NC State plays at Louisville at 8 p.m. Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center. Here is a breakdown of the Cardinals.
Season Overview
The No. 23-ranked Louisville Cardinals are off to a 13-5 overall start and 4-1 in the ACC. The Cardinals’ could be the hottest team in the ACC of late, with blowout wins vs. Miami on Jan. 6, at UNC on Jan. 12 and at Georgia Tech on Jan. 19. UL has won seven of its last nine games, with the lone ACC loss 89-86 in overtime at Pittsburgh on Jan. 9.
Louisville might have five losses, but three of them are against top 12 teams — No. 12 Marquette, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 1 Tennessee. Toss in road setbacks at Indiana and Pittsburgh, and Louisville doesn’t truly have a “bad loss” under first-year coach Chris Mack. The Cardinals also upset then No. 9-ranked Michigan State 82-78 in overtime in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Rankings
In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, through games of Jan. 21, the Cardinals are ranked No. 14, which means as a road game it would qualify as a quad one contest for the Pack (road teams ranked 1-75 are quad one). Kenpom.com has the Cardinals at No. 16 and ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has UL ranked three spots lower at No. 19.
In the old RPI formula used by the NCAA, according to RealTimeRPI.com, the Cardinals would be No. 17. UL is ranked No. 23 by The Associated Press and No. 24 in the coaches’ poll.
For comparison, NC State is 17th in BPI, 26th in NET, 31st in Kenpom and 114th in RPI.
Shooting
Louisville presents problems because it can sometimes have five players on the court who are capable of making a three-pointer. The Cardinals are shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 35.5 percent on three-pointers and 75.3 percent from the line. Louisville though has heated up since conference action started. It is third in the ACC in league-only games at 47.6 percent from the field, and fourth in three-point field-goal percentage at 36.2 percent.
Of the regulars in a close game, fouling senior guard Khwan Fore (59.1 percent at the line), and sophomore center Malik Williams (61.8 percent) makes the most sense. UL will want to get the ball to junior guard Ryan McMahon, who is 38 of 41 at the line.
McMahon is known for his shooting prowess, but it is Samford graduate transfer Christen Cunningham at point guard, who leads the way at 46.5 percent on three-pointers, followed by sophomore stretch four Jordan Nwora at 41.1 percent.
Rebounding
NC State leads the ACC in league games with 42.0 rebounds per contest, but Louisville is right there in third place with 40.8. The Wolfpack lead the league with 16.0 offensive rebounds per contest, and the Cardinals are fifth at 12.6.
UL is tied for first with 28.2 defensive rebounds per game, and also first with an 8.8 rebounding margin in conference-games only stats. The aforementioned Nwora leads the way with 8.1 rebounds a game. UNC-Asheville transfer Dwayne Sutton has bumped up his rebounding average to a team-best 9.2 a game in league contests.
Defense
Tennessee and Pittsburgh are the only two opponents who have scored more than 78 points against Louisville this season, and the Panthers needed overtime to reach 89.
Louisville is ninth in the ACC with allowing 68.8 points per game, which has held steady in five league games (69.0 points). The Cardinals are 10th in the ACC with opponents shooting 33.2 percent from three-point land, but that has been lowered to 29.7 percent in five league games.
Depth
Louisville can play 10 players and has the ability to wear down opponents with size. The X-factor off the bench has been redshirt junior center Steven Enoch, who transferred in from Connecticut. The 6-10, 250-pounder was ranked No. 58 overall in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2015, but didn’t find his stride in two years with the Huskies.
Enoch is averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and shooting 56 percent from the field. He has scored at least 14 points and grabbed six or more rebounds in three of the last four games, including going for a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds in the 83-62 win at UNC.
Star Watch
Nwora has far exceeded expectations this season. He was considered a quality outside shooter coming out of Vermont Academy in Saxton River, Vt., and Rivals.com ranked him No. 94 overall nationally in the class of 2017. The 6-8, 215-pounder showed glimpses last year as a freshman, shooting 43.9 percent on three-pointers and averaging 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game.
He has emerged as a force this season, leading Louisville with 18.5 points and 8.1 rebounds a contest. In league-only games, he ranks fifth in the ACC with 20.4 points, 11th with 7.4 rebounds per game and second at 45.9 percent on three-pointers.
Nwora dominated Boston College to the tune of 32 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and he went 5 of 9 on three-pointers in the 80-70 win Jan. 16. He has reached 20-plus points in nine games, and has five double-doubles for points and rebounds.
Stats To Watch
Rebounding: Louisville isn’t the tallest team around, but do have four players that are at least 6-8 or taller. The Cardinals rank 56th in the country with 38.7 rebounds per game. The combination of centers Enoch and Malik Williams are combining for 10.5 rebounds a contest. Williams was ranked No. 30 overall nationally in the class of 2017, and Enoch was also a Rivals.com four-star prospect.
Three-point shooting: Six Louisville players have made at least 13 three-pointers this season, led by Nwora with 44. Williams is at the low end with 13, but he allows Louisville to play five guys on the court who are capable of making an open three-pointer.
Bench battle: Louisville is averaging 29.3 points from its bench in 18 games this season, including 25 points and 15 rebounds against Georgia Tech in its last game. NC State’s bench is averaging 35.3 points a contest.
Game Within The Game: Wyatt Walker vs. Christen Cunningham
Admittedly, NC State redshirt junior center Wyatt Walker and Louisville fifth-year senior point guard Christen Cunningham won’t be matched all that often, but it will still be fun when Cunningham makes his way down the lane.
Walker and Cunningham were teammates at Samford, but both had injury-riddled years last year, earned their degrees and transferred. The two were teammates for two full seasons, helping Samford go 20-15 and lose to Canisius in the first round of the CIT in 2017.Walker averaged 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game that season, and Cunningham chipped in 11.4 points and 6.3 assists a contest.
Walker suffered a knee injury in the second game of the season last year at Samford, and Cunningham’s season ended after nine contests. The 6-2, 190-pound Cunningham has adjusted well to Louisville and 34 assists over five ACC games. He is averaging 10.4 points and 4.2 assists a game overall this season. Walker starts at center for NC State and is chipping in 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
A third graduate transfer from Samford is also doing well at Arizona. Senior point guard Justin Coleman is averaging 9.2 points and 3.4 assists per game for the Wildcats. Coleman redshirted in 2016-2017 after transferring in from Alabama, and then played a full season last year while Walker and Cunningham were injured.
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