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Louisville to play first road game without Padgett

Nov 21, 2007 - 3:14 PM No. 6 Louisville (4-0) at UNLV (3-0) 9:00 pm EST

LAS VEGAS (Ticker) - Louisville has been impressive in the early going. They'll try to keep it up without their star center.

The sixth-ranked Cardinals will be without David Padgett when they visit UNLV in the Las Vegas Invitational on Wednesday.

Padgett could miss the remainder of the season with a fractured right kneecap, the school announced Monday. The senior suffered the injury in the first half of Sunday's 84-53 rout of Jackson State.

X-rays and an MRI revealed a non-displaced fracture of the right patella. The injury will take at least 10 weeks to heal, or require surgery.

"We're all devastated for David," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "This young man has worked so hard to come back from injuries in the past.

"The best-case scenario is that he could possibly come back in 10 weeks if the knee heals on its own."

Forwards Earl Clark and Terrence Williams, who combine to average 23 rebounds per game, will attempt to pick up the slack in Padgett's absence.

The Cardinals have won all four of their games by at least 27 points, but have yet to play on the road this season.

UNLV is unbeaten in three games this season and is led by senior Curtis Terry at 14.3 ppg and junior Wink Adams at 13.