DePaul vs Louisville Betting Lines NCAAB

There is no college football action this Friday and the only major NCAA game on the slate in basketball features DePaul of the Big East visiting Louisville of the ACC in an intriguing matchup. The Cards are favored on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet DePaul at Louisville NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 8 PM ET
Where: KFC Yum! Center
TV: ACC Network
Stream: ACC Network Extra
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Louisville -9 (total 143)

Series History

Louisville has a 38-21 advantage over DePaul in the series which dates back to 1957. The Cardinals were 23-2 against the Blue Demons when the two teams were in the same conference (1995-2005 in Conference USA, 2006-2013 in the Big East). Louisville has won the last 10, including a 79-58 victory in the last meeting on Feb. 27, 2013.

Why Bet on DePaul?

DePaul has not been a good team the past few years but is off to a 7-1 start – the Blue Demons haven’t played the toughest schedule, though, so it’s hard to know what they are. DePaul comes off an 87-67 home win over Duquesne on Tuesday. The 51-point second half marked the fourth time this season scoring at least 50 points in a half.

Javon Freeman-Liberty led DePaul with a game-high 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes of action. Nick Ongenda and Brandon Johnson netted 13 points apiece, while the pair of big men grabbed six and four rebounds, respectively. Philmon Gebrewhit rounded out the Blue Demons in double figures with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Yor Anei’s 11 rebounds marked his first 10-rebound game of the season (seventh career). His career high is 12 rebounds on two occasions, most recently against Western Michigan on Nov. 22, 2019.

“I’ve got to get Yor on the floor a little bit more,” said coach Tony Stubblefield. “If we have to do some things with Yor and Nick out there, we are prepared to do that. I think those guys can play with one another.”

Freeman-Liberty is ranked in the top four in the BIG EAST in scoring (1st), defensive rebounds (1st), minutes (2nd), rebounding (2nd), assist-to-turnover ratio (t3rd) and steals (t4th). In the NCAA rankings, he is ranked 12^th nationally in scoring and is the only player among the top 65 in rebounds per game under 6-foot-5. Freeman-Liberty is tied for 55th in rebounding. Freeman-Liberty was selected as the Big East Player of the Week in the first two weeks of the season.

DePaul is now 33-7 against non-Big East opponents in the last three-plus seasons. The Demons are under a new coach in Stubblefield. He came from the University of Oregon and was an assistant to longtime Oregon head coach Dana Altman. Prior to his years with the Ducks, he was also an assistant coach at both the University of Cincinnati and New Mexico State University.

DePaul is 30th in the nation in blocked shots per game (5.5), 33rd in rebound margin (+7.9), 29th in field goal percentage (.492) and 31st in defensive rebounding (29.1).

“They’re a challenge,” Louisville head coach Chris Mack said of DePaul “They play fast, they’ve got some talented players, I think they’re playing well together. They run their offense in a way that spaces a floor pretty well, they run some good actions and have some counters for that.”

Why Bet on Louisville?

Despite this game taking place over a month into the season, it will be Louisville coach Chris Mack’s first regular season game this year coaching at the KFC! Yum Center. He served a six-game suspension to start the season.

The Cardinals (6-2) come off an impressive 73-68 win at NC State on Saturday. Matt Cross blocked a 3-pointer and made a 3-pointer in the final minute, and Louisville scored the game’s final nine points. North Carolina State did not score after a 3-pointer by Jericole Hellems with 3:02 to go had given the Wolfpack a 68-64 lead. They missed 10 of their last 11 shots.

Malik Williams, second in the ACC in rebounding, produced his seventh career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Williams needs nine points for 700 in his career. Jarrod West handed out his 450th career assist with six assists against NC State. He is third in the nation in career steals among active players with 267, including 13 in his first eight games at Louisville.

Louisville had its top three-point shooting day of the season, knocking down a season-best 11 shots from outside. The 11 makes are the most since hitting 14 against Wake Forest on Feb. 5, 2020. Louisville held NC State to just 40 percent (24-for-60) shooting, the fifth UofL opponent to shoot 40 percent or lower through eight games.

The Cardinals dominated on the glass, finishing plus-16 (46-30) in rebounding. UofL is 5-0 this season when outrebounding the opposition. Louisville grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, its fifth consecutive game with at least 10 on the offensive glass.

Williams, a preseason All-ACC second team selection, has grabbed at least eight rebounds in seven of the first eight games. is second in the ACC in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and seventh in the nation in defensive rebounding (7.9 per game). Dre Davis has averaged 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds over the last five games, UofL’s top scorer in that stretch (11 pts., 7 reb. at NC State).

Six different players have led the Cardinals in scoring in Louisville’s eight games. Louisville has produced nine or more steals in five of its eight games. The Cardinals are sixth in the ACC in steals (8.0 per game). Louisville has held seven of its first eight opponents under 43 percent from the field this season and four under 40 percent. The Cardinals lead the ACC and are 50th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.387).