After a pair of unexpected losses on Wednesday, No. 6 Louisville and No. 22 Indiana look for a statement win in a highly anticipated hoops battle in Indianapolis. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, the latest on the point spread and three things to watch out for.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — It's a rare day when a high-profile basketball border war like Indiana and Louisville takes a back seat as an opening act, but that's certainly the case on Saturday.
In what just might be coolest day in Indiana sports history, the 2 p.m. ET basketball game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse is just a warm-up for the Hoosiers' huge No. 1 vs. No. 2 college football game against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. It's a full day for Hoosiers fans — and sports writers — to be sure.
But make no bones about it, Indiana's basketball game with Louisville is still huge. Both teams are looking to get back to national prominence and it's part of a huge day of hoops on national TV. This was supposed to be a battle of unbeatens, but No. 6 Louisville and No. 22 Indiana both were upset as favorites on Wednesday night.
Indiana started 7-0, but their schedule was pretty soft, especially after Marquette and Kansas State turned out to be worse than we expected them to be. Louisville has nice wins over Kentucky and Cincinnati, but we also have to question their resumes now, too.
So that makes Saturday a good statement game for someone. Here's what you need to know about the game:
How to watch Indiana vs. Louisville
Who: No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers (7-1) vs. No. 6 Louisville Cardinals (7-1)
What: Nationally televised nonconference game between two ranked teams.
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2:15 p.m. ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: CBS — Tom McCarthy (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst), Clark Kellogg (analyst)
Point spread: Louisville is a 4.5-point favorite; the over/under is 159.5 points, according to the Fanduel.com gambling website.
Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series, 12-10. They played last November in the Bahamas, with Louisville cruising to an easy 89-61 win. This is the fourth meeting in Indianapolis, and Louisville has won two of three games.
3 things to know about Saturday's game
BOUNCING BACK FROM LOSSES: This was supposed to be a high-profile meeting of college basketball unbeatens, but both Indiana and Louisville got beat on Wednesday night. Indiana lost at Minnesota in their Big Ten opener, and Louisville lost at Arkansas in the ACC/SEC Challenge. After the bad losses, both teams will look to bounce back in Indy, because neither one of them will want to talk about the start of a losing streak.
PLAYING WITH PACE: Indiana struggling to adapt to Minnesota's plodding, physical play on Wednesday night, and scored just 64 points, 25 below their season average. Louisville likes to play fast, so this should be a lot of fun, up-and-down basketball. Louisville is No. 9 in the country in scoring average at 94.6 points per game. Indiana is down to 86.4 points per game, though they have scored 100 points or more three times already this season.
GETTING WILKERSON GOING: Indiana coach Darian DeVries said he isn't worried about guard Lamar Wilkersons' shooting slump, but it's starting to get a bit prolonged. He made 11 combined threes in Indiana's first two wins, but in the last six games he's just 8-for-31 from deep, just 25.8 percent. After top scorer Tucker DeVries, Wilkerson needs to be that guy who steps up for the Hoosiers offense.