Louisville Cardinals (5-3, 0-0) vs. Duke Blue Devils (6-2, 0-0)

Playing time: 6 p.m

Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Kentucky.

TV: ACC Network

Announcer: Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (analyst)

Officer: Roger Ayers, Bert Smith, Pat Driscoll

Favorite: Duke at 8.5

Series: Duke leads 15-9

Last meeting: Duke won 84-59 in Durham on February 28, 2024

Series history:

Expected starting lineups:

Louisville

• G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G J’Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
• G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
• F Noah Waterman (6-11, 230, 6th)
• C James Scott (6-11, 220, Sun.)

duke

• G Tyrese Proctor (6-6, 183, Jr.)
• G Sion James (6-6, 220, size)
• G/F Kon Knueppel (6-7, 217, Fr.)
• G/F Cooper Flagg (6-9, 205, Fr.)
• C Khaman Maluach (7-2, 250, Fr.)

Statistics:

Relevant videos:

Duke’s season so far:

About Duke:

Louisville opens ACC play Sunday afternoon against a Duke team that is the conference’s top-ranked squad and is coming off its best performance of the season with an 84-78 victory over No. 2 Auburn on Wednesday night.

The Blue Devils are led by the freshman sensation Cooper Flagthe likely No. 1 pick in next spring’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-2 forward leads Duke in virtually every statistic – points (16.6), rebounds (8.6), assists (4.1), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.4). He’s very, very good, but he only shoots 23.3 percent from distance. This is obviously easier said than done, but Louisville needs to do its best to turn Flagg into a jump shooter.

Junior guard Tyrese Proctor made up for Flagg’s long-distance deficiencies, scoring two or more three-pointers in all eight regular-season games and both exhibition contests. Proctor made a career-best five three-pointers against Kansas and is now shooting 46.3% from distance (25 of 54) this season. He scored a season-high 24 points in last year’s game against the Cards at the Yum Center.

Former Louisville recruit Kon stick is a pure scorer who can burn you from anywhere on the floor. The freshman has struggled more and attempted fewer shots in Duke’s last two games, but feels ready to have an offensive breakthrough at some point in the near future.

As a team, Duke is currently No. 1 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. As loaded as the Blue Devils are with next-level offensive talent, scoring for Jon Scheyer’s team has proven to be even more difficult than keeping them from getting on the scoresheet.

It goes without saying, but the undermanned Louisville team has a lot of work to do tonight. A competitive performance would go a long way toward restoring confidence among the fan base (and perhaps the team itself) that U of L can at least flirt with a return to the NCAA Tournament.

Notable:

— After winning three straight games against Duke in 2020 and 2021, Louisville has lost its last five games against the Blue Devils.

—Duke’s five-game winning streak is the longest either side has had against each other in this series.

– Louisville football receives first-half honors for defeating UK 41-14 in Lexington on Nov. 30 to capture the Governor’s Cup. The Governor’s Cup Trophy will be on display.

–Louisville has a 9-3 record in its last 12 conference opening games, including 7-3 since joining the ACC. The Cardinals have won 12 of their last 16 conference openers overall, but have lost two in a row.

–Louisville is 5-9 against Duke since joining the ACC in 2014-15.

–Louisville is the only college basketball program to have played at least 10 games against Mike Krzyzewski and has a winning record (9-8) against the now-retired Hall of Famer.

– Duke ranks 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.366), 15th in scoring defense (61.0), 16th in 3-pointers made per game (10, 9) and 17th place in scoring margin (+20.1).

–Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 0-1 all-time in games against Duke.

– Duke head coach Jon Scheyer is 3-0 in games against Louisville.

– Duke is the tallest team in the country, according to KenPom, with an average height of 79.6 inches, better than 6-7 per Blue Devil.

– Duke has a 16-7 record entering Dec. 8, having won five of its last six games and eight of its last 10 games on that day.

– Saturday’s game marks the second time this season that Louisville has been an underdog in a game. As underdogs, the Cards are 1-0 so far this season.

– Louisville defeated Duke 72-69 in the 1986 NCAA championship game, trailing Final Four standout Pervis Ellison with 25 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.

– Louisville is 1-2 in games against teams ranked in the AP top 25 so far this season.

—Louisville has a 223-15 record over the last 21 seasons and a 4-0 record this season when scoring 80 or more points.

– Louisville has a 14-0 record over the last 10 seasons when limiting opponents to no more than a three-point field goal.

– Duke has made at least one three-pointer in 1,233 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally.

– Since 2004, Louisville is 130-0 when leading by more than 10 points at halftime.

–Louisville has a 115-0 all-time record when scoring 100 or more points in non-overtime games.

—Louisville has won 163 consecutive games while holding an opponent under 50 points.

Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Duke 73, Louisville 66