Louisville vs. Indiana prediction, pick, odds, spread: Cardinals meet Hoosiers as both look to bounce back
CBS has a full day of college hoops on tap Saturday with Louisville-Indiana among the headliners
By
Kyle Boone
•
2 min read
CBS will be the place to have your TV set on Saturday for college hoops. An incredible day of action kicks off at noon ET with No. 1 Purdue and No. 10 Purdue followed by another ranked-on-ranked tilt -- this one from Indiana, America -- as No. 6 Louisville faces No. 22 Indiana in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The sixth-ranked Cardinals are coming off their first loss of the season on Wednesday on the road at Arkansas and looking to shake off the funk after getting blitzed on the boards and giving up countless second-chance opportunities. The 22nd-ranked Hoosiers, meanwhile, are out to prove they belong back among college basketball royalty after a hot start that has included wins over Marquette and Kansas State. They, too, are coming off their first loss earlier this week but will be back in familiar territory in a de facto home game that, officially, is being deemed a neutral site game.
Where to watch Louisville vs. Indiana live
Date: Saturday, December 6 | Time: 2:15 p.m. ET
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse -- Indianapolis
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
Streaming on Paramount+ Premium
Louisville vs. Indiana: Need to know
Coming off losses: Louisville opened its season 7-0 with wins over Kentucky and Cincinnati, among others, before its 89-80 loss Wednesday at Arkansas. The Cardinals trailed the entire game. Indiana also opened its season 7-0 and also lost its first game of the season Wednesday, 73-64 at Minnesota. The Hoosiers missed six of their seven final shots from the field in the loss and were on the losing side of the rebounding battle 40-25.
Strength vs. strength: Louisville's mighty offense vs. Indiana's mighty defense could and should be the central plotline of this game and the major battle that decides this one. Louisville is scoring 125.4 points per 100 possessions, fourth nationally, with an offense that is among the most heavy 3-point attacks in the country. Indiana's no slouch itself on offense but it is its defense, which is top-10 in effective field goal percentage defense and top-five in 2-point percentage allowed, that has been its secret weapon. IU's defense is 17th in adjusted efficiency metrics at KenPom.
Depth aplenty: Louisville has four players averaging double figures on the season led by Ryan Conwell and his 19.5 PPG average -- eclipsed by an even deeper top-half rotation by Indiana that has five players averaging double figures in scoring. IU's leading scorer Tucker DeVries (yes, coach Darian DeVries' son) leads the team at 16.8 PPG. He's one of two starters averaging 40% or better on 3-pointers this season.
Louisville vs. Indiana prediction, picks
I was fully prepared to lay the points with Louisville as a narrow road favorite but 5.5 seems like a touch too high of a number for what is effectively an Indiana home game. This won't be an easy win for Louisville if it gets it, either, because this hot IU start is not some mirage. Hoosiers are very good and Darian DeVries can coach. I'm taking Louisville to win in a close one, but as far as the spread is concerned I'd take the points on the home dog. That 5.5 number is a lot. Pick: Indiana +5.5 -- Boone
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| LVILLE -5.5 |  | |  | | | |
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