Who’s Playing
Louisville Cardinals @ Kentucky Wildcats
Current Records: Louisville 6-4, Kentucky 9-1
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. ET
- Where: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center — Lexington, Kentucky
- TV: ESPN
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Louisville has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will venture away from home to challenge the Kentucky Wildcats at 5:15 p.m. ET on Saturday at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. The Cardinals are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 76.1 points per game this season.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Louisville finally turned things around against UTEP on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 77-74 win over the Miners. The Cardinals’ season wasn’t pretty last year but it’s starting to look like struggles are in the rearview.
Louisville’s victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Terrence Edwards Jr., who scored 22 points in addition to two steals. Another player making a difference was Chucky Hepburn, who earned 12 points plus seven assists and five rebounds.
Louisville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as UTEP only pulled down seven.
Meanwhile, Kentucky was able to grind out a solid win over Colgate on Wednesday, taking the game 78-67. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wildcats.
Kentucky got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Andrew Carr out in front who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Amari Williams, who went 6 for 8 en route to 15 points plus eight rebounds.
Louisville’s win bumped their record up to 6-4. As for Kentucky, their victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Louisville hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.1 points per game. However, it’s not like Kentucky (currently ranked first) struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 91.1. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Louisville suffered a grim 95-76 defeat to Kentucky in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. That matchup was pretty much over by halftime, at which point Louisville was down 53-33.
Series History
Kentucky has won 6 out of their last 8 games against Louisville.
- Dec 21, 2023 – Kentucky 95 vs. Louisville 76
- Dec 31, 2022 – Kentucky 86 vs. Louisville 63
- Dec 26, 2020 – Louisville 62 vs. Kentucky 59
- Dec 28, 2019 – Kentucky 78 vs. Louisville 70
- Dec 29, 2018 – Kentucky 71 vs. Louisville 58
- Dec 29, 2017 – Kentucky 90 vs. Louisville 61
- Dec 21, 2016 – Louisville 73 vs. Kentucky 70
- Dec 26, 2015 – Kentucky 75 vs. Louisville 73
