Men's Basketball Hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday

Saturday, December 12

LOUISVILLE, KY

2:00 PM ET

University of Louisville

EASTERN MICHIGAN

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December 11, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Cardinals return to action on Saturday in the KFC Yum! Center

By: Kim Pemberton

GAME 8
Date: Dec. 12, 2015
Time: 2:05 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (86-13 in 6th yr.)
Television: Regional Sports Networks (Fox Sports South in Louisville) Wes Durham, play-by-play; Daymeon Fishback, analyst.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius channel 113, XM 193)
Series History: First Meeting
UofL National Ranking: 19th USA Today, 22th Associated Press
Officials: Brian Dorsey, William Humes, Sean Hull
Next UofL Game: Dec. 16 vs. Kennesaw State, KFC Yum! Center, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

After a week off primarily to address final exams, Louisville plays its second of six straight home games in the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals face the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday.

Louisville rolled to a 111-63 victory over Grand Canyon on Dec. 5 as eight different players scored seven or more points. UofL held a 55-20 rebounding advantage and the Cardinals improved to 107-1 when breaking the century mark in scoring.

The Cardinals are led by two players averaging double figures, Damion Lee leads the duo of top scorers with 19.1 points per game. Trey Lewis ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.1 per game. Quentin Snider also leads the team in assists with 4.4 per game while averaging 9.4 points. Chinanu Onuaku leads the team in rebounding with 7.0 per game while Mangok Mathiang ranks second in rebounding with 6.3 per game.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 51.4 percent from the field while holding opponents to 34.6 percent shooting. They are also shooting 36.2 percent from behind the arc. They are averaging 45.0 rebounds and 14.3 assists per game.

Eastern Michigan (6-3) has won four of its last five games, including an 86-58 victory over Rochester on Dec. 8 as the Eagles collected 15 steals and shot 53.2 percent from the field. EMU is third in the nation in steals (11.4) and 17th in field goal percentage defense (.366) through Dec. 8.

All five starters for the Eagles are averaging at least eight points a game, led by 6-1 junior guard Willie Mangum (16.1 ppg) and 6-10 freshman forward James Thompson (15.0 ppg, 11.7 rpg).

The Eagles posted a 21-14 record a year ago -- its second straight season with 20 or more victories -- and participated in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) postseason tournament.

Eastern Michigan is one of five first-time foes for the Cardinals this season, including this current stretch of three straight. It will be the second time in three games that Louisville will face a team from Michigan.

CARD FILE:

Louisville's 129 victories over the last five years are the second-most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville and Wichita State are the only schools in the nation to win 30 games in three of the last four seasons, including a school-record 35 victories amassed by Louisville's 2012- 13 NCAA Championship team.
UofL leads in the nation in rebounding margin (+18.9) and scoring margin (+30.3), is second in scoring defense (55.7) and is fourth in field goal percentage defense (.342).
Damion Lee matched a season-high with 24 points vs. Grand Canyon, adding six rebounds and three assists. He is among the ACC leaders in steals (1.7, 3rd), scoring (19.1, 4th) and field goal percentage (.553, 9th).
UofL has a 21-3 record during the month of December over the last four years, winning nine of its last 11 in that month.
Louisville is ninth nationally in field goal percentage (.514). UofL has shot above 50 percent in six of its seven games this year. The Cards shot 50 percent or above on eight occasions all last season.
Rick Pitino coached his 500th game at Louisville when the Cards played at Michigan St. on Dec. 2 (374-127 record).
UofL has an 8-2 record in games following at least a seven-day break over the last four years (since 2012-13).
Trey Lewis needs three points for 1,200 in his collegiate career and Damion Lee needs 28 points for 1,700 career points.