Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. NC State Wolfpack

The Cardinals return home for a rematch with the Wolfpack.

NC State Wolfpack (8-8, 1-4 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (10-5, 4-1 ACC)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, January 12th at 9:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: WHAS 840 AM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -6.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 14-10
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 73-68 on Dec. 4, 2021 (PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• F Samuell Williamson (6-7, 205, Jr.)
• F Matt Cross (6-7, 230, So.)
• C Malik Williams (6-11, 245, Sr.)
• G Noah Locke (6-3, 210, Sr.)
• G Jarrod West (5-11, 185, Gr.).

NC State

• F Jericole Hellems (6-7, 200, Sr.)
• F Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 225, So.)
• G Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180, R-So.)
• G Terquavion Smith (6-4, 160, Fr.)
• G Thomas Allen (6-1, 175, Sr.)

Main Storylines

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's matchup with NC State: Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. NC State

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Wolfpack, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape & Prediction: Louisville vs. Nc State

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville dropped its first ACC game of the season in falling 79-70 at Florida State last Saturday as El Ellis led the Cardinals with 14 points and three assists off the bench, his second straight double-figure scoring effort. Samuell Williamson added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Mason Faulkner totaled 12 points and three assists for the Cardinals.
• Louisville has a 62-18 record in its conference home games over the last 10 years (.775). UofL has the fourth-most conference home wins in its eight years in the ACC with a 48-15 ACC home record.
• Louisville has averaged 27.9 points per game from its bench this season. The Cardinals’ bench contributed 39 points at Florida State (third-most this season), UofL’s seventh game this season with over 30 bench points.
• El Ellis scored 14 points off the bench at Florida State, his fifth double-figure scoring effort of the season and second straight (18 vs. Pitt on Jan. 5). Before the last two, he had scored a single point in the previous two games.
• Jarrod West, third in the nation in career steals among active players with 280, needs one point for 1,300 in his career at Marshall and UofL. West is fourth in the ACC in assists/turnovers ratio (2.25), fifth in steals (1.7) and ninth in assists.
• Malik Williams has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 10 of his 13 games and is third in the ACC in rebounding (8.9 rpg) and 21st in the nation in defensive rebounding (6.9 per game). He needs 14 rebounds for 600 in his career.
• Noah Locke, fifth in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.5), needs five points for 1,100 points in his collegiate career. He has made at least three threes in eight games.
• Louisville is No. 39 nationally in adjusted defense in KenPom analytics (4th in the ACC). The Cardinals rank 19th in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (29.1 rpg), 50th in field goal percentage defense (.396) and 41st in total rebounds per game (39.8).
• Samuell Williamson has averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last four since joining the starting lineup. He has scored nine or more points in three of the last four, including 13 points and seven rebounds at Florida State in his last game. He is second in rebounding (5.0 rpg) for the Cardinals this year.
• Mason Faulkner has scored in double figures in four of his last five games, including 12 points and three assists at Florida State in his last game. He is second on the team in assists (37 total), and is third in the ACC in assist-turnovers ratio in ACC only games with 14 assists and only three turnovers. He missed UofL’s game at Georgia Tech due to COVID protocols
• Matt Cross has scored in double figures in five of the last eight games (seven total this season), including 13 points and a season-high eight rebounds and two blocked shots at Georgia Tech. He had six points and four rebounds at Florida State in his last game
• Louisville plays 10 games during the month of January, marking the first time it has played as many in that month since the 1997-98 season, when the Cardinals played 11 games in January
• Louisville has a 47-17 record during the month of January over the last six years (.734)
• Louisville is unbeaten this season when out-rebounding its opponent (8-0), shoots better from the field than the opposition (9-0), or shoots more free throws than its opponent (8-0)
•  Dre Davis came off the bench for the first time this season at Georgia Tech and responded with 13 points, all in the second half. Davis, who has five double-figure scoring games this season, had scored just 14 points over the previous four games combined
• The Cardinals grabbed 10 offensive rebounds at Florida State, their eighth game this season with at least 10. Louisville turned the offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points, three shy of its season best total
• Uof L held Florida State to 34.8 percent (8-for-23) from the field in the second half, the lowest shooting percentage in a half by an ACC team against Louisville this season
• Louisville has averaged shooting 11 more free throws over its last four games than it had in its first 11 games.

NC State

• Coached by former UofL assistant coach Kevin Keatts, NC State (8-8, 1-4 ACC) lost 70-65 to Clemson at home on Jan. 8 in its last outing. The Pack finished the game shooting 31.7 percent from the field which is the second-lowest shooting percentage this season for NC State.
• The Cardinals prevailed 73-68 at NC State on Dec. 4 in the ACC opener for both schools. The Pack had a season-low six turnovers in the Dec. 4 game against Louisville. NC State outscored Louisville, 30-26, in points in the paint. The 26 paint points tie for the second-fewest NC State has allowed this season. In the Pack’s other four ACC games, opponents are averaging 39.5 points in the paint and have outscored NC State by a combined 42 points in points in the paint. NC State’s bench was outscored 28-0 by Louisville’s. The Pack leads the ACC in offensive rebounding at 12.8 per game, but Louisville limited NC State to a season-low seven offensive rebounds in the teams’ first meeting.
• NC State has won six of its last seven ACC road games. The Pack ended last season by winning its final five conference road games. The five-game conference road winning streak was the most since the 1973- 74 season. NC State dropped its ACC road opener this season to Miami, 91-83, but won at Virginia Tech last Tuesday, 68-63.
• NC State’s trio of Dereon Seabron, Jericole Hellems and Terquavion Smith are tied as the highest scoring trio in the ACC. The three players combine to average 48.2 points per game this season. The trio is responsible for 63.7 percent of NC State’s points this season.
• Seabron led the Pack with 27 points. It’s the third consecutive 20+-point performance for Seabron and eighth 20+-point performance of the season for the Norfolk, Va., native. He added a team-high tying seven rebounds, team-high tying three assists and two steals. In 16 games this season, Seabron has led NC State in scoring nine times, in rebounding 15 times and in assists 11 times. He is the only player in the ACC to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
• Seabron has averaged 26.7 points per game over the last three contests for the Pack. He has scored 52 of the 80 points in the second half of those ballgames, an average of 17.3 points per game in the final 20 minutes. Overall, Seabron has scored 44.8% (52 of 116) of NC State’s second half points in the last three games.
• Smith had an uncharacteristic off-shooting night in the loss to Clemson. Smith went 0-for-7 from the field and finished with two points. Smith entered the Clemson game averaging 18.9 points per game since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 4. He is still averaging 17 ppg., since Dec. 4.
• Hellems ranks 20th in the ACC in scoring at 14.3 points per game. The Saint Louis, Mo., native has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 13games. Against Miami on 12/29, he became the 55th player in program history to score over 1,000 points in their career.
• Freshman guard Terquavion Smith had an uncharacteristic off-shooting night in the loss to Clemson. Smith went 0-for-7 from the field and finished with two points. Smith entered the Clemson game averaging 18.9 points per game since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 4. He is still averaging 17 ppg., since Dec. 4.
• Senior guard Thomas Allen as been a different player since coming back from Christmas break. In 10 games before Christmas, Allen averaged 1.8 points per game. In four games since coming back from Christmas break, Allen is averaging 9.3 points per game.

(Photo of Louisville players via University of Louisville Athletics)

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