Previewing Notre Dame vs. Louisville women's basketball. All you need to know

Louisville (19-8, 10-4 ACC) at No. 10 Notre Dame (20-4, 11-3)

• WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• WHERE: Purcell Pavilion (9,149), Notre Dame.
• TICKETS: Available.
• WATCH: ESPN.
• LISTEN: WQLQ (99.9 FM; link at UND.com).

Last game:An unlikely formula, some gnarly defense and Notre Dame tops Syracuse

ABOUT LOUISVILLE

The Cardinals, tied for third in the ACC with No. 11 Virginia Tech, have beaten the Irish six straight times over the last three years, including 73-47 and 86-64 runaways last season. All six of those meetings, though, did come with Louisville ranked in the top 10 — including top six in five instances— while this season’s team is not presently ranked. … The Cards stand 2-3 against ranked teams, including downing then-No. 3 Texas 71-63 in November and topping now-No. 19 North Carolina 62-55 last week as part of a current four-game winning streak. … While Louisville, receiving votes in both major polls, is not in the Top 25 of either, the Cards are seen more favorably in ESPN’s latest bracketing, as a No. 6 seed. … Louisville leaders include junior lefty and returning All-ACC first-teamer Hailey Van Lith (19.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 108-of-123 at the line for 88%) well-traveled grad guard Chrislyn Carr (11.4 ppg, 70-of-149 on 3s for an ACC-leading 47%), formerly of Texas Tech, Baylor and Syracuse; 6-2 grad swing Morgan Jones (10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 53% from the field), in from Florida State; 6-3 junior forward Olivia Cochran (8.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg); and grad guard Mykasa Robinson (5.2 ppg, 3.6 assists, 2.0 steals). … The Cards are 44th of 361 Division I teams in offensive efficiency, 111th defensively and 65th in rebound rate (the Irish are 26th, 18th and fifth). … Louisville coach Jeff Walz is 433-121 in his 16th season at the school with seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and two national title-game appearances. He’s 9-14 against ND, but 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME

ND’s six straight losses to Louisville mark the program’s longest active skid against anybody, and it’s exceeded all-time only by losing streaks against Tennessee (the first 20 meetings) and UConn (occasions of 12, 11 and seven). … Last winter’s wipeout losses came with the Irish rated No. 18 and No. 14 (the Cardinals were No. 3 and No. 4), while the previous four came with ND unranked. … The Irish demonstrated in their last outing, a 73-64 win over Syracuse, that they could prevail without Olivia Miles or Sonia Citron shooting well. The duo finished at a combined 20 points, a season low. They went just 7-of-21 from the field with one 3-pointer and 5-of-10 at the line. They headed into the contest at a combined 29.4 points per game, 50% from the field and 80% at the line. Riding to the rescue were the trio of Kylee Watson (15 points), Nat Marshall (seven) and Cass Prosper (seven) with a combined 29 points, more than double their combined average of 13.7 going in. They went a combined 10-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 at the line, too, after entering at 47% and 54% in those areas. … For the season, Miles is at 14.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, an ACC-pacing 7.2 assists and 2.1 steals; Citron 14.1 ppg and 5.9 rpg to go with 35-of-80 on 3s; Maddy Westbeld 11.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 1.4 blocks; Lauren Ebo 9.9 ppg and 7.0 rpg; and KK Bransford 8.1 ppg. … Ebo’s missed the last five with a lower body issue. According to a team spokesperson Wednesday, Ebo was still progressing, but “still day to day” regarding a return to game action. … ND, with four remaining, is one game behind 12-2 Duke for first in the ACC and battling to earn one of the league tourney’s four double byes. Besides the Cards and Virginia Tech both at 10-4, three other clubs are in the hunt at 9-5. … Thursday’s game will be the first of two against Louisville in 11 days, and will be followed by a trip to Pittsburgh for the second of two in 11 days against the Panthers.

Men's basketball:One more time at Duke for the Irish coach Mike Brey and Notre Dame nearly steals it

QUOTING COACH IVEY

“It gives you a bit more familiarity with the team when you play them in such close proximity, so it’s really great for scouting, to be honest, just because you’re familiar with their personnel. It gives me an opportunity to see what worked offensively and defensively, so I think it’s a positive.” — Niele Ivey, Notre Dame coach, on the bunched scheduling for the Louisville and Pitt matchups.

— By Anthony Anderson