Grand Canyon @ Louisville preview

Grand Canyon at Louisville

Last Meeting ( Dec 3, 2016 ) Louisville 79, Grand Canyon 70

With five straight wins, Louisville is building momentum for the challenges ahead – namely its annual rivalry game with Kentucky on Dec. 29 and the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play four days later. But first, the Cardinals have one more pre-Christmas tune-up on the docket: Saturday’s home nonconference finale against Grand Canyon.

The Cardinals’ most recent win was one of their toughest as they overcame an 8:43 second-half scoring drought to rally past visiting Albany 70-68 on Wednesday night. Senior guard Quentin Snider scored 18 points to pace Louisville, but it was the Cardinals’ play on the defensive end which ultimately proved to be the difference as they swatted away 10 shots – including a career-high-matching nine by senior forward Anas Mahmoud – and limited the Great Danes to 36.5-percent shooting from the floor. Louisville ranks second nationally with 8.6 blocks per game with the 7-foot Mahmoud also ranked second with 4.45 swats per outing. “I think when our guys were getting those offensive rebounds, they felt like they were in a forest,” Albany coach Will Brown said afterward. “Just looking up at all those trees, there wasn’t any place to shoot the ball.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra

ABOUT GRAND CANYON (9-3): The Dan Majerle-coached Antelopes, the preseason favorites to win the Western Athletic Conference, have won four of five as they enter a stretch of three road/neutral-site games in eight days to close out nonconference play. Guards Joshua Braun (14.3 points per game) and Casey Benson (10.8) are averaging double figures, but defense has been the hallmark for the Antelopes so far. In holding nine of its 12 opponents to 61 points or fewer, Grand Canyon is tied for fifth nationally in scoring defense (59.2) while ranking 38th in field-goal percentage defense (39.1) and third in 3-point defense (26.3 percent).

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (9-2): Led by forward Deng Adel’s 15.7 points, all five Cardinals starters are averaging at least 8.9 per outing. Snider (12.3) is the only other player averaging double figures, and he also leads the team with 42 assists (3.8 per contest) and 19 3-pointers. Ray Spalding, a 6-foot-10 forward, is averaging a team-most 9.0 rebounds for the Cardinals, who rank 13th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (37.4).

TIP-INS

1. The teams have met in each of the last three seasons, with Louisville romping 111-63 at home in 2015 and winning 79-70 last season in Phoenix.

2. The Cardinals have won 62 of their last 64 home nonconference games, including an 8-1 mark this season, losing only to Seton Hall 79-77 on Dec. 3.

3. Vernon Keonta, a 6-foot-6 forward, is averaging a team-best 7.2 rebounds for Grand Canyon, which owns a plus-4 average rebound margin.

PREDICTION: Louisville 72, Grand Canyon 63