Louisville-Kentucky Wesleyan preview: Cards open exhibition season

Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers

Game Time: 7:02 p.m.

Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, KY

Television: ACC Network Extra (available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN on the Watch ESPN app)

Announcers: Kent Taylor (play-by-play), Jody Demling (analyst)

Officials: Mike Eades, Anthony Burris, Jemel Spearman

Series History (Regular Season): Louisville leads 51-18

Series History (Exhibitions): Louisville leads 6-0

Last Meeting: Louisville won 109-71 on Nov. 3, 2016 at the KFC Yum Center

Probable Starting Lineups:

About Kentucky Wesleyan:

One of college basketball’s most successful programs at any level, Kentucky Wesleyan opens the 2017-18 season as the second choice to win the Great Midwest Athletic Conference title. They’re also ranked No. 18 overall in the Bennett Rank Division II rankings.

The Panthers won their second straight G-MAC regular season and tournament titles a year ago with a 28-3 record (12-0 G-MAC) and reached the NCAA Midwest Region semifinals. They return just one starter from that team, but do boast a pair of Division-I transfers in Brandon Halton (Vermont) and Malek Harris (Kansas State).

Notable:

—Louisville has won its last 33 straight in season exhibition games, a span stretching the last 16 years (since 2001). The Cardinals last dropped an exhibition game on Dec. 2, 2000 when falling 87-86 in double overtime to a Global Sports team in Freedom Hall.

—Kentucky Wesleyan has won eight NCAA Division II national championships, the most in Division II (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001).

— Louisville’s 171 victories over the last five years are the fifth-most wins in the nation in that stretch. The Cards are one of just three teams to win at least 30 games in three of the last five seasons (30-10 in 2011-12, 35-5 in ‘12-13, 31-6 in ‘13-14).

—Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).

—In last year’s meeting between Louisville and Kentucky Wesleyan, Deng Adel scored a team-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Ryan McMahon added 14 points.