Louisville-Cleveland State Preview: Rick Pitino Goes For Win 700 In Global Sports Showcase Finale

NO. 6 LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (4-0) vs. CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (2-2)

Game Time: 7:02 p.m.

Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky

Television: ESPN3

Announcers: Dave Weekley (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst)

Officials: Mike Eades, Anthony Franklin and Tim Comer

Favorite: Louisville by 22.5

All-Time Series: Louisville leads 4-0

Last Meeting: Louisville won 95-80 on Dec. 19, 1990 in Freedom Hall

Series History:

Probable Starting Lineups:

Statistics:

Relevant Videos:

About Cleveland State:

The Vikings head to the Yum Center at 2-2 after falling 87-83 in overtime at Savannah State on Nov. 22 in a game they led by 13 in the second half. Junior guard Trey Lewis totaled 27 points and six steals for the Vikings in the loss. Lewis, a preseason All-Horizon League first team selection, leads CSU in scoring 16.0 ppg. The Vikings return three other starters from last season's 21-12 team, including all-league performer Anton Grady (13.8 ppg/6.8 rpg).

Cleveland State was picked to finish second behind Green Bay in the nine-team Horizon League before the start of the season. They'll be facing a Louisville team tonight that is 14-3 all-time against current Horizon League members.

Notable

--A win tonight would be the 700th win of Rick Pitino's career.

--Wednesday's game is the Cardinals' fourth in the 2014 Global Sports Showcase, a five-team, round-robin event played at various campus sites. U of L is looking to finish 4-0 in the event, while Cleveland State is 1-1 and still has a game at Marshall to play on Friday.

--Louisville is favored in tonight's game for a program-record 53rd straight time. The Cards have not been an underdog since playing at Syracuse on March 2, 2013. All told, U of L has been the favorite in 77 of their last 78 games.

--Louisville's 100 victories over the last four years are the most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville is the only school in the nation with three straight 30 win seasons, including a school-record 35 victories amassed by Louisville's 2012-13 NCAA Championship team (30 in 2011- 12, 31 in 2013-14).

--Louisville is 25-2 in the month of November over the last five years.

--U of L is 152-9 over the last 14 seasons under Coach Rick Pitino when scoring 80 or more points (20-1 last season, 11-1 in 2012-13).

--After a season-best 16 steals against Savannah State, the Cardinals are averaging 13.0 steals, ranking third in the nation. U of L has produced double-digit steals in all four of its games this season.

--The Cardinals are 4-0 for a sixth consecutive season.

--Louisville has won 41 consecutive games against unranked opponents.

--Louisville's 87-26 win over Savannah State was Rick Pitino's 22nd victory at U of L that came by 40 points or more, the most of any coach in Cardinal history.

--Louisville is 22-0 all-time in games in which sophomore guard David Levitch sees the court.

--Montrezl Harrell is just 183 points short of becoming the 66th career 1,000-point scorer at Louisville. Harrell also needs just 13 dunks to become Louisville's all-time leader in that category.

Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 78, Cleveland State 61