Both Louisville basketball and Miami are coming off much needed wins, as Cardinals overcame adversity and beat Boston College 84-58, and Miami ended their 10 game losing streak as they beat Notre Dame 63-57.
Louisville and Pat Kelsey currently sit in second place in the ACC with a 10-2 conference record and a 17-6 overall record. Miami is last in the ACC and has a 1-10 conference record and is 5-17 overall. Cardinals are 9-3 at KFC Yum! Center and the Hurricanes are 0-5 on the road.
How to watch Miami at Louisville basketball
Louisville basketball will tipoff Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. local time from the KFC Yum! Center with the 5-17 Miami Hurricanes on ESPN2.
Series History
Louisville holds the series history head-to-head record at 14-8 in favor of the Cardinals, but the last 10 matches are all squared up as each team has won five games. The last time UofL saw a home win against Miami was back in 2019-2020.
3 glaring stats to know Louisville vs Miami
The Miami Hurricanes are one of the worst defenses in College basketball this season, as they give up the 20th most points per game in all of college basketball at nearly 80 points. Miami is the worst team in NCAA at guarding their opponents from beyond the arc, where teams shoot a impressive 39.2% from three. Their depressing defensive stats don't stop their as Miami's opponents score the ball at nearly 50% from the field, 49.6, which is the third worst in College basketball.
Louisville offense should have an absolute field day on this depleted Miami Hurricanes squad, and a UofL team that lives and dies by the three ball, looks like they will smiling entering Saturday's game.
Prediction
Miami Hurricanes defense just won't be able to keep up with this impressive Louisville Cardinals offense. Pat Kelsey has his team clicking at the right time, and the Cardinals are the second best three-point percentage team in the ACC shooting it at 32%.
Louisville is averaging just above 10 threes a game, and the Hurricanes are giving up above nine threes a game to their opponents. Cardinals should pick up a win pretty handily with or without star guard Chucky Hepburn. If Hepburn doesn't play, keep an eye out for Terrence Edwards Jr. and J'Vonne Hadley to pick up their production.
Bold prediction for this game is Reyne Smith to hit four threes or more. Smith hit four threes against Wake Forest in the Cardinals 72-59 win, but in last two games he shot the deep ball 3-14. With the worst three-point defense in Miami, and potentially Hepburn out, Smith could get some more touches and shots and be used early. Edwards and Hadley will have to drive and kick and utilize one of the nation's top three-point shooter.
What's next for Louisville
Louisville will take on North Carolina State on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. local time from Lenovo Center.