Tale of The Tape, Prediction: Louisville vs. Western Kentucky

Take a look at how the Cardinals stack up against the Hilltoppers for their Saturday matchup, and who the statistical models favor:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (7-3, 1-0 ACC) is set to face Western Kentucky (7-4, 0-0 Conference-USA) on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Hilltoppers:

- Rankings:

	WKU	Louisville
AP/USA TODAY	NR/NR	NR/NR
NET	143rd	64th
RPI	187th	49th
SOS	171st	37th
KenPom	108th	42nd
Sagarin	117th	41st

- Team Leaders:

	WKU	Louisville
Points	Jairus Hamilton (16.8)	Malik Williams (10.9)
Rebounds	Jamarion Sharp (7.8)	Malik Williams (9.7)
Assists	Dayvion McKnight (6.2)	Jarrod West (3.8)
Steals	Dayvion McKnight (2.3)	Malik Williams (1.8)
Blocks	Jamarion Sharp (4.9)	Malik Williams (0.7)

- Scoring:

	WKU	Louisville
Points Per Game	78.3	70.7
Field Goal %	48.1%	41.8%
FGM/FGA Per Game	29.7/61.8	25.7/61.5
Three Point %	32.1%	29.7%
3PTM/3PTA Per Game	7.4/22.9	7.7/25.9
Free Throw %	68.5%	70.7%

- Rebounding:

	WKU	Louisville
Rebounds Per Game	38.5	42.3
Off. Reb. Per Game	9.3	12.0
Def. Reb. Per Game	29.2	30.3
Rebound Margin	+0.8	+6.2

- Defense:

	WKU	Louisville
Opp. Points Per Game	65.1	64.3
Opp. FG%	37.8%	37.8%
Opp. 3PT%	30.7%	28.6%
Steals Per Game	9.5	7.8
Blocks Per Game	6.8	2.8

- Ball Handling:

	WKU	Louisville
Assists Per Game	16.6	12.6
Turnovers Per Game	14.3	14.7
Turnover Margin	+2.8	-1.0
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.2	0.9

- ESPN Prediction: Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, Louisville has an 55.1 percent chance to win against Southeastern Louisiana.

- KenPom Prediction: Per KenPom.com, the Cardinals have an 58 percent chance to take down the Hilltoppers, with a projected final score of 70-68 in favor of Louisville. Per current metrics, Southern Louisiana is the third-lowest ranked opponent Louisville will face for the rest of the season (Boston College, Pitt).

- Personal Prediction: Louisville 67, Western Kentucky 66.

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

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