College Basketball
College Hoops Preview: #2 Duke at #16 Louisville
- Matchup: #2 Duke Blue Devils (21-2, 9-1 ACC) @ #16 Louisville Cardinals (17-7, 8-3 ACC)
- Date: Feb. 12th, 2019
- Time: 9:00 p.m. (est)
- Network: ESPN
- Location: Louisville, Kentucky
- Venue: KFC Yum! Center
- Seating Capacity: 22,090
Duke Looks to Strengthen ACC Lead
Duke enters their Super Tuesday matchup on ESPN looking to strengthen their lead in the ACC. With a win over the Cardinals, Duke would move to 10-1 in league play. Prior to North Carolina’s loss to Virginia, Duke was tied with the Tar Heels for first place in the ACC. Now, Duke finds themselves in first place.
Surprising Turnaround
A year ago, Louisville was 22-14 overall and just 9-9 in the ACC. The Cardinals were thrown in a loop when former Head Coach Rick Pitino was fired just a month before the season began. Two years later, the Cardinals have turned it around and became a major surprise to College Basketball fans everywhere. This year was, considered by many, going to be a rebuilding year for new Head Coach Chris Mack. Almost eleven months later, Mack is leading his Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville Team Stats
As an offense, Louisville has scored 78.8 points per game, tied for 55th in the country. The Cardinals are shooting 45.7% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the three-point arc.
On defense, the Cardinals allow opponents to score just 68.0 points per game, good for 90th in the country. They have allowed opponents to shoot 41.4% from the field and just 32.4% from the three-point line.
Louisville’s Key Player: Jordan Nwora
Sophomore Jordan Nwora averaged just 5.7 points per game and played just 12.0 minutes per contest as a freshman. A year later, he leads the Cardinals in scoring (17.6 PPG) and rebounding (7.6 RPG) in 31.8 minutes per game. Nwora has the ability to score on both levels offensively, as he is shooting 46.1% from the field and 38.1% from the three-point line.
The Starters
Louisville
Guard – #1 Christen Cunningham (10.7 PPG and 4.7 APG)
Guard – #4 Khwan Fore (3.7 PPG and 1.3 APG)
Forward – #24 Dwayne Sutton (11.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, and 1.1 SPG)
Forward – #33 Jordan Nwora (17.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.0 SPG)
Center – #5 Malik Williams (7.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.4 BPG)
Duke
Point Guard – #3 Tre Jones (8.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.6 APG, and 2.0 SPG)
Shooting Guard – #2 Cam Reddish (13.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 2.1 SPG)
Small Forward – #5 RJ Barrett (23.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.0 SPG)
Power Forward – #1 Zion Williamson (21.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.4 BPG)
Center – #20 Marques Bolden (5.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG)
Prediction
Most will see this game being close down to the finish. It will be a rough road environment for Duke, against a top 20 team, and the Cards have an elite offensive talent in Jordan Nwora.
One star player won’t be enough to top Duke’s plethora of talent, and by the time the second half is five minutes old, Duke will have a double-digit lead. With Cam Reddish back to form and striking consistently from beyond the arc, Duke is going to be tough to beat. RJ Barrett is the best player in the country when he plays a big time road game.
Expect Duke to run away in this one.
Duke: 88
Louisville: 71
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