten of the 13 losses in the Calipari era are to conference opponents.
  • Defense has always been a recipe for success for the Wildcats under John Calipari. The special ingredient: 55 points. Kentucky is a perfect 85-0 under Calipari when holding the opponent to 55 points or fewer, including 2-0 this season after limiting Duquesne to 52 points and Bellarmine to 41.

(Photo of Mike James: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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