Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. DePaul Blue Demons

The Cardinals stay on the road after some extra days off for a matchup with the Blue Demons.

Louisville Cardinals (4-4, 0-0 ACC) at DePaul Blue Demons (1-7, 0-0 Big East)

- Tipoff: Saturday, December 9 at 2:00 p.m. EST
- Location: WinTrust Arena in Chicago, Ill.
- How To Watch: Fox Sports 1
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: DePaul -1.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 38-22
- Last Meeting: DePaul won 62-55 on Dec. 10, 2021 (KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Skyy Clark (6-3, 205, So.)
• G Tre White (6-7, 205, So.)
• G/F Mike James (6-5, 200, R-So.)
• F J.J. Traynor (6-8, 190, Sr.)
• F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Jr.)

DePaul

• G Chico Carter Jr. (6-2, 198, Gr.)
• G Caleb Murphy (6-4, 182, Sr.)
• G Elijah Fisher (6-6, 220, So.)
• F Jeremiah Oden (6-9, 208, Sr.)
• F De'Sean Nelson (6-8, 220, Sr.)

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

• DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield, an assistant at Oregon from 2010-21, previously worked with Louisville assistant coach Josh Jamieson during the latter’s time as Director of Operations/Executive Director for the Ducks from 2007-22. DePaul Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy and UofL head coach Kenny Payne previously worked together at Kentucky during Peevy’s time as a senior administrator and Payne’s as assistant/associate head coach for the Wildcats.
• After allowing UMBC and Chattanooga to make 25 of 55 combined 3-pointers (45.5%) in the first two games, the Cardinals have held their last six opponents to a combined 22-for-103 from 3-point range (21.4%). As of Thursday, Louisville ranked 72nd in the country in 3-point defense at 29.7% overall.
• As of Thursday, Louisville ranked 11th in the country in free-throw attempts per game (27.8) and eighth in made free throws per game (20.5). UofL’s 164 made free throws are the program’s second-most through eight games since at least 2010, behind only the 2018-19 team.
• In Louisville’s first three games, sophomore guard Skyy Clark averaged 11 points per game while going 0-for-8 from 3-point range and 7-for-13 from the free-throw line. In the last five games, Clark is averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 12-for-31 (39%) from long range and 35-for-40 (88%) from the stripe.
• In the last five games, freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson has totaled 21 assists against just 12 turnovers. Johnson had just five total assists and eight turnovers in the Cardinals’ first three outings.
• Last game: Louisville was unable to pull through in the game's final minutes, falling 75-68 at Virginia Tech in their ACC opener.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: After Louisville hopped out to a 10-2 lead, the Hokies battled back with nine unanswered points between 12:16 and 9:56, giving them a one-point lead. The Cardinals regained the edge and maintained the lead for the remainder of the half, despite the Hokies closing out the period on an 8-2 run.
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: Virginia Tech opened the half with eight straight points to take a seven-point lead. Louisville responded with a 13-4 run that would give it a two-point lead, but the Hokies quickly retaliated with a 9-4 run to take the lead for good.
• UofL shot 23 of 57 (40.4%) from the field, 6 of 19 (31.6%) from 3-point range, and 16 of 18 (88.9%) from the free-throw line.
• Virginia Tech outscored Louisville in the paint 36-26.
• Skyy Clark scored a team-high 16 points, shooting 7 of 8 from the charity stripe. He dished out three assists and pulled in two boards.
• Brandon  Huntley-Hatfield shot 4 of 6 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line, scoring 14 points in total. He neared a double-double with nine rebounds, plus a block.
• Mike James grabbed nine rebounds and four assists on four baskets as he scored 10 points.
• Tre White handed out four assists and had 10 points in his 34 minutes.

DePaul

• DePaul and Louisville have a history as former conference foes, in both the BIG EAST and Conference USA.
• The Blue Demons rank 27th nationally in three-point percentage, shooting 39.1 as a team.
• This will be tested as Louisville has held opponents to 29.7 percent shooting from three, which ranks top-75 nationally.
• There will be three products from the NBA Academy Africa in Saturday nights’ game. DePaul’s Churchill Abass and Dramane Camara where both teammates with Louisville’s Emmanuel Okorafor.
• Okorafor and Abass are both from Nigeria.
• Kenny Payne worked for 10 years at Kentucky, where DePaul Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy served as the Deputy Athletics Director and basketball sport administrator for seven years.
• Chico Carter Jr. has taken on the role at point with injuries to both Jalen Terry and Caleb Murphy.
• Carter Jr. is averaging 10.5 points and 9.0 assists across his last two outings.
• Carter Jr. scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting against his former team in South Carolina.
• Jeremiah Oden had his season-best performance against Iowa State with 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
• DePaul started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2006-07.
• The ‘06-07 squad went on to a 20-14 record and appearance in the NIT.
• Elijah Fisher had a standout game off the bench for DePaul against Long Beach State with a career-best 25 points.
• Fishers’ 10-of-14 for a 71.4 field goal percentage is the best single-game performance in the BIG EAST in the young season.
• Originally in the Class of 2023, Fisher reclassified and played the 2022-23 season at Texas Tech.
• The Blue Demons have eight total newcomers, including five Division 1 transfers.
• Chico Carter Jr. entered the 2023-24 season with the second highest career three-point percentage in Division 1 basketball, behind New Orleans’ Jordan Johnson.
• This marks the second-straight season Tony Stubblefield has been tasked with replacing his leading scorer from a year ago following the graduation of Umoja Gibson (2022) and Javon Freeman-Liberty (2021).
• DePaul has a total of three games this season against teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

(Photo of J.J. Traynor: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter