Louisville vs. Duke preview: Cardinals look for revenge against surging Blue Devils

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (20-6, 9-4) vs. DUKE BLUE DEVILS (20-6, 9-4)

Game Time: 12:01 p.m.

Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.

Television: ESPN

Announcers: Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Dick Vitale LaPhonso Ellis (analyst) and Allison Williams (sideline)

Officials: Brian Dorsey, Joe Lindsa, Brian O'Connell

Favorite: Louisville by 6.5

All-Time Series: Duke leads 7-4

Last Meeting: Duke won 72-65 on Feb. 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Series History:

Statistics:

Relevant Videos:

About Duke:

The surging defending national champions from Duke have suddenly won five straight games, including three straight over top 20 opponents. The second of those two streaks began 12 days ago when the Blue Devils knocked off Louisville, 72-65 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Since then, Coach K's team has also taken down No. 7 Virginia and No. 5 North Carolina.

To extend their winning streak to six, Duke will have to sweep its season series with U of L without the services of junior guard Matt Jones. The defensive stopper who is averaging 11.2 ppg suffered a sprained ankle in Wednesday night's win at UNC. Jones is one of only two Blue Devil players who has started every game this season.

Grayson Allen, a sophomore guard, is second in the ACC in scoring (20.7 ppg, 19th in the nation) and is fifth in minutes played (35.5 mpg). Freshman Brandon Ingram, who is expected to be one of the top two picks in next June's NBA Draft, enters Saturday averaging 17.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Duke is 15th nationally in scoring (83.1), 10th in fewest turnovers (10.0), 23rd in scoring margin (+12.1) and 22nd in three-point field goal percentage (.391).

Notable

--Louisville will be honoring its 1986 national championship team at halftime of Saturday's game. That Cardinal squad defeated Duke 72-69 in the national title game.

--Since March 1, 2003, Louisville is 22-0 in home-game rematches against opponents faced earlier in the season. Eight of those 22 wins have come against ranked opponents.

--Duke's 5-2 road record in conference play is the best mark in the ACC.

--Louisville leads the nation in scoring margin (+17.0), is seventh in scoring defense (60.7), eighth in field goal percentage defense (.381), 11th in rebound margin (+8.7) and 12th in offensive rebounds (14.1).

--Duke employs one of the nation's most lethal offensive attacks, ranking 15th in the NCAA in scoring offense (83.1) and second the country in adjusted offensive efficiency (121.6).

--With five games remaining, Damion Lee needs 50 points to reach 2,000 for his career, including his three seasons at Drexel. Trey Lewis needs 17 points for 1,500 career points, including his time at Penn State and Cleveland State. Lee has scored in double figures in 23 of his 25 games this season while Lewis has 18 double-digit scoring efforts.

--Duke features two of the top five scorers in ACC play, as Grayson Allen (20.5) ranks second and Brandon Ingram (19.0) is fifth in league play.

--Louisville is 16-1 at home this season.

--Duke averages 9.0 three-pointers per game overall and 9.3 per game in ACC play, both of which lead the league. Allen (55), Ingram (56) and Matt Jones (59) are bidding to become the first trio in Duke history to each make 70 threes in a season.

--Louisville has won 20 games for the 14th straight season. The Cardinals are one of four schools to have won 20 or more games each of the past 14 seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga.

--During its current three-game home winning streak, Louisville has limited opponents to 56.7 points, 36.9 percent shooting and 27.4 percent shooting from 3-point range for an average winning margin of 17.3.

Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 74, Duke 69