No. 2 University of Louisville women's basketball travels to South Bend, Ind. to face No. 1 Notre Dame on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET.
At 14-0, Louisville is one of three undefeated teams in the country, joined by NC State (15-0) and Ohio (12-0).
UofL is seeking its first win over a No. 1 team since their 82-81 victory over No. 1 Baylor in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals are 1-10 all-time against AP No. 1 teams (0-10 vs. UConn, 1-0 vs. Baylor). Last season, Louisville fell 69-58 at No. 1 Connecticut on Feb. 12, 2018.
It marks the first time that Louisville has ever participated in a game that features No. 1 and No. 2 in the country. This marks the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup that hasn't featured UConn since 2012 when No. 1 Baylor defeated No. 2 Stanford in the NCAA semifinals, 59-47, on April 1 in Denver.
No. 1 teams are 36-22 all-time against No. 2 teams. In the last matchup, No. 2 Connecticut beat No. 1 Notre Dame 89-71 in South Bend on Dec. 2, 2018. It marks the fourth time that two ACC teams have squared off as No. 1 vs. No. 2 (2007 - No. 1 Duke 64, No. 2 North Carolina 53 at Chapel Hill; 2006 - No. 2 North Carolina 77, No. 1 Duke 65 at Chapel Hill; 1992 - No. 2 Virginia 75, No. 1 Maryland 74 at College Park).
For the fourth time in five tries, UofL has opened ACC play with a 2-0 record. The only season where they didn't open 2-0 was 2016-17 when they opened 1-1 following a win over Syracuse (W, 91-76) and a loss at Duke (L, 58-55).
In the 73-51 over Duke, Louisville held the Blue Devils to less than 15 points in each quarter (1st-11, 2nd-12, 3rd-13, 4th-15) and limited Duke to a season-low 16 field goals, two 3-point field goals, and a .154 3-point field goal percentage.
Arica Carter averaged 18.5 points per game, while shooting 10-15 from deep, in wins over North Carolina and Duke to open ACC play.
In the win over UNC, she proved huge down the stretch to stave off the Tar Heels run and finished with 14 points on 4-8 shooting, 3-5 from deep, while adding three assists. In the win at Duke, she knocked down three 3-pointers in the first couple minutes to help the Cardinals jump out to an 11-2 lead. She finished the game with a career-high 23 points, while connecting on a career-high seven 3-pointers, going 7-10 from beyond the arc.
She ranks fourth on the team with 10.1 points per game and is shooting 31-62 (.500) from distance, which leads ACC and ranks fourth in the country.
Louisville has won 11 straight ACC road games.
ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame enters Thursday's contest with a 14-1 overall record, 2-0 in conference. They have won seven straight since their 89-71 loss to UConn at home on Dec. 2 and moved up to No. 1 in the AP poll this week following Connecticut's 68-57 loss at Baylor on Jan. 3.
The Fighting Irish rank second in the nation in field goal percentage (52.6), second in free throws made (342), third in scoring offense (89.1), sixth in scoring margin (25.6), sixth in assists per game (20.1) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.42). They lead the ACC in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, blocked shots (5.1), assists (20.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Arike Ogunbowale, the 2018 NCAA Tournament MOP and 2018-19 ACC Preseason Player of the Year, leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the country with 22.1 points per game. She is one of five players averaging double figures and is joined by Jessica Shepard (15.4), Jackie Young (15.3), Marina Mabrey (14.3) and Brianna Turner (12.9). Shepard ranks fourth in the ACC with 9.5 rebounds per game and fifth with a 60.5 field goal percentage. Turner leads the ACC with 2.2 blocks per game.
Series History - UofL is 6-14 all-time against Notre Dame and 2-5 in South Bend. Prior to winning both games against the Fighting Irish last season, the Cards had lost 11 straight to Notre Dame. They won 100-67 at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 11, 2018 and then beat the Irish in the ACC Tournament Final 74-72 on March 4, 2018. Louisville has lost four straight in South Bend with their last win on Jan. 11, 2009 (W, 71-66). Walz is 3-12 against Notre Dame (1-4 home, 1-4 away, 1-4 neutral).
Date: Thursday, Jan. 10
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Joyce Center, South Bend, Ind. (9,149)
Radio: WKRD-790, Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst
Video: ESPN, Adam Amin, play-by-play; Kara Lawson, Rebecca Lobo, analysts; Holly Rowe, sideline
Last Meeting: W, 74-72 (March 4, 2018 at ACC Tourney Final)
Series History: 6-14 (2-5 Home, 2-5 Away, 2-4 Neutral)
UofL National Ranking: 2nd Associated Press, 2nd USA Today