University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Louisville
February 1, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Rankings: UofL - No. 8 KenPom, No. 19 AP; UNC - No. 4 KenPom, No. 2 AP
Records: UofL - 17-4, 6-2 ACC; UNC - 18-2, 7-0 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 11-4 (UNC 70, Louisville 60, March 12, 2015, Greensboro Coliseum)
Despite coming off a game in which his Cardinals scored just 14 points in the first half, Rick Pitino was primarily concerned with his team's defense in the aftermath of the 63-47 home loss to Virginia on Saturday. This despite the fact that Louisville ranks sixth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com entering Monday night's contest.
A closer look, however, reveals that Pitino may be justified in his focus on defense. The Cardinals have allowed more than 1.00 PPP in three straight games for the first time all season, including 1.09 (71 points in 65 possessions) in a win at Georgia Tech and 1.12 (83 in 74) in a win at Virginia Tech. To make matters worse, Louisville faces Carolina, Duke and Notre Dame - the top three teams nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency - over its next four games. The continued absence of 6-10 junior Mangok Mathiang after surgery to repair a broken foot also deprives the Cardinals of their second-best shot blocker.
Chinanu Onuaku leads the Louisville front line on both ends of the court. The 6-10 sophomore has made better than 61 percent of his field goals (all 2s) in ACC play and also rates as the league's fourth-best shot blocker (8.6 percent of opponent 2s are swatted when he's on the floor) and its second-best defensive rebounder (28.0 DR%). He's even been fairly reliable at the line in conference games, making 13 of 20 attempts with a new approach you may have heard about.
With Mathiang likely out until late February, a rotation of underclassmen are filling out the other interior role. Sophomores Jaylen Johnson and Anas Mahmoud and freshman Raymond Spalding all average double-figure minutes, and freshman Deng Adel had by far his most productive game last time out against Virginia (12 points, five rebounds in 21 minutes).
Louisville boasts a pair of graduate transfers in the backcourt, and the duo of Damion Lee and Trey Lewis is making the most of its one year under Pitino. Lee, who was a first-team All-CAA performer last season at Drexel, leads the Cardinals with 16.7 points per game and makes 56 percent of his 2s, 36 percent of his 3s and 87 percent of his free throws. Lewis, a sharpshooter who spent two seasons at Cleveland State after starting at Penn State, is a 40 percent shooter from deep.
Sophomore Quentin Snider rounds out the starting five and he will be looking to make amends for a rough performance his last time out against the Tar Heels. As a freshman point guard in the ACC quarterfinals, Snider scored four points in 38 minutes and was 0 of 5 from beyond the arc. Long-distance shooting has not been an issue for Snider so far in 2016, as the sophomore has made 52 percent of his 3s through eight league games to rank third in the league.
Louisville has been a tough team to figure out so far. This looked like a possible rebuilding year in the fall, but an 11-1 start with a very impressive showing in a loss at Michigan State recalibrated expectations. Even at 17-4, however, it's hard to know how good this team is. Much like Carolina, the Cards are staring at the teeth of their ACC schedule, with road games at Duke, Notre Dame, Pitt, Miami and Virginia still on the ledger.
