Louisville vs. Seton Hall preview: Cards look for quality non-conference win over Pirates

No. 17 Louisville Cardinals (4-1) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (6-1)

Game Time: 4:05 p.m.

Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.

Television: ESPN2

Announcers: Mike Crispino (play-by-play) and Seth Greenberg (analyst)

Officials: Roger Ayers, Doug Shows, Joe Lindsay

Favorite: Louisville by 2.5

Series: Louisville leads 13-5

Last Meeting: Louisville won 79-61 on Feb. 23, 2013 at the KFC Yum Center

Series History:

Statistics:

Probable Starting Lineups:

Relevant Videos:

About Seton Hall:

Seton Hall, which is ranked 24th in the coaches’ poll, is off to a 6-1 start and coming off an impressive 89-79 win over No. 22 Texas Tech earlier this week. The Pirates, who have made the NCAA tournament in each of the last two seasons, start four seniors.

Three of those four senior starters — Khadeen Carrington, Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez — have scored over 1,000 points in their college career. Delgado, who led the nation in rebounding last season (13.1 rpg), has four double-doubles this season and is averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds. Rodriguez leads the team at 18.7 ppg, while sophomore Myles Powell is averaging 14.7 ppg and shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Seton Hall ranks 19th in adjusted offensive efficiency in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings and is No. 22 overall in the country on Ken Pom. They are currently No. 19 in the Sagarin ratings.

Notable:

—Louisville has a 31-5 record during the month of December over the last five years, winning 19 of its last 23 in that month.

—Seton Hall has won seven of its last 12 games against nationally ranked opponents.

—Louisville is fourth in the nation in blocked shots (7.4 bpg) and ranks ninth in field goal percentage defense (.357). UofL limited Purdue to 33.3 percent shooting from the field on Tuesday.

—Seton Hall is 50-3 over its last 53 games when leading at any point in the game by seven points or more.

—Quentin Snider needs seven assists to reach 300 for his career.

—Angel Delgado, the Division I active leader in double-doubles (54), was a unanimous All-Big East First Team pick after leading the nation in rebounding in 2016-17, pulling down an astonishing 13.1 boards per game. So far this season, he is averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.

—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).

—Louisville has opened with an 11-1 record each of the last five seasons.

—Louisville has won 58 of its last 59 non-conference games at home in the KFC Yum Center. The Cardinals have won their last 22 home games against non-conference opponents.

Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 74, Seton Hall 72