Day: Saturday, December 18

Time: 1:30 p.m. CT

Location: E.A. Diddle Arena - Bowling Green, KY.

Network: CBS Sports Network

Betting line: Louisville: 56.0% | Western Kentucky: 44.0%

History: Saturday afternoon's matchup between Western Kentucky and Louisville will mark the 15th all-time meeting between the in-state foes. Louisville has the series advantage with a 12-2 all-time record as Western Kentucky has suffered a nine-game losing streak in the series and hasn't defeated the Cardinals since a 68-54 win during the 2008-09 season in Nashville, Tennessee. The Cardinals defeated the Hilltoppers 75-54 in the last meeting between the in-state foes on Dec. 1st, 2020.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 2021-22 RANKINGS

ESPN BPI: No. 37

KENPOM: No. 43

SAGARIN: No. 41

2020-21 NET RANKINGS: No. 62

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Guards

Senior guard Noah Locke is one of standouts on Louisville's roster as he averages 9.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. The Baltimore native transferred to Louisville from Florida where he spent three seasons and was ranked within the top ten in three-pointers made during his time in Gainesville.

Sophomore guard Dre Davis is another talented guard who could provide some issues for the Hilltoppers'. Davis is in his second season at Louisville and is currently averaging 7.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 17 minutes as well as six blocked shots. Davis' 34 offensive rebounds is the third-most on the team. As a sophomore, Davis averaged 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Junior guard El Ellis is a JUCO transfer from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College where he led the team to a 19-3 record in the 2020-21 season. Ellis averaged 17.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists. At Louisville this season, Ellis is averaging 7.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

Jarrod West is a graduate transfer from Marshall where he was their leader in career steals and recorded over 1,200 points in the four seasons for the Thundering Herd. West is currently averages 6.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game this season at Louisville.

Graduate transfer guard Mason Faulkner led Western Carolina's offense as a redshirt senior with 16.9 points and 4.8 assists per game. Faulkner led the SoCon in assists and was additionally ranked ninth overall in scoring. Faulkner has averaged 4.0 points and 1.4 points per game at Louisville this season.

Forwards

Sophomore Matt Cross is another Louisville weapon who will need to be kept in checked by Western Kentucky's defense. Cross is currently averaging 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game as a Cardinal. Cross transferred to Louisville after posting impressive shooting numbers when he was a freshman at Miami (Fla.).

Redshirt sophomore Jae'Lyn Withers is averaging 5.9 points and 5.3 rebounds so this season. As a freshman, Withers grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game and was ranked second among freshman rebounders in the ACC for all games in 2020-21 and seventh overall.

Samuell Williamson is in his third season at Louisville as he scored in 26-of-31 games for the Cardinals as a freshman and was the starting forward in 15 games as a sophomore. Over the last seven games in his sophomore season, Williamson averaged 10.7 points and 10.9 rebounds over the last seven contests. This season, Williams averages 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Junior forward Sydney Curry spent the first part of his collegiate basketball career at John A. Logan College where he was honored with the 2020-21 Great Rivers Athletic Conference Player of the Year after leading his team to an 18-5 record and a conference title. Curry averaged 12.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 69.4% shooting from the field. At Louisville, Curry averages 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game currently for the Cardinals.

JJ Trayner is a native of Bardstown native currently in his second season at Louisville. As a freshman, Trayner came off the bench to average 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in the 13 minutes per game he played. This season, Trayner is averaging 1.0 points and 0.3 rebounds per game.

Centers

Malik Williams is one of the most efficient forwards/centers on Louisville's roster as he currently leads the team's offense with 10.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Williams has recorded a total of 619 total points and 462 rebounds as he enters his final season at Louisville. During the 2020-21 season, a right foot inury in the second half against ACC foe Duke caused Williams to miss most of the season as he only played in three games.

Freshman forward/center Roosevelt Wheeler is currently averaging 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Wheeler averaged 15.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in his junior season of high school basketball with John Marshall High School. The Richmond, VA. native was one of five players at John Marshall High School who averaged double-figure scoring.

KEY RESERVES: Jarrod West (6.6 ppg), Jae'Lyn Withers (5.9 ppg), Samuell Williamson (5.9 ppg), Mason Faulkner (4.0 ppg), Roosevelt Wheeler (2.1 ppg), Sydney Curry (1.9 ppg), JJ Traynor (1.0 ppg).

Saturday's in-state showdown with Louisville will be a challenging matchup for Western Kentucky as the Cardinals have claimed the past nine meetings between the two and have established quite a few impressive wins this season.

The Cardinals are entering one of the more challenging stages of their schedule with matchups against Western Kentucky on Saturday and No. 21 Kentucky the following Wednesday before they jump into ACC play against Wake Forest. The Cardinals have fallen to Furman in overtime, Michigan State and DePaul. The Cardinals have posted several impressive wins against Mississippi State and Mayland in the 2021 Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship as well as well as a 73-68 win over NC State.

The Hilltoppers have had several poor first half performances this season and losses to power five programs this season, including two consecutive losses to Minnesota and South Carolina in the Asheville Championship.

In the past month of the season, Western Kentucky has shown fans an improved team as they have won four straight at home and dominated Ole Miss in the team's Holiday Hoopsgiving showcase in Atlanta.

The Hilltoppers have shown improvement since the team's rough start to the season and I think the devastating storms and tornadoes that ripped through Bowling Green has given the team something else to play for, the community.

The community of Bowling Green showed up to E.A. Diddle Arena this past Tuesday night to watch the Hilltoppers take on Centre College.

The motivation of playing for the community of Bowling Green will have a huge impact on Saturday's game.

I'm predicting Western Kentucky will end the nine-game losing streak on Saturday with a win over Louisville.

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