University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Louisville
January 30, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Louisville (GoCards.com)
Rankings: No. 14 KenPom, No. 10 AP
Location: Louisville, Ky.
2014-15 Record: 17-3, 5-2 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 10-3 (UNC 72, Louisville 71, Jan. 10, 2015, Smith Center)
The final day of January brings the first rematch of the 2014-15 season, as Carolina returns the trip to Louisville to face the Cardinals for the second time in three weeks. In Chris Jones, Terry Rozier, Wayne Blackshear, Montrezl Harrell and the combination of Chinanu Onuaku and Mango Mathiang, the Cardinals boast one of the most consistent first-team lineups in the league. While the personnel hasn't changed since Jan. 10, Louisville's profile has shifted a bit.
While still a top-10 defensive unit nationally for the season, the Cardinal offense has actually been more productive in conference play. UofL is making 53 percent of its 2-point attempts against ACC opponents, the top mark in the league. And despite ranking 10th in the league in 3-point shooting in conference play, Rozier and Jones are both connecting on at least 40 percent of their shots from deep.
Rozier has been especially effective in ACC games, as the sophomore guard has averaged 20.0 points per game. He has made almost 53 percent of his 2s - a great number for a player his size - while turning the ball over just 10 times despite playing more than 33 minutes per game. In wins against Pitt and Boston College, Rozier was 15-25 from 2 and 4-6 from 3.
Rebounding has been a problem on both ends during conference play. Louisville ranks ninth in offensive rebounding percentage (30.7%), while opponents are grabbing 33.7 percent of their misses to put the Cards in 11th on the defensive glass. Harrell is still Louisville's top defensive rebounder, while Mathiang and Onuaku have both been outstanding on the offensive end.
Getting to the line against ACC teams has proven more difficult as well. Louisville's free throw rate (FTA/FGA) is down almost 10 percent in conference games vs. the season as a whole, though the Cardinals are making a much high percentage of their attempts (70.9% in league games vs. 66.6% overall).
UofL is 3-1 since the 1-point loss in Chapel Hill, and the Cardinals have taken care of business on the road against a pair of teams from the bottom half of the league. But they are still in search of a signature win in 2014-15 after dropping a top-10 showdown at home to Duke on Jan. 17. Saturday marks the first of four opportunities for wins against the top four teams in the league, three of which will come at the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville closes the regular with a pair of monster home games - Notre Dame on March 4 and Virginia on March 7.
