The Louisville Cardinals and the SMU Mustangs meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the Moody Coliseum. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an SMU vs Louisville Prediction.
Louisville Recap
The Louisville Cardinals come into this game looking to build on an 81-67 win over Virginia last time out to improve to 14-5 on the year. After this game, Louisville will head back home for a matchup with Wake Forest.
Cardinals Win 8th In A Row
Chucky Hepburn leads the Cardinals in scoring and assists with 15.2 PPG and 5.8 APG along with 3.3 RPG and 2.6 SPG while Reyne Smith has 13.6 PPG with 3 RPG and Kasean Pryor has 12 PPG with 6.1 RPG but is expected to miss the rest of the season with an injury. Terrence Edwards Jr. has 13.5 PPG with 3.9 RPG and 2.2 APG and J’Vonne Hadley also has 11.8 PPG with a team-high 7.6 RPG to lead the Cardinals on the glass, also rounding out the group of double-digit scorers for Louisville so far this season. As a team, Louisville is averaging 78.4 PPG on 43.7% shooting from the field, 30.7% from three, and 73.3% from the foul line this season.
Why the Louisville Cardinals will win
- Louisville has won each of its last nine games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- SMU has lost each of its last eight games against AP-ranked opponents.
SMU Recap
The SMU Mustangs come into this game hoping to add to their 117-74 blowout win over Miami last time out to improve to 14-4 on the year. After this game, SMU will head on the road to take on NC State.
Mustangs Win Third In A Row
Boopie Miller leads the Mustangs in scoring and assists with 14.7 PPG and 6 APG while Chuck Harris has 12.4 PPG and Matt Cross has 10.6 PPG with a team-high 8 RPG to lead the Mustangs on the glass up to this point in the year. B.J. Edwards has 10.4 PPG with 3.7 RPG and 3.4 APG along with 2.4 SPG as well on the year to cap off the scoring in double figures for SMU so far this season. Samet Yigitoglu has 9.6 PPG with 6.6 RPG and Yohan Traore has 8.2 PPG with 4.4 RPG while Karlo Oquendo has 9.6 PPG with 2.8 RPG. As a team, SMU is averaging 84.8 PPG on 48.6% shooting from the field, 38.6% from three, and 72.3% from the foul line this season.
Why the SMU Mustangs will win
- SMU has won 10 of its last 11 night games at Moody Coliseum (Dallas).
- Louisville has lost 24 of its last 32 night games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Louisville’s last six night games against Conference opponents has produced a total of 153 or fewer points.
- Seven of SMU’s last eight games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 151 or fewer points.
SMU vs Louisville Prediction
I’m with Louisville here. The Cardinals have really shown signs that they’ve improved in a lot of their recent games, as they’ve managed to go 4-0 SU in conference road games so far. I know the ACC may not be as strong as in past seasons, but there are still some tough teams to go through, and Louisville has shown they’re up to the task. I’m not all that enthused with SMU’s recent games and while they’ve been decent at home, catching the Cards in the underdog/coin-flip role is too good for me to pass on here. Give me Louisville.