Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Wayne Blackshear stepped up in Montrezl Harrell's absence and scored a career-high 31 points to help No. 4 Louisville take down Cal State-Northridge, 80-55, in its final tune-up before Saturday's showdown with Kentucky.

Blackshear was given a larger role on Tuesday with Harrell, a preseason All- American, serving a one-game suspension and the senior delivered in a big way. Blackshear shot 11-for-17 from the floor, made six 3-pointers and pulled down six rebounds.

"He's a little streaky, but he shot the ball well today," said Northridge coach Reggie Theus. "Good for him, because I think he's a very good player and I think that's the one area where if he's more consistent, it's going to lengthen his career."

Terry Rozier added 16 points for the Cardinals (11-0), who will look to stay unbeaten when they host No. 1 Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center this weekend.

Stephen Maxwell and Stephan Hicks posted 20 and 19 points, respectively, for Northridge (3-10).

Blackshear scored Louisville's first 13 points, hitting 5-for-5 -- including three 3-pointers -- in the game's first 4:14. Out of the first media timeout, Chris Jones entered the scoring column with two free throws and the Cardinals led 15-2.

But Maxwell's three-point play sparked a 7-0 run to keep Northridge within striking distance. The teams played to a relative draw the rest of the first half, and Louisville led 36-25 at the break.

Hicks converted a pair of three-point plays less than a minute apart around a Jones jumper, and the Matadors were within 49-41 at 13:49.

The spread was nine when David Levitch's trey started a 17-1 run that gave Louisville a 25-point lead, and it emptied the bench while rolling to a comfortable win.

"David Levitch was unbelievable," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "He gave us a big lift in terms of what we were doing. He made the shots and that was nice but he knew what to run."