LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Samford University basketball team will face its highest-ranked opponent in nearly six years Thursday as the Bulldogs travel to Louisville, Ky., for a difficult early-season matchup against the second-ranked Louisville Cardinals to be held at 6 p.m. (CST) at the KFC Yum! Center (22,000).
 
The game can be heard locally on ESPN 97.3 FM The Zone and will be broadcast live via the Internet on ESPN3. The DISH Network will air the game on MASN (Channel 432) and will replay the contest at 10:30 p.m., on Thursday and at 9 a.m., Friday.
 
Samford (1-1) will face its highest-ranked opponent since Nov. 10, 2006, when the Bulldogs played at the No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Florida at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. Samford was defeated by No. 1 Florida, 79-54.
 
The current Bulldogs head into Thursday's showdown riding the positive momentum of a 59-40 home victory against Martin Methodist on Monday.
 
In Samford's win, which was the first of Head Coach Bennie Seltzer's high-rising young career, the Bulldogs' Tim Williams tallied his second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Against Austin Peay on Friday, Samford's true freshman forward finished with 23 points and 10 boards. Sophomore Raijon Kelly also added 12 points against Martin Methodist.
 
Samford scored the first 11 points of Monday's game and led 25-5 with 8:33 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs extended their first-half lead to 24 points, 33-9, and went into the half holding a lopsided 35-13 advantage.
 
Samford came out a bit sluggish in the second period and Martin Methodist used a layup from Jeremy Rodgers to trim the Bulldogs' lead to 39-22 with 13:25 remaining in the game.
 
Connor Miller, Clide Geffrard, Jr., and Williams quickly responded for Samford to extend its lead to 46-22 as the Bulldogs never led by less than 20 points until the Redhawks' Brandon Hunter hit a jumper in the final seconds to make the final score, 59-40.
 
Louisville (1-0), the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, played its first game of the 2012-13 campaign Sunday and cruised to a 79-51 home triumph against Manhattan.
 
In their dominant victory, the Cardinals finished with three players scoring in double figures and were paced by 23 points from junior guard Russ Smith. Louisville's Peyton Siva and Kevin Ware also added 10 points apiece in their season-opener.
 
Samford will square off against Louisville for the first time in school history Thursday.
 
The Bulldogs will face one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation this season. Four of Samford's 13 out-of-conference games are against opponents ranked in the top-20. Two of those opponents are currently ranked in the top five.
 
On Thursday, the Bulldogs face No. 2-ranked Louisville, and just two days later, Samford will face another top-20 opponent as the Bulldogs square off against the 16th-ranked Memphis Tigers at the FedExForum on Saturday.
 
In December, Samford is slated to play yet another pair of top-20 opponents with road games at Kentucky and Wisconsin. Heading into the 2012-13 campaign, the defending national champion Kentucky was the No. 4-ranked team in the nation, while Wisconsin came in ranked No. 17 in the preseason polls. The Bulldogs will play at Kentucky on Dec. 4 and at Wisconsin on Dec. 29.
 
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 627-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA.
 
The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 848-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (840) and Kentucky (833) are the only other two schools that have made at least one
3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
Samford returning starters Tyler Hood, Will Cook and Kelly are all listed among the Bulldogs' active leaders in points, rebounds, assists and 3-point field goals. Heading into the 2012-13, campaign, steals is the only major category that all three of the aforementioned players aren't ranked among the top three on Samford's roster.
 
Hood currently leads all active players in points (351) and 3-point field goals (42), while he is listed second on the team in rebounds (119). Cook, the Bulldogs' junior guard from Dallas, Texas, leads Samford in rebounds (192) and is also listed second on the squad in both points (298) and 3-point field goals (41).
 
Kelly, Samford's dynamic sophomore point guard, leads the team in both assists (79) and steals (27), and is second on the squad in points (304). He is also ranked third in rebounds (90) and 3-point field goals (36).
 
The Bulldogs' fourth returning player listed among the team's active leaders is junior guard Gregg Wooten. Wooten, who is coming off a medical redshirt season, is currently ranked second on the team in both assists (56) and steals (24), as well as fifth on the squad on 3-point field goals (14).
 
Following Thursday's highly-anticipated matchup with second-ranked Louisville, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Memphis, Tenn., for another difficult early-season showdown against the 16^th-ranked Memphis Tigers at the FedExForum.