Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Boston College Eagles

The Cardinals return home to face the Eagles in hopes of snapping a three-game losing streak.

Boston College Eagles (7-8, 2-3 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (10-7, 4-3 ACC)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, January 19th at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: RSN (Bally Sports South in Louisville)
- How To Listen: WKRD 790 AM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -7.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 9-4
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 76-64 on Jan. 2, 2022 (Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• F Samuell Williamson (6-7, 205, Jr.)
• C Malik Williams (6-11, 245, Sr.)
• G Noah Locke (6-3, 210, Sr.)
• G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Jr.)
• G Jarrod West (5-11, 185, Gr.).

Boston College

• F T.J. Bickerstaff (6-9, 220, Jr.)
• C James Karnik (6-9, 250, Sr.)
• G Jaeden Zackery (6-2, 210, Fr.)
• G DeMarr Langford, Jr. (6-5, 210, So.)
• G Makai Ashton-Langford (6-3, 185, Gr.)

Main Storylines

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

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville dropped its third straight in falling 65-53 to the Panthers as the Cardinals scored a season-low 53 points. Malik Williams produced his 10th career double-double and fifth this season to lead the Cardinals with 12 points, a career-high matching 13 rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• The Cardinals have not lost four straight at any point in the season since 2003-04. Their four ACC victories have been by five points or less. Louisville is one of eight teams with two ACC road victories this season. This is the first time a Louisville team has dropped at least seven of its first 17 games since the Cardinals started 6-11 in 2000-01.
• Malik Williams has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 11 of his 16 games and is third in the ACC in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and 20th in the nation in defensive rebounding (6.9 per game). He needs 17 points for 800 in his career. He grabbed his 600th career rebound at Pitt.
• Noah Locke, third in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.5), has scored in double figures six of the last seven game and on 12 occasions this season. He passed 1,100 points in his collegiate career on Jan. 12. He has made at least three threes in nine games and has made 17-of-33 threes over the last six games (.515).
• Jarrod West, third in the nation in career steals among active players with 282, passed 1,300 career points at Marshall and UofL vs. NC State. West is third in the ACC in assists-turnovers ratio (2.38), sixth in steals (1.7) and 14th in assists (3.4).
• Louisville has a 62-19 record in its conference home games over the last 10 years (.765). UofL has the fourth-most conference home wins in its eight years in the ACC with a 48-16 ACC home record (9-1 last season). Louisville has a 47-19 record during the month of January over the last six years (.712).
• Louisville has averaged 28.2 points per game from its bench this season. The Cardinals’ bench contributed a season-high 52 points against NC State, UofL’s eighth game this season with over 30 bench points. They managed just 11 points from its starting lineup, the fewest from a starting group in 88 years.
• A day after he totaled season bests of 22 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes against NC State, Sydney Curry injured his left ankle in practice last Thursday and missed the Cardinals’ Jan. 15 game at Pittsburgh. He is expected to be available on Wednesday against Boston College. The 22 points by Curry matched the highest total by a Cardinal in any game this season (El Ellis at Michigan State and Malik Williams vs. DePaul).
• Louisville is 8-1 this season when out-rebounding its opponent, 9-1 when shooting better from the field than the opposition, and 8-1 when shooting more free throws than its opponent
• Louisville has averaged shooting seven more free throws over its last six games than it had in its first 11 games
• The Cardinals grabbed 10 offensive rebounds at Florida State, their eighth game this season with at least 10. UofL had nine offensive boards vs. NC State. The Cardinals rank 56th in the nation in total rebounds per game (38.9)
• 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’s defense has not been as stingy in recent games as it has been earlier this season. Over the last four games, opponents are shooting nearly nine percent higher (.475 to .388) and scoring nearly eight points more per game (73.8 to 66.0) than in the Cards’ first 13 games of the season when UofL ranked among the top 25 defenses in the nation by Kenpom analytics (No. 55 now).

Boston College

• Boston College erased a 23-point deficit to win, 70-68, at Clemson on Saturday. The Eagles trailed, 34-11, with 7:11 remaining in the first half. BC outscored Clemson by 25 - 59-34 - over the next 22:49 of game play, taking its first lead with 26 seconds remaining. Brevin Galloway drained the go-ahead 3-pointer - his fifth of the night - with 26 seconds left, giving BC a 69-68 advantage.Makai Ashton-Langford tacked on a free throw with 15 seconds left, making it 70-68.
• Brevin Galloway tied his season-high with 18 points - including the go-ahead 3-pointer - at Clemson on Jan. 15. Galloway made a season-best five 3-pointers (5-10 3FG) in 24 minutes of play against the Tigers. The grad transfer from College of Charleston also had 18 against Georgia Tech on Jan. 12, knocking down 7-14 FG (4 3FG). Galloway has scored in double figures in three straight games. He tallied 11 points at Pittsburgh on Jan. 8. Over his last three games, he is averaging a team-best 15.7 points per game, making 12-of-30 3FG attempts (40.0%).
• Boston College’s 258 3FG attempts are the lowest (15th) in the ACC and its 17.2 3FG attempts per game rank 13th. Through 15 games, the Eagles rank 13th in 3FG made per game (5.9 3FGM) and 10th in 3FG percentage (.341). BC has seen significant gains in its long-distance shooting with graduate transfer guard Brevin Galloway in the lineup. In the seven games with Galloway, here are BC’s 3-point stats: 159 3FGA (19.9 per game), 6.9 3FGM/g, .346 3FG% In the seven games which Galloway missed: 99 3FGA (14.1 per game), 4.7 3FGM/g, .333 3FG%.
• James Karnik needs 17 more points to reach the 1,000 point mark for his career. The Surrey, B.C. native scored 768 points in three seasons and 83 career games for Lehigh before transferring to BC. He has scored 215 points in 29 games for Boston College.
• Quinten Post scored a career-high 24 points - against Georgia Tech. Post scored 18 of his 24 in the second half. The 7-footer from Amsterdam connected on 10-of-14 shots from the floor. The 10 FG are the most by a BC player in 2021-22. Post also corralled a season-best nine rebounds in the Georgia Tech game, while dishing out two assists.
• At Pitt, Makai Ashton-Langford put forth one of the most efficient performances by a point guard in the nation in 2021-22. Ashton-Langford finished the game with 23 points (4 3FGM), 3 rebounds, 4 assists (1 turnover), 1 block, and 3 steals. His EFF rating (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK - Missed Shots - TO) was a team-best 24, while his offensive rating was 133.8. The 23 points - and four 3-pointers made - were new career-highs for the 6-3 point guard. He is one of only two players to post that statistical line on the box score this season (A.J. Walker of Air Force).
• Through 15 games, DeMarr Langford Jr. is showing no signs of a sophomore slump. He helps lead a balanced BC attack, averaging 11.0 points - second on BC - with 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
• Jaeden Zackery ranks third on BC in scoring (10.4), second in assists (2.5), and first in steals (1.5) so far this season. Among all ACC first-year players, Zackery is one of six players to average double figures in scoring. He ranks sixth in scoring, second in assists, and second in steals among ACC newcomers.
• T.J. Bickerstaff tied for the fifth-most rebounds in a game in Boston College history, grabbing 17 boards vs. Columbia. The 17 rebounds also rank as the fourth-most in a single-game in Conte Forum history.

Photo of Malik Williams, Steffon Mitchell: Paul Rutherford - USA TODAY Sports)

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