Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. South Carolina State

The Cardinals open up the 2025-26 season by hosting the Bulldogs at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville Cardinals guard Kobe Rodgers (11) reacts after getting called for a foul as he and his teammates huddle during the Cards' 90-82 loss to Kansas during an exhibition game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Friday, October 24, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (0-0, 0-0 ACC) is set to tipoff the 2025-26 men's college basketball season, and face South Carolina State (0-0, 0-0 OVC) on Monday, Nov. 3 at 9:00 p.m. EST at the KFC Yum! Center. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Bulldogs:

*Mobile users can scroll left and right on the tables below*

Rankings

	SC State	UofL
AP/USAT	NR/NR	11th/10th
SOS	N/A	N/A
SOR	N/A	N/A
NET	N/A	N/A
RPI	N/A	N/A
BPI	TBD	TBD
KenPom	322nd	14th
Torvik	311th	11th
EvanMiya	324th	18th

Team Leaders (2024-25)

	SC State	UofL
Points	Drayton Jones (13.0)*	Terrence Edwards Jr. (16.7)*
Rebounds	Drayton Jones (5.5)*	J'Vonne Hadley (7.3)
Assists	Mitchell Taylor (2.5)*	Chucky Hepburn (5.8)*
Steals	Omar Croskey (1.3)*	Chucky Hepburn (2.4)*
Blocks	Drayton Jones (1.7)*	Kasean Pryor (1.1)

*non-returners

Scoring (2024-25)

	SC State	UofL
Points Per Game	79.5	78.5
Field Goal %	46.8	45.4
FGM/FGA Per Game	27.3/58.4	27.1/59.7
Three Point %	36.2	32.8
3PTM/3PTA Per Game	7.1/19.6	9.4/28.5
Free Throw %	70.9	74.6
FTM/FTA Per Game	17.8/25.1	15.0/20.1

Rebounding (2024-25)

	SC State	UofL
Rebounds Per Game	35.3	37.3
Off. Reb. Per Game	12.4	11.1
Def. Reb. Per Game	22.9	26.2
Rebound Margin	1.4	3.9

Defense (2024-25)

	SC State	UofL
Opp. Points Per Game	70.4	69.5
Opp. FG%	44.1	42.9
Opp. 3PT%	31.0	34.1
Steals Per Game	9.5	6.4
Blocks Per Game	3.5	2.9
Turnovers Forced Per Game	16.6	12.8

Ball Handling (2024-25)

	SC State	UofL
Assists Per Game	15.6	13.9
Turnovers Per Game	14.2	11.3
Turnover Margin	2.4	1.5
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.10	1.23

Predictions

- ESPN Prediction: Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, Louisville has a 99.6 percent chance to win against South Carolina State.

- KenPom Prediction: Per KenPom.com, the Cardinals have a 99.7 percent chance to take down the Bulldogs, with a projected final score of 94-64 in favor of UofL. Louisville has an adjusted efficiency margin of +24.13 (14th overall), whereas South Carolina State has an adjusted efficiency margin of -12.73 (322nd overall).

- Torvik Prediction: Per BartTorvik.com, the Cards have a 99 percent chance to take down the Bulldogs, with a projected final score of 95-62 in favor of UofL. Louisville has a "Barthag" of .9278 (11th overall), whereas South Carolina State has a "Barthag" of .2331 (311st overall).

- Personal Prediction: Louisville 98, Morehead State 69.

(Photo of Louisville Players: Matt Stone - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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