Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Eastern Kentucky

Take a look at how the Cardinals stack up against the Colonels for their Saturday matchup, and who the statistical models favor:

Matthew McGavic | Points Per Game

Louisville's Khani Rooths (9) shoots against Duke during their game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 8, 2024. / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (7-5, 1-1 ACC) is set to face Eastern Kentucky (6-6, 0-0 ASUN) on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 12:00 p.m. EST at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Colonels:

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

Rankings

	E. Kentucky	Louisville
AP/USAT	NR/NR	NR/NR
SOS	183rd	9th
SOR	200th	62nd
BPI	254th	60th
NET	198th	53rd
RPI	227th	26th
KenPom	227th	50th
Torvik	154th	46th
EvanMiya	231st	53rd

Team Leaders

	E. Kentucky	Louisville
Points	Devontae Blanton (16.4)	Chucky Hepburn (15.3)
Rebounds	Devontae Blanton (6.1)	J'Vonne Hadley (7.8)
Assists	Devontae Blanton (3. 8)	Chucky Hepburn (5.1)
Steals	George Kimble (2.9)	Chucky Hepburn (2.9)
Blocks	Yvens Paul (1.6)	James Scott 0.8

Scoring

	E. Kentucky	Louisville
Points Per Game	77.0	78.0
Field Goal %	41.9%	43.3%
FGM/FGA Per Game	28.2/67.3	26.2/60.4
Three Point %	31.8%	29.8%
3FTM/FTA Per Game	9.4/29.6	9.6/32.2
Free Throw %	66.5%	71.7%
FTM/FTA Per Game	11.3/16.9	16.1/22.4

Rebounding

	E. Kentucky	Louisville
Devontae Blanton 16.4	38.3	37.3
Off. Reb. Per Game	15.8	12.4
In this story	22.5	24.9
Rebound Margin	0.1	3.6

Defense

	E. Kentucky	Louisville
Opp. Points Per Game	75.0	71.3
Opp. FG%	46.8%	45.1%
Opp. 3PT%	35.6%	35.8%
Steals Per Game	9.8	7.3
Blocks Per Game	3.7	2.8
JVonne Hadley 7.8	15.6	14.6

Ball Handling

	E. Kentucky	Louisville
Assists Per Game	13.5	13.4
Turnovers Per Game	11.2	12.1
Turnover Margin	4.4	2.5
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.2	1.1

Predictions

- ESPN Prediction: Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, Louisville has a 95.6 percent chance to win against Eastern Kentucky. The Cardinals have a BPI rating of 9.8 (60th overall), whereas the Colonels have a BPI rating of -5.3 (254th overall).

- KenPom Prediction: Per KenPom.com, the Cardinals have a 94 percent chance to take down the Colonels, with a projected final score of 86-69 in favor of UofL. Louisville has an adjusted efficiency margin of +15.05 (50th overall), whereas Eastern Kentucky has an adjusted efficiency margin of -5.07 (227th overall).

- Torvik Prediction: Per BartTorvik.com, the Cards have a 90 percent chance to take down the Colonels, with a projected final score of 85-69 in favor of UofL. Louisville has a "Barthag" of .8412 (46th overall), whereas Eastern Kentucky has a "Barthag" of .5033 (154th overall).

- Personal Prediction: Def. Reb. Per Game.

(Def. Reb. Per Game)

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MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat.He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover.Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic