Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Syracuse Orange

The Cardinals hit the road and will face the Orange in an attempt to build a winning streak.

Louisville Cardinals (7-15, 2-9 ACC) at Syracuse Orange (14-8, 5-6 ACC)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Syracuse -12.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 19-12
- Last Meeting: Syracuse won 70-69 on Jan. 3, 2023 (KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Tre White (6-7, 205, So.)
• G/F Mike James (6-5, 200, R-So.)
• G/F Curtis Williams (6-5, 205, Fr.)
• F Kaleb Glenn (6-6, 205, Fr.)
• F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 240, Jr.)

Syracuse

• G Judah Mintz (6-4, 185, So.)
• G J.J Starling (6-4, 206, So.)
• G Justin Taylor (6-6, 218, So.)
• F Chris Bell (6-7, 188, So.)
• F Maliq Brown (6-8, 222, So.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Orange, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Syracuse

Game Notes

Louisville

• In Saturday’s win over Florida State, Louisville had four players score at least 18 points for the first time since Feb. 1, 1989, against Virginia Tech. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (29 points) and Ty-Laur Johnson (27) became the first Cardinals to both score at least 27 in the same game since Larry O’Bannon and Taquan Dean did it against Charlotte in 2005.
• Freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday after posting career highs with 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds against Florida State. He’s the first Cardinal to have at least 20 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in a game in program history, and he’s the only player in the country to achieve his stats against a Division I opponent this year – as well as just the fourth player in the last eight seasons to do so against a Power 5 foe. His 27 points were also the most by an ACC freshman this season.
• UofL is one of two teams in the nation, along with New Mexico, with five different players who have scored at least 26 points in a game this season – Huntley-Hatfield (29), Tre White (29), Skyy Clark (29), Johnson (27) and Mike James (26).
• Louisville has used nine different starting lineups and is 4-5 when using a new starting lineup. The Cardinals have started 12 different players this season among an initial roster of 15 players.
• Over the last 13 games, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is averaging 14.9 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 60.5% from the field (75 of 124). After registering two double-doubles in the first 68 games of his career, he has five in his last 13 games.
• Last time out: Louisville was able to snap their six-game losing streak, taking down Florida State 101-92.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: With Louisville leading 33-30 after six ties and five lead changes, the Cards reeled off a 10-0 run that elapsed 1:34, extending their lead to 43-30 with 1:39 left in the half.
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: After the Seminoles scored six straight points to come within four at 53-49, the Cardinals responded with an 9-0 run that began at 15:40 and elapsed 2:22, giving the momentum back to Louisville at 62-49 with 13:18 to go. Florida State had a 7-2 burst to come within five at 96-91 with 40 seconds left, but wouldn’t come any closer, as the Cards shut the door with five clutch free throws.
• UofL shot 31 of 57 (54.4%) from the field, 3 of 11 (27.3%) from 3-point range and 36 of 45 (80.0%) from the free-throw line.
• The Cardinals reached the 100-point mark for the first time since beating Southern 105-54 on November 13, 2018.
• This was the first time Louisville had four players with 18 or more points since Feb. 1, 1989, when the Cardinals beat Virginia Tech. The four players involved in 1989 were Tony Kimbro (21), Kenny Payne (20), Felton Spencer (19) and Keith Williams (19).
• Additionally, it’s the first time Louisville had different players with 25+ points in back-to-back games since Chris Jones and Terry Rozier accomplished the feat during the 2014-15 season. Tre White scored 29 points at Clemson on Tuesday while Brandon Huntley Hatfield and Ty-Laur Johnson scored 29 and 27, respectively, against the Seminoles.

Syracuse

• The Orange lost consecutive road tilts last week at Boston College and Wake Forest.
• Sophomore guard J.J. Starling has averaged 19.7 points per game over the last three outings.
• Sophomore guard Judah Mintz is averaging 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 steals in 11 ACC contests.
• Sophomores Chris Bell, Justin Taylor and J.J. Starling have started all 22 games for SU.
• Last time out: Wake Forest shot 35-of-53 (.660) from the field, including 12-of-19 (.632) on 3-point attempts, and defeated visiting Syracuse, 99-70. The Orange never led. aJ.J. Starling (15 points), Judah Mintz (13 points), Quadir Copeland (11 points), and Justin Taylor (10 points) posted double-digit point totals.
• Recent games: Jan. 30: Boston College produced a 21-0 scoring run that spanned the two halves and held off a late Syracuse charge to win, 80-75. The Eagles shot .600 from the field and connected on 10 3-pointers. Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling each had 18 points and Maliq Brown contributed 15 points and seven rebounds.
• Jan. 27: J.J. Starling (26 points) and Judah Mintz (20) combined for 46 points to lead the Orange past NC State, 77-65. Syracuse produced a dominant first half that resulted in a 38-22 Orange advantage at the intermission. SU limited the Wolfpack to 6-of-29 (.207) shooting over the first 20 minutes.
• Jan. 23: Syracuse let a seven-point, second-half lead get away and Florida State ended the Orange’s unbeaten home streak, 85-69. Syracuse had won all nine Dome games prior to the loss to the Seminoles. Judah Mintz surpassed 20 points for the ninth time this season and finished with 28. Maliq Brown equaled his career-high with 12 rebounds. J.J. Starling had 22 points and Judah Mintz posted 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-best 13 assists. Maliq Brown also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

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