Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Duke Blue Devils

The Cardinals host the Blue Devils for their ACC opener.

Nov 29, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) dribbles against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Duke Blue Devils (6-2, 0-0 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (5-3, 0-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Sunday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m. EST- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Duke -7.0
- All-Time Series: Duke Leads 15-9
- Last Meeting: Duke won 84-59 on Feb. 28, 2024 (Cameron Indoor Stadium - Durham, N.C.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
• G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
• F Noah Waterman (6-11, 230, 6th)
• C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Duke

• G Tyrese Proctor (6-6, 183, Jr.)
• G Sion James (6-6, 220, Gr.)
• G/F Kon Knueppel (6-7, 217, Fr.)
• G/F Cooper Flagg (6-9, 205, Fr.)
• C Khaman Maluach (7-2, 250, Fr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Blue Devils, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Duke

Game Notes

Louisville

• The Cardinals received 27 votes in the Dec. 2 AP Poll.
• Senior guard Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Player of the Week and is one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week after his stellar performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
• Fifth-year senior forward Kasean Pryor tore his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
• Junior guard Koren Johnson tore his labrum and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
• Louisville’s 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis was Louisville’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 19/20 Virginia Tech 73-71 on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s the highest ranked opponent the Cards have beat since beating No. 3 Duke 79-73 on Jan. 18, 2020.
• In the win over Indiana, UofL’s Chucky Hepburn logged 16 points, 10 assists and seven steals. He’s the first DI player with at least those marks since Markquis Nowell of Kansas State did it against West Virginia with 23 points on Dec. 31, 2022.
• As of Dec. 6, Louisville is seventh in the country in three point attempts per game (31.6), 21st in turnovers forced per game (16.63), and 37th in offensive rebounds per game (13.75). Chucky Hepburn is second in the country in steals per game at 3.5.
• Against Winthrop on Nov. 22, Louisville logged 10 blocks, including seven in the first half. Sophomore James Scott blocked five on his own. The 10 total, seven in a half and Scott’s five were all the first time those feats happened for the Cardinals since March 7, 2018 against Florida State.
• Louisville will play six ranked teams all before January 2.
• Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.
• Head coach Pat Kelsey has won 11 total conference championships across his 266-125 career record, including four NCAA Tournament bids. Kelsey has recorded winning seasons in 11 of his 12 complete seasons as a head coach.
• UofL has a 256-82 record (.757) against non-conference opponents over the last 24 seasons (includes postseason), including a 186-27 record in home regular season non-conference games. The Cardinals are 110-18 at home in regular season non-conference games over the last 15 seasons.
• Louisville took its second trip to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis Nov. 27-29. The Cardinals opened the trip with a resounding 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana. Against Indiana, Louisville’s 23 assists were its most since having 23 in a 90-66 win against Syracuse on Feb. 19, 2020. It’s 15 steals were the most since logging 15 in a 77-54 win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 8, 2018. Next, UofL beat West Virginia 79-70 in its first overtime game of the season. It was UofL’s largest margin of victory in an overtime game since beating North Carolina 78-68 on Jan. 31, 2015, and the biggest overtime win away from home since beating West Virginia 82-71 in double overtime on March 8, 2007, in the Big East Tournament. Louisville eventually fell in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship 69-64 against undefeated Oklahoma.
• Louisville’s 48-point season-opening victory over Morehead State on Nov. 4 was Louisville’s largest margin of victory since a 104-54 win vs. Southern on Nov. 13, 2018, and largest in a season opener since a 92-38 win vs. South Alabama on Nov. 18, 2001.
• Louisville’s 48 first-half points against Bellarmine on Nov. 19 were the most since leading Eastern Kentucky 50-32 at halftime on Dec. 14, 2019.
• In its season opener against Morehead State on Nov. 4, the Cardinals held the Eagles to a 23.1% clip from the floor. It’s the lowest field goal percentage of any Louisville opponent since Nov. 13, 2015 when the Cards held Samford to 21.0%.
• Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday, Dec. 2 after his dominant performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. It’s Louisville’s first Player of the Week accolade since Feb. 20, 2023. Over the three contests, Hepburn averaged 20 points per game, shooting 62.5% from the field, netting 20 of 32 attempts. He added a 77.8% clip from the charity stripe and totaled 16 assists against just nine turnovers
• In his Louisville debut, fifth-year senior Kasean Pryor logged a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds against Morehead State on Nov. 4. He is one of seven Cardinals since 1965 to produce a double-double in their first time on the court in a Louisville uniform
• The Cardinals are one of the more experienced teams in the country this season. Between the 17-man roster, the average amount of years in college basketball is 3.0 years with just two underclassmen on the roster.
• Louisville has just two underclassmen in freshman Khani Rooths and sophomore James Scott. Louisville is one of just 11 schools in DI that has two or fewer underclassmen on their roster, and the only Power Four school in that list.
• Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.
• Louisville returns just a single letterwinner to its roster in walk-on Aidan McCool. The program returns virtually 0% in all statistical categories from 2023-24. Louisville is one of five programs in the country returning 0% in scoring, rebounding and minutes played; the Cardinals are joined by DePaul, IU Indy, Iona and Kentucky.

Duke

• The Blue Devils rank 11th in the country in field goal percentage defense (.366), 15th in scoring defense (61.0), 16th in 3-pointers per game (10.9) and 17th in scoring margin (+20.1).
• KenPom ranks the Blue Devils No. 1 nationally in adjusted defense efficiency (89.1).
• Isaiah Evans exploded for 18 points in less than 11 minutes of action, connecting on 6-of-8 from behind the arc before intermission – the highest scoring half by a Blue Devil this season - to help lead Duke to an 84-78 win over No. 2 Auburn on Wednesday.
• Cooper Flagg tops Duke in points (133), rebounds (70), assists (33) and blocks (12).
• Tyrese Proctor has made two 3-pointers or more in all eight regular-season games, as well as both exhibition contests, to lead Duke with 25 triples.
• Proctor made a career-best five triples versus Kansas and is now shooting 46.3% from distance this season (25-of-54).
• Proctor was teammates with Louisville’s Aly Khalifa (Egypt) at the NBA Global Academy and played with Reyne Smith of the Cardinals in the Australian Institute of Sport.
• Mason Gillis played in his 140th collegiate game on Wednesday. He owns a 109-31 record during his games played at Duke and Purdue since 2020.
• Duke is the tallest team in the country, according to KenPom, with an average height of 79.6 inches, better than 6-7 per Blue Devil.
• Duke owns a 16-7 record on Dec. 8, having won five of its last six and eight of its last 10 games played on this date.
• Duke has won eight of the last 11 meetings with Louisville, including five straight, and leads the all-time series 15-9.
• Last Time Out: Aided by 18 first-half points from Isaiah Evans and a 22-point, 11-rebound, double-double from Cooper Flagg, No. 9 Duke defeated No. 2 Auburn, 84-78, inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
• Duke returns two starters from last season’s Elite Eight squad, junior Tyrese Proctor and sophomore Caleb Foster, while also signing the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class and also making four additions through the transfer portal.
• Duke’s six-player freshman class includes five top-25 players in 247Sports’ rankings, and consists of five-star prospects Cooper Flagg (6-9, G/F, Newport, Maine/Montverde Academy), Isaiah Evans (6-6, G/F, Fayetteville, N.C./North Mecklenburg HS), Kon Knueppel (6-7, G/F, Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran HS), Patrick Ngongba II (6-11, C, Manassas, Va./Paul VI Catholic) and Khaman Maluach (7-2, C, South Sudan, Africa/NBA Academy Africa), and four-star recruit Darren Harris (6-6, G/F, Herndon, Va./Paul VI Catholic).
• In the transfer portal, Duke added four-star transfers Sion James (6-6, G, Sugar Hill, Ga./Lanier HS/Tulane), Maliq Brown (6-9, F, Culpeper, Va./Blue Ridge HS/Syracuse) and Mason Gillis (6-6, F, New Castle, Ind./New Castle HS/Purdue) along with Cameron Sheffield (6-6, G/F, Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee HS/Rice).
• During a six-game stretch (Nov. 12-Dec. 4) before conference action begins, Duke played four teams that were ranked in the Associated Press preseason top-25 poll (No. 1 Kansas, No. 10 Arizona, No. 11 Auburn and No. 23 Kentucky) and were at least a 4-seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
• KenPom ranks the Blue Devils No. 1 nationally in adjusted defense efficiency (89.1).
• This season, Duke ranks 11th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.366) and 15th in the nation in scoring defense (61.0).
• Duke has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,233 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally.
• It has been more than 30 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai’i.
• Sion James played four seasons at Tulane - 114 career games with 107 starts, averaging +34 minutes per game. Posted a game-high plus-minus of +44 in Duke’s win over Army West Point (Nov. 8). In first start at Duke versus No. 2 Auburn (Dec. 4), tallied 9 points, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the win.
• Tyrese Proctor entered junior season with 68 games played, 59 starts and 2,030 minutes played at Duke. Made a career-high five 3-pointers versus Kansas (Nov. 26), shooting 5-of-7 from long distance. Has made two 3-pointers or more in all eight regular-season games, as wells as both exhibition contests.
• Kon Knueppel was named 2023-24 Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year, averaging 25.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Led Wisconsin Lutheran to a 30-0 record and a state championship title in senior season. Dished eight assists versus Kansas (Nov. 26) - the most by a Blue Devil since Dec. 2023.
• Cooper Flagg led Montverde Academy to a 33-0 record and the program’s eighth national title. Tops Blue Devils in points (133), rebounds (70), assists (33) and blocked shots (12). Posted two 20-10 double-doubles against ranked opponents - 26-11 vs. Kentucky and 22-11 vs. Auburn.
• Khaman Maluach is a five-star recruit ranked as the third overall prospect and top center by 247Sports. Joined NBA Academy Africa in 2021, having started playing basketball at the age of 13 years old. Competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics with his native country of South Sudan.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Kevin Jairaj - Imagn Images)

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