Louisville Set to Face Duke Sunday -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Celebrate New Year's with Games

Unlike the winter break that collegiate athletics teams usually get over the Christmas holiday (unless there's a bowl game in that time frame), New Year's Eve and Day are just more days on the calendar. Louisville men's basketball will face Kentucky today in a game that opened with a 22.5 spread and has already been bet up to UK -23.5. We don't need to talk about that one at all. Maybe Louisville will manage to cover.

Louisville women's basketball will have a challenge of their own tomorrow when they face Duke on the road. The Blue Devils are 12-1 this year with the lone loss coming on a neutral court against Connecticut. Their wins aren't necessarily stunning, but they have beaten three teams from Big 6 conferences in out of conference play and their last game was a 14-point road win over 6th-ranked NC State on Thursday . Kara Lawson has the team playing well on both ends, as they're averaging 71.8 ppg and allowing just 49.8. While there have been a few games swinging those averages a bit, they didn't score fewer than 66 points in December and haven't allowed more than 58, which came against NC State. 

The Cards will have the tough task of facing the unfriendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium for this one, where Duke is undefeated this season. With both teams playing their last game on Thursday and having the same amount of rest, this one will be a straight-up matchup. Louisville is quite familiar with one key contributor on the team, as Elizabeth Balogun is second on the team in scoring despite just seven starts. She has played in all 13 games and has the fourth most minutes, though, so it's clear she is the first player off the bench. Balogun is one of eleven transfers on the Duke roster, which is almost double the number of players that originally started in Durham. With six grad transfers and two seniors, Duke is looking to make the most of this season. Louisville will have their hands full as they try to rain on the Blue Devils' parade.

The game is set to air on ACC Network Extra and tips off at noon eastern. 

No Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

As we discussed last week, we won't have a podcast this week as we take off the last day of the year. If you haven't had the chance to listen to last week's episode yet, it was an annual retrospective, so it's still plenty relevant. We should be back next week with more in the joy and excitement of UofL Women's Athletics.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)